Martin Scorsese Says “Style and Pacing” on ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ Was Inspired by Ari Aster’s Films

Here’s one I didn’t see coming. Martin Scorsese says one of the main inspirations for his montage of “Killers of the Flower Moon” was none other than Ari Aster’s films.

In an interview with the Irish Times, Scorsese says that Aster’s cinema helped to inspire the tempo of ‘Killers,’ adding that timing is crucial for a film that’s 3½ hours long:

I very much like the style and pacing of good horror films like Ari Aster’s Midsommar or Beau Is Afraid. The pacing of those films goes back to the B films of Val Lewton, Jacques Tourneur’s Cat People or I Walked With a Zombie.

Scorsese again namechecks Aster in another interview, this time with Spanish outlet SER:

I think the rhythm of good horror movies, such as those of Ari Aster, Beau is afraid or Midsommar, is here […] It has to do with the fact that they allow me to make the pace calmer.

Its no secret that Scorsese is a big fans of Aster‘a. He’s praised his first three films, “Hereditary,” “Midsommar,” and “Beau is Afraid.” but

At the 2019 New York Film Festival, Scorsese raved about Aster’s “Hereditary” and its ability to create what he saw as a family-driven narrative that doubled as horror and drama, "It's horror, but it's more than that," Scorsese said of Aster's feature-length debut. "For me, when you take the horror out, it still works. But the horror elements, how should I say this — they shock you in a good way. They shock you into an awakening of the real pain of these people."

Then, a year later, Scorsese wrote an intro for the booklet attached to the Blu-Ray of Aster’s “Midsommar.” Scorsese wrote …

“I can tell you that the formal control is just as impressive as that of Hereditary, maybe more so, and that it digs into emotions that are just as real and deeply uncomfortable as the ones shared between the characters in the earlier picture. I can also tell you that there are true visions in this picture, particularly in the final stretch, that you are not likely to forget. I certainly haven’t.”

Finally, at a “Beau is Afraid” Q&A earlier this year, Scorsese introduced Aster as “one of the most extraordinary new voices in world cinema.”

Scorsese added, “This film was remarkable for me on different levels. The second time I saw it I noticed the technical artistry behind it. The first time I didn’t know what it was about, nobody had told me anything about it. I was impressed by the language of it which was so unique and so original. The risk taking is so unique and so powerful and there aren’t many filmmakers who can’t do that on that level today.”