Hello, and welcome to Week 2 of Fandom Horrorfest 2020! This week, I’ll be focusing on horror directors and the contributions they’ve made to our favorite genre. While I could’ve gone the direction of just talking about the more popular horror masters, I figured 1) you could get that kind of list literally anywhere on the internet, and 2) why not include some more diverse creators, because diversity, much like horror, is kickass! So please enjoy week 2, and I hope it encourages you to look into some movies and creators that you hadn’t thought about before!
Jordan Peele
I’m sure many of us know Peele’s development into horror pretty well by now: first getting attention as a comedian from the show Key and Peele, Jordan Peele took the horror world by storm with his debut film Get Out, and a few years later offered up another horror movie with Us. He has very quickly advanced in his new horror master role, going on to even host the remake of the Twilight Zone as the new Rod Sterling. Peele’s contributions to horror fall squarely into the introspective camp, forcing his audiences to consider the more horrific sides of their own humanity as well as the inherent discomfort within our social structures and norms.
I had originally planned to not do any movies this year that I had done last year, and I had planned to cover Peele’s producer role on the Candyman sequel/reboot/remake before COVID-19 rocked our collective worlds and postponed the film until 2021. So, I’m telling everyone again in case they forgot since last year: watch Get Out. While I enjoy Us all right, I think it lacks the more pure horror elements and overall quality of Peele’s 2017 offering. His use of social displacement, existential horror, and prejudice-fueled antagonism are even more relevant today than just three years ago. Peele is a modern master of forcing discomfort on his audiences, and there’s no better time than Halloween to get uncomfortable. So sit down, watch the movie, and discuss it with friends who are different than you. Horror is one of the genres that really speaks differently to different people, and I know my takeaways from Get Out were much different after discussing it with friends who brought diverse perspectives and experiences into the theater. Peele may have the greatest power and ability amongst the horror masters in encouraging dialogue around his movies, and this year especially we could use some more movies that encourage honest dialogue and connection.
