Jordan Peele has made his name in comedy, but a closely-allied genre is beginning to attract his attention. In addition to being part of Key & Peele, the actor intends to strike out on his own to work on the horror film Get Out, which he will write and direct.
In speaking with Playboy (via Collider), Peele talked a bit more about his foray into the horror genre, and the reasons behind it. Here’s what he said:
I’ve been spending the first half of my career focusing on comedy but my goal, in all honesty, is to write and direct horror movies. I have one that I’m working on with Darko Entertainment called Get Out – I don’t want to say too much about it, but it is one of the very, very few horror movies that does jump off of racial fears. That to me is a world that hasn’t been explored. Specifically, the fears of being a black man today. The fears of being any person who feels like they’re a stranger in any environment that is foreign to them. It deals with a protagonist that I don’t see in horror movies.
Now that does sound interesting. Like many of the best comedians, Peele has proven himself to be an interesting and insightful person outside of comedy. Trying his hand at horror in this light could be a fascinating (and rewarding) movie-going experience.
While I’m often skeptical about actors and performers moving outside their comfort zones, the idea behind Get Out sounds very intriguing. Horror has so often been a basically white male genre that to move beyond that and get into some of the issues surrounding racial fears would be a nice (and novel) departure from the norm. Given the current racial climate in America, one would hope that this movie would get off the ground sooner rather than later. There’s always the question if Peele is the man for the job, but why not let him try?
It might be awhile before we see Peele’s concept of a horror film, though. He’s currently working with partner Keegan-Michael Kay to develop a film for producer Judd Apatow. But quite honestly, I would rather see him spending some time on Get Out. Despite the title, it seems like exactly the sort of horror film we need to see right now.
We will keep you updated on the future of Get Out as it gets going, so stay tuned.