Harry Potter director says Prisoner of Azkaban is "definitely" a horror film

Oct. 9, 2023

Exclusive: Alfonso Cuarón believes his Harry Potter film is a horror movie

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Alfonso Cuarón’s foray into the Wizarding World,Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, is probably the most atmospheric of the entire series, with ghastly, soul-sucking dementors, a howling werewolf hunting its young prey through a terrifying forest, and even time travel.

In the latest issue ofTotal Film magazine, which hits newsstands on Thursday, October 12 and features Ridley Scott on the cover, Cuarón agrees that his Potter movie could be considered a horror.

“Well, definitely. When I read the book, there were two elements that I liked,” he says. “There was the horror film element, but also the noir aspect of it. In a way, when I was doing it, the model was more of the German cinema at the end of the silent era, and the transition into the talkies, like Fritz Lang to Murnau. You can see that some of Fritz Lang’s films are kind of noir, but, at the same time, they have kind of horror elements to them. And, more importantly, particularly with Fritz Lang, through the genre, he was trying to convey – or just to project – the anxieties of his time. I think that what J.K. Rowling did with Potter, it was a reference of our times, of human behaviour.”

Next up for Cuarón’s isGravity’s 10th anniversary re-release, which begins this October 20.

J.K. Rowling’s public stance on gender identity continues to challenge the inclusivity at the heart of the Harry Potter community. Here is our explainer on theHogwarts Legacy controversyfor more context.

For much more from our interview with Cuarón, feast your eyes on the new issue of Total Film when it hits shelves and digital newsstands on Thursday, October 12. Check out the covers below:

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I’m the Editor at Total Film magazine, overseeing the running of the mag, and generally obsessing over all things Nolan, Kubrick and Pixar. Over the past decade I’ve worked in various roles for TF online and in print, including at GamesRadar+, and you can often hear me nattering on the Inside Total Film podcast. Bucket-list-ticking career highlights have included reporting from the set of Tenet and Avengers: Infinity War, as well as covering Comic-Con, TIFF and the Sundance Film Festival.

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