tourdeforcebyPeeleandhistroupe,whohere
talkEmpirethroughtheshootandbeyond.JordanPeele(writer-director):LongbeforeGet
Out, I hadthisnightmarishconceptinmyhead
—whenyou’refallingasleepandit feelslike
you’refallingfora second,andit kindofjolts
youupandwakesyouup.SoI thought,“Where
areyoufalling?Ifyoudidn’twakeup,where
wouldyougo?”Andthatmysteriousplace
alwayshauntedme.
RustySmith(productiondesigner):Jordanhad
thisimageofa personfloating,orfalling.It just
feltfresh.It wasgreat.
SeanMcKittrick(producer):It’sthescenethat’s
emblematicoftheentirethemeofthefilm.
Peele:TheSunkenPlaceactuallycamea littlebit
laterintheprocessthanonemightthink.
I didn’treallyknowwherethemoviewasgoing
forseveralyears.AndatsomepointI came
abouttheideaofthismetaphoricalenslavement,
beingtrappedinsideyourownbody.About 30
minutesintothefilm,verylittlehashappenedin
termsofhorrorpay-off.Andsoatthatpointyou
needit tobethebestscareinthefilm.Youneed
todeliveronyourpromiserightnow.
TobyOliver(cinematographer):WhenI firstread
thescript,I thought,“Thisis a fantastichorror
movie,”thoughit transcendedthatinmanyways.
TheSunkenPlacescenewasa reallyinteresting
thingonthepage.It wasjustwrittenasa journey
intoourcharacter’ssubconscious,butit wasn’t
super-clearexactlyhowthatwasgoingtobe
realisedvisually.
McKittrick:Jordanfirstpitchedmethestory
overcoffee.Thatwasthefirstdiscussionofthe
SunkenPlaceandhynotismandthethemesof
racial suppression. Physically, what the SunkenPlacewasevolvedastheteamexpanded.
Oliver:It wasa greatconceptthatwehadto
figureouthowtorealise,withalltheconstraints
thatwehad:a shortschedule,andnota lotof
money. How do youmakeit work on screen?•••
Oliver:Thehypnotisingscenehappenedinthe
houseonlocation.Wehada fulldayforthat.
Smith:WewereshootinginMobile,Alabama,
ofallplaces,becauseoftaxcreditsandallthat
stuff.Thehousewassocritical.Jordanhascalled
itsdesign“evilfengshui”.It’sWASP-ysinister,
witha verysortofupperEastCoast,snotty,
wealthy,liberal,pretentiouskindofvibetoit.
WhenI cameacrossthehouse,I waslike,“Oh
myGod,thisis theplace.”It turnedoutthere
wasa fairlyblue-blood,Republicanpersonliving
there.Luckilytheyopenedthedoor.AndJordan
is extremelycharming.
McKittrick:It wastheonescenetheytalked
a lotaboutandrehearseda lot.Duringthe
shoot,it wasveryquiet.Nobodymadenoiseon
set.Almostlikeyou’redoinga closed-setnude
scene.“Nobodydropanything.Nobodydo
anything.Justletit happen.”
Smith:Thetwomatchingleatherchairswere
sohardtofind.Wespentweekslooking,and
finallymydecoratorfounda paironline.Then
Catherine,theactress,comesinandsays,“No,
I don’twantthematchingchair.”Likeanygood
actor,shebringssomethingverypersonaltoit.
McKittrick:Catherinewasveryspecificabout
howtheroomwouldbesetup.Evendownto,
“Mycharacterwouldn’thavethatpieceofart
onthewall.”Shewasintoit.
Smith:Fortheteacup,wehadplanned
something completely different.T W O
ACTORS IN
COMFORTABLE
ARMCHAIRS
DOESN’T
SOUND LIKE
THE STUFF
OF HORROR
LEGEND.
Therearenobucketsofblood,nolevitating
demons,narya chainsawinsight.Whichmakes
it allthemoreimpressivethatdirectorJordan
Peelemanagedtogetundertheskinoftheentire
worldwiththeSunkenPlacesequencein
2017’sGetOut. African-AmericanheroChris
Washington(DanielKaluuya)is visitingthe
homeofhisgirlfriendRose’s(AllisonWilliams)
parents—seeminglyliberal,definitelywhite
—andis headingbackinsidefroma late-night
smokewhenthemother,trainedhypnotherapist
Missy(CatherineKeener),inviteshimintoher
studyfora littlechat.Achatwhichturns,almost
imperceptibly,intoa full-blownnightmare,asshe
usesa teacupandspoontofreezehisbodyand
drophimintoa worldofinkynothingness.From
thecreepysmalltalktotheshockingsurreality
of Chris’ plummet into the Sunken Place, it’s a