ALAMY, ALLSTAR, AUGUST IMAGE
storyfromanAfrican-Americanperspective,andtoaddress
fearsentertainingly.
“Tonewasthebigthing,”hesays.“Iplacedit inlinewith
somethingthathada bitofa post-moderncommentaryonthe
genreitself,andthereforea satiricalelementtoit —Screamwas
a tonalguide.Butalsoobviously[thefilmadaptationsof]Ira
Levin’sRosemary’sBabyandTheStepfordWives.”GetOut, he
says,couldn’tbetoodarktobeenjoyable,ortoocomedicthat
it “solditselfoutasa joke.It hadto[walk]thatperfecttonal
line.”Sketchcomedywasa greattraininggroundforthat,he
says,asthereheaspiredtobeirreverentaboutthingswe’renot
supposedtotalkabout,letalonelaughabout.“Thethoughts
andfeelingsthatwerepressandlietoourselvesabout.That’s
whereI’mdrawn.”
Hewasontosomething.GetOutmadeanenormousprofit
($255millionfroma $4.5millionbudget)andPeelebecamethe
firstblackwriter-directorinhistorytolanda $100milliondebut.
ThefilmwasalsonominatedforfourOscars,PeelewinningBest
OriginalScreenplay.Therewashugepressureonhimtofollowit
upwitha secondsmash,buthepulledit offwithUs, another
startlinglyoriginalandscarysatire.It alsomade$255million,
scoringthebiggestopeningweekendeverfora horrorfilmnot
basedona knownproperty.
“Ithoughtthatthemajorityofpeoplewouldbeexpecting
somekindof‘GetOut2’ —anothermovieaboutevilwhitepeople,
andblackpeopleasheroes,”Peelereflects.“Sotheabilitytogive
themsomethingelseshowsmyaudience,whoI lovedearly,thatI’m
gonnacontinuethecommitmenttonotgettrappedina hole.”
Morethanonce,Peelehadbeenstruckbythefearofbumping
intothemirrorimageofhimself.Doppelgängers,hebelieves,are
harbingersofdeath—there’sonlyroomforoneofus.Thiswas
theinspirationforUs, forwhichhewantedtobeef up his directing
chops,expandingscopeandrootingit more
firmlyinhorrorthanGetOut. Assuch,Us
is a home-invasionnightmareriddledwith
unsettlingmonsters,ominousanimalsandevil
kids,allthewhilePeeletwistingthosetropes,
makingthemfeelfreshagain.
“Ihavea verycomplexrelationshipwiththe
ideaofgenre,”heexplainsoftheambitionshe
hadforUs. “OnonehandI wanttodeliverwhat
I thinkofasthehorrorgenre.Ontheotherhand
I wanttotranscendit.”UnlikeGetOut,Usis not
ostensiblyaboutrace,butcastingblackpeople
—dark-skinnedblackpeople,atthat—asthe
leads,playingheroesandvillains,spokevolumes
initself.Usis aboutprivilege,withtheTethered
—downtroddendoppelgängerslivingin
undergroundtunnels,feedingoffrabbits—
finallyseizingthedayandlobbingoutbrutal,
bloodytruthbombs.Ina timewherefearof
outsidersis bothencouragedandexploited,
Peelepresentsuswiththeshadowversions
ofourselves.Themonstersare,well,us.
Asa child,Peelerealisedthatif hetoldscary
stories,hecouldharnessfear.Exploringpresent-
dayracisminGetOut, hechangedpeople’s
perceptionsofthemselves,andwithUs, he
createdmonstersthatweidentifywithall
toowell.Hisfilms,it seems,areaneffortto
understandwhat’shappeningoutthere.“Yeah,
partofthethrilloftellinga scarystoryis being
abletobeonsideofthemonsters,andalmost
feelinga safetyfromthat,”hesays.“Anystory
I tellhastobeginwitha primalandpersonalfear.
