Despite Nope's overwhelmingly positive response, Jordan Peele remains dismissive of claims that he's the "best horror director" in cinema history.Peele reacted to a comment and image posted by artist Adam Ellis, who praised the filmmaker's ongoing success according to Rotten Tomatoes scores. "I know this is a hot take but at what point do we declare Jordan Peele the best horror director of all time? Can you think of another horror director that had 3 great films, let alone 3 in a row? I can't," Ellis wrote. In turn, Peele revealed who he thinks actually deserves the label, tweeting "Sir, please put the phone down I beg you" and later "Sorry. I love your enthusiasm but, I will just not tolerate any John Carpenter slander!!!"
Though a versatile genre director, John Carpenter is best known for his groundbreaking horror movies in the late 1970s and 1980s. Carpenter's 1978 breakout film Halloween simultaneously introduced horror icon Michael Meyers while inventing the rules and tropes of the slasher genre, leading to a rise in copycat films and similar villains like A Nightmare on Elm Street's Freddy Krueger and Friday the 13th's Jason Voorhees. He would follow this up with a series of notable horror titles like The Fog, Christine and The Thing, the last of which was panned upon release but is now largely regarded as a classic. The success of Carpenter's films has not only influenced countless directors but also served as a major inspiration for modern projects like the Duffers Brothers' Stranger Things.
Peele, who is often associated with work on the sketch comedy Key and Peele and Mad TV, moved to directing with his 2017 horror film Get Out. A combination of thriller and biting social satire, the movie was a critical and commercial success, going on to win Peele an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. Get Out would be followed up by the filmmaker's second acclaimed horror film Us, starring Lupita Nyong'o and Winston Duke as a family whose weekend vacation is interrupted by mysterious red jumpsuit-wearing dopplegängers. Alongside his two films, Peele has served as a writer and producer for HBO's Lovecraft Country, the Candyman sequel and CBS All Access' The Twilight Zone reboot.
Leading up to its release, Nope's marketing and trailers deliberately obscured any details about its mysterious plot. The film stars Keke Palmer and Daniel Kaluuya as two siblings who discover something potentially extraterrestrial in the sky. Reviews for Nope have been very positive, with some critics calling it one of 2022's best films.
Directed by Jordan Peele, Nope releases in theaters July 22.
Source: Twitter