IGN's Simon Cardy argues that a body-horror sequence in Christopher Nolan's upcoming adaptation of The Odyssey shows the director could successfully make a full horror film. While The Odyssey itself is not a horror movie, Cardy says several sequences, particularly a scene involving the sorceress Circe, deliberately draw on horror conventions to unsettle and frighten audiences, building on the sense of dread Nolan has woven into thrillers throughout his career, from his debut Following onwards.

The article singles out a scene in which Circe, played by Samantha Morton, transforms Odysseus's crew into pig-like creatures by physically reshaping their skulls, with skin, sinew and bone appearing to warp in graphic detail. Notably, the effect was achieved entirely with practical, in-camera techniques rather than CGI, a choice that reportedly stunned co-star Anne Hathaway, who plays Penelope, when she first saw it on set. Nolan has previously spoken about horror as a legitimate cinematic tool for creating tension and dread, and the piece suggests this sequence, alongside other frightening elements like a giant Cyclops and the awakened dead, is the clearest evidence yet of his aptitude for the genre.