Making the movie will force me to analyse whatthatfearis about.AndthenI feellikeI comeoutontheotherside
lessafraidofthatthing.Muchlikethewaya comedysketchneeds
tostartwithsomethingthatmakesmelaughona primallevel,
a horrormovieneedstostartwithsomething that truly terrifies
me, and more than I understandwhy.”•••
PEELEFEELSBUOYEDbychangesthroughoutthehorror
genreoflate.“Therehavebeensomereallyspecialhorrormovies
overthelastfiveyears,startingwithDavidRobertMitchell’sIt
Follows,” hesays.“JenniferKent’sTheBabadookwasa special
movieforme.”HegaveLupitaNyong’obothfilmstowatchbefore
rollingcamerasonUs. HealsolovedRobertEggers’TheWitch,
andsaysHereditary’s AriAsteris “incredible”,ravingabouthis
“extremelyinventive”follow-up,Midsommar.
“Therearesomereallybeautifulhorrorfilmsthattomeshow
offanartistryanda commitmenttoa cinematicexperiencethat
theothergenreshaven’tbeenabletomatch,”hesays,explaining
whythisallfireshimupsomuchthat,notcontentwithdirecting
hisownhorrorpieces,he’salsoproducingprojectsprolifically.
Theyallconnect.AlreadyscreeninginAmericaisTheTwilight
Zonereboot,inwhichPeelepullsdoubledutiesashost,following
inthefootstepsoforiginalcreatorRodSerling.“Itwasa thrilling
show,scaryandunnerving,butwitha senseofhumour,”hesays
oftheimpactit hadonhimasa kid.“Itjusthitthatuniquespot.”
He’salsoproducingLovecraftCountry, a TVadaptationof
MattRuff ’s 2016 novelinwhicha manlookingforhisfatherinthe
sanctionedracismof1950sJimCrowAmericacomesacrosssome
Lovecraftianmonsters.“Itcouldbea companionpiecetoGet
Out,” saysPeele,“becauseofthewayit integrateshorror,fantasy
andtalesofwonderwitha veryrealracialdynamic,andracial
crimes againsthumanity.”Andhe’sbehinda newtakeon
Candyman, co-writingandproducinga “spiritual
sequel”towhatwas“averypivotalfilmfora
blackhorrorfan”—hehasnotedthatBernard
Rose’s 1992 filmexploredfearoftheghetto.“I’m
extremelyexcitedaboutit,”hesays.
Meanwhile,he’sconcoctinghisnextmoves
asdirector.Twooftheprojectshe’swritingaswe
speakarehisnexttwodirectorialfilms,hesays.
Whilehewon’tdivulgeanything,expecthim
todouble-downwhilegivinguswhatweleast
expect.“IhavemoremoviesthatI considertobe
aboutsocialdemons,”hesays.“Themonstersthat
existbetweenhumans.”Andasthediscussion
turnsagaintofear,hesaysthathehassomething
evenmoreterrifyingonthecards.
Legendhasit thatwithTheShining,
Kubricksetouttomakethescariestmovieever
made.Thathasn’tbeenPeele’smission.Sofar.
“Ihaveyettotrytomakethescariestmovieever
made,”hesays,beforeofferinga tantalisingtease.
“Ihavesomeideas.Atsomepointyouwillsee
myofferingintotheworldofsomethingthatwill
trulyhaunt.Witha capitalH.Andthatmovieis
gonnabeonethatI expecthorroraudiencesto
wanttosee,andtherestoftheworldtosay,‘No,
I’mgood.’Therearesomemovies,likeThe
Exorcist,TheShining,TheBlairWitchProject,
ParanormalActivity, thatarejustchillingabove
allelse.”Hepauses.“AndI wannamakea movie
likethattoo.”
Youcanbetthathewill,andsoonerrather
thanlater.He’sjustbustingtogetit alloutthere,
thismanwho’sbeenfascinatedbyfearhiswhole
life. Conquering it. Harnessing it. Masteringit.Facingpage:
Peeleatthe
2018 Academy
Awards.Below:
Therevelatory
GetOut; A family
intormentinUs;
FromPeele’snew
TwilightZoneTV
series,Mike(Ike
Barinholtz)has
red on him.