I know it seems like we’ve been watching Jordan Peele movies forever, but they’ve only been an essential part of our lives since he made his feature film directorial debut with 2017’s Get Out. The horror film achieved the shocking feat of being scary as hell while also providing brilliant commentary on race in America. Its $255 million box office and award-winning success set the bar extremely high for Peele, leading to spectacular expectations for his follow ups.
Of course, this wasn’t a problem, since he totally exceeded those expectations with 2019’s Us and Nope, which haunted our nightmares earlier this year. The Key & Peele star is now in a place where audiences know his films will cleverly elevate the horror/thriller genre, but in an interview with The Verge, Peele discussed why that’s not necessarily a good thing.
“I don’t want people to think that I’m trying to make ‘elevated’ films,” Peele said. “I think that’s a trap that I don’t quite appreciate because I like making fucked-up films. I like making weird movies that I’m really just not supposed to make—and sometimes challenge people on the other side of things as well.”
Frankly, it’s probably the fact that he’s not trying to create “movies with a message” that makes them all so interesting and fresh. There’s nothing worse than sitting through a film where it’s clear the director was trying way too hard to make the audience feel a certain way, instead of just letting everything play out organically.
If the Toy Story 4 actor just wants to make weird, fucked up movies, then mission accomplished. However, there’s no reason why they can’t be weird, fucked up movies that also offer smart insight on the world we’re currently living in. I would never in a million years dream of telling Jordan Peele how to make movies, but unless he decides to start cranking out campy teen slasher movies, his loyal fans are always going to expect a deeper meaning from all his films.
Nope is currently available on digital and begins streaming on Peacock on Nov. 18.