Who is Jordan Peele?
Comedian, actor and filmmaker who is best known for his remarkable contributions to the psychological horror genre. Peele initially began a career in sketch comedy before delving into filmmaking. He rose to fame with his comedy short series, “Key and Peele,” which starred him and Keegan-Michael Key in various sketch scenarios. His comedic background is represented in his films, creating an effective balance between spook and humor. Peele’s films consistently star Black actors in lead roles, which is no accident. Peele says he does this to take advantage of his power as a filmmaker and push for a diverse cast in his movies.
As spooky season is upon us, these movies are the perfect way to get into the Halloween spirit.
Get Out (2017)
Synopsis: Main character Chris gets invited to his girlfriend Rose’s house for a weekend getaway with her family. Rose’s parents have an oddly welcoming demeanor, and Chris interprets their excessive behavior as a means to cope with their daughter’s interracial relationship. However, as the weekend goes on, Chris discovers the much more sinister truth.
This is, by far, Jordan Peele’s best movie. “Get Out” greatly explores racism in America and the horrors of being a Black man. This movie is truly a chilling experience with various story elements to unpack. As exaggerated as the story may seem with the hypnosis and brain-picking, it provides unique, truthful insight into the Black American experience. The movie shows an interesting contrast of how Black bodies are celebrated and demonized. This contradiction becomes clear when the movie reaches the climax, and the family’s true intentions are unveiled. Aside from the plot, the acting is truly remarkable. Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) delivers expressions that instill true fear in the audience, making them anxious to see what will happen next. The chilling scene of him wide-eyed, mouth open and a single trail of tears never fails to unsettle me. I may not have gotten the full picture when I first watched this movie (granted, I was 11), but revisiting it has opened my eyes to the beauty of this movie that I initially missed. 9/10.
Us (2019)
Synopsis:
Now grown up, Adelaide Wilson returns to her childhood beachfront home with her husband, son and daughter. Being in that home causes Adelaide to relive a traumatic experience she endured in her childhood. Adelaide’s anxiety grows as she suspects a bad event is bound to happen. Her fears are confirmed once a group of strangers appear in the house, looking exactly like her and her family.
In “Us,” Jordan Peele really leans into the horror aspect, even more than he did in “Get Out.” The movie takes a unique approach to doppelgängers, which was refreshing to see. I was genuinely fearful when I first watched this movie. Peele creates the perfect harmony of spook with the way he manipulates mood using different camera angles, unsettling music and sudden sound effects.
What makes this movie so captivating is the different elements of symbolism. Take, for instance, the rabbits. In an interview, Peele said, “The deers I used in Get Out and the rabbits I used here, you know woodland animals, where there’s something wild and unbridled behind their eyes but there’s also a distinct lack of what makes a human.” This perfectly represents the evil doppelgängers. I felt like the movie was relatively straightforward, but what made it enjoyable was the amount of story elements to unpack. The only complaint I have about this movie is regarding the trailer. The trailer pretty much spoiled the entire movie, making watching the actual thing slightly anti-climactic. Still a great movie overall, 8.5/10.
Nope (2022)
Synopsis:
OJ and his sister Emerald live alone on a horse ranch in an isolated part of California. The two eventually discover eerie things happening in the sky above. On the other side of town, a theme park owner attempts to profit off the strange, otherworldly phenomenon.
This film is nothing short of stellar cinematography. This isn’t surprising as it was filmed by Dutch cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema- the man behind popular movies “Interstellar” and “Oppenheimer.” Hoytema delivers immersive shots throughout the movie, most notably in the opening and climax scenes. He manipulates the camera using unique angles and varying levels of stability to place the audience right in the middle of the story.
However, this movie falls short plot-wise. The movie was very confusing overall, and the plot felt disconnected. Some interesting ideas sprinkled throughout the movie could’ve saved the plot, but they didn’t get enough screen time. The comedic bits in Peele’s previous movies did not meet the full mark in “Nope.” The humor felt like a failed attempt at making up for the lack of a solid plot. Emerald (Keke Palmer) was supposed to be the comedic relief of this movie, but her character as a whole just came out to be over-the-top and annoying. Yes, that is kind of the point, but it wasn’t amusing. It just felt forced. This movie was just a parody of an actual science fiction movie. Pretty disappointing watch for a 2-hour movie. 5/10.
What’s next for Jordan Peele?
It was announced on March 20th of this year that Peele’s next movie will come out in 2024, around Christmas time. No further details are known at this time. There are talks about Jordan Peele being associated with Marvel’s “Blaze,” set to come out in 2025. However, nothing has been confirmed by Peele himself.
