Jordan Peele, the comedy star turned movie maker mastermind, is known today as one of the most prominent filmmakers of this generation. 

   Peele has written and directed each of his critically acclaimed films. His work includes titles such as NOPE, Us, and his Oscar-awarded freshman film Get Out. Peele has changed the horror genre in a way that can only be associated with his unique style and technique. 

   Peele’s films go beyond the traditional mold of horror. He takes his richly creative ideas and expands on them to their fullest potential. He’s not afraid to comment on race, culture, and the social aspects of America, but rarely explicitly states details about these subjects. Instead, he lets his audience dig deeper into his films to find what his voice was trying to say all along. 

   As far as horror goes, Peele’s ability to craft a disturbingly perfect scene that has his audience agonizingly unable to look away, only accentuates his purpose as a filmmaker. His movies may be hard to watch at times, but their impeccable use of characterization, setting, plot, and commentary propels his audience to understand the significance of his visions, despite their honesty.

“Just because you’re invited, doesn’t mean you’re welcome.” 

   Peele’s debut film, Get Out, tells the story of Chris, a black man, played by Daniel Kaluuya, an aspiring photographer, on his way to meet his white girlfriend’s family for the first time. Instead of a relaxing weekend, Chris finds himself discovering more and more about the Armitage’s strange family history, except he may be becoming a part of it, too.

   Daniel Kaluuya’s performance is jaw-dropping as he explores the complexities of Chris, the Armitage’s, and what it means to be Black in today’s society. Filled with irony, intricate storytelling, violence, and the overwhelming sense of paranoia, nothing is as it seems at the Armitage’s home.

“We are our own worst enemy.” 

   Peele’s second film, Us, follows Adelaide Wilson, played by Lupita Nyong’o, and her family as they embark on a vacation to Adelaide’s childhood beach house. But, Adelaide begins to feel a sense of danger at the beach house, and her suspicions become a reality when she and her family are attacked by four strangers, who also happen to be their doppelgangers.

   Despite its label as a horror film, the movie strays from typical blood and gore, and instead sends movie-goers on a psychological trip through the split complexities of an individual and America itself. The film has one of the most jarring plot-twists in recent years, and will have audience members checking their reflection twice in the mirror after the show. 

   NOPE, or what fans deem as “Not Of Planet Earth” is Peele’s latest film, which observes siblings O.J. Haywood, played by Daniel Kaluuya, and his sister Emerald, played by Keke Palmer, who own a horse ranch in California. They soon discover that their ranch has another creature lurking nearby, something otherworldly that no one would believe until the Haywood’s capture proof of its existence. 

   This movie’s audience will never look at chimpanzees or clouds the same way again. Exploring the idea of a human’s morbid curiosity with the extraordinary, and the willingness they exude to capture it, