“It’s Us:” How Jordan Peele is Changing the Horror Genre

Not creepy at all, right?

Before Jordan Peele was an award-winning movie director and screenwriter, he spent five seasons on Key and Peele, the 30 minute comedic skit show on Comedy Central with fellow comedian Keegan-Michael Key. That’s where I became of a fan of Peele. So, when I found out he was writing and directing a horror movie called Get Out, I was skeptical. When I saw the trailer, I thought it was going be more like a satire (again, still thinking about the actor who played a character named Meegan on TV). But I was wrong.

Watching Get Out in the theater was a whole new experience. As a lifelong horror fan, I knew I was witnessing something original and refreshing in the genre. After so many years of predictable cliches and tropes, Get Out offered a social commentary on racial issues, while at the same time, it scared the crap out of us. I wasn’t surprised to see Get Out receive award nominations (and it was about time horror was recognized at the Oscars again!). Peele ended up winning the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and it was rightly deserved. In his acceptance speech, he mentioned how many times he wanted to give up on the story because he thought the movie was never going to get made. But the stars aligned, and Get Out came out at the right time.

Just as Night of the Living Dead came out during the Civil Rights Movement, Get Out resonated with people, not only because it was well-written and different, but because it was holding a mirror to where we are as a society (Black Lives Matter, police brutality, etc.) and forcing us to confront those demons.

Peele’s second feature seems to be taking that “reflection” a step further. First, it was the cryptic movie posters that announced the one word title Us. Who was us? And will Peele change the way we view scissors kind of like how he made us suspicious of tea cups? On Christmas Day, we found out when the movie trailer dropped.

Once again, Peele proves that he is going to do something entirely new. First of all, it’s a horror movie centered on an African-American family written by an African-American, and although it looks like a typical home invasion story, Peele throws in the unexpected and reveals the monsters are us (hence, the title). I’ve already seen theories on how this movie is related to Get Out, but personally, I would love to see it to be more closely tied to the Twilight Zone’s “The Monsters are Due on Maple Street,” where the “monsters” aren’t something supernatural and unworldly but our own selves.

With Get Out and now Us, Peele shows that horror movies don’t always have to be filled with mindless gore or jump scares. They can be smart and inventive — and sometimes the scariest things are the most human things.

Images from Google and IMDB.com