ALEXANDRE AJA

I think the violence in 'The Hills Have Eyes' and 'High Tension' is much more traumatic than 'Piranha.'

I try to think about me, as an audience member, and it [inspiration for movies] comes from there.

When I approach a story or movie, the story is the most important thing.

Me, as a moviegoer, before being a filmmaker, I try to think about what movie I would like to see.

Spring Break is very strange. I grew up in France, so I don't know Spring Break. That doesn't exist in Europe.

A movie like 'The Last House On The Left' would be very hard to do in Europe.

Growing up in the eighties, you could go from one style in a movie to another style, and that was okay. In the nineties, you had to obey your niche. You had to follow the code and never step outside of exactly what you're doing.

In Europe, there is no horror movie. It's very hard to make a slasher or gory movie. There is no audience for that.

I'm a huge fan of movies, and I watch DVDs all day, and I like to be able to watch DVDs that are different from what was in theaters. Whether that's uncut or a director's cut. I think it's an awesome way to rediscover the movie.

Hollywood changed to become a more marketing-driven Hollywood, where people who are running the studios are more like marketing people, and they need titles.

Spring Break is very strange. I grew up in France, so I don't know Spring Break. That doesn't exist in Europe.

Me, as a moviegoer, before being a filmmaker, I try to think about what movie I would like to see.

When you do a slasher film, you find yourself repeating the same kind of scene, then it becomes not very challenging and not very interesting.

I think the violence in 'The Hills Have Eyes' and 'High Tension' is much more traumatic than 'Piranha.'

A movie like 'The Last House On The Left' would be very hard to do in Europe.

I'm a huge fan of movies, and I watch DVDs all day, and I like to be able to watch DVDs that are different from what was in theaters. Whether that's uncut or a director's cut. I think it's an awesome way to rediscover the movie.

The most important thing when you do a movie is that you find an audience that really understands what you want to do and is really supportive of it.

When I approach a story or movie, the story is the most important thing.

Growing up in the eighties, you could go from one style in a movie to another style, and that was okay. In the nineties, you had to obey your niche. You had to follow the code and never step outside of exactly what you're doing.

In Europe, there is no horror movie. It's very hard to make a slasher or gory movie. There is no audience for that.

I'm always on the side of the characters, rather than the side of the people attacking them. I get realistic. It's not gratuitous.

It's always very interesting to bet who's going to go first and who is going to have the most unbelievable death. It's always fun to play with that and create more expectation. It's an interesting part of horror movie.

I try to think about me, as an audience member, and it [inspiration for movies] comes from there.

I follow my instincts and I always think about what movie I would like to see. If I want to see it then I'm guessing that some other people might want to see it as well. I never try to think about what people will love or will like, because when you start to think for other people that's where you lose track of the real motivation.

Casting is so important in horror. It's so important to have strong actors to tell a story because, if you don't believe in the character, how can you be scared for them?

It's always about trying to do something that's different and not repeating yourself because then you lose your creative stamina. You need to have new challenges.

In the horror genre, unfortunately you sometimes have the studio tell you, "No, go with more unknown people because it's a scary movie," and I disagree.

Hollywood changed to become a more marketing-driven Hollywood, where people who are running the studios are more like marketing people, and they need titles.

You have to be realistic in the use of blood in the movies. There is a little bit more than a gallon in a human being. If you have a few thousand people, that makes a lot of blood. I'm very realistic in my use of blood.

That is the limit of IMDb. You can get into any IMDb page and hack stuff.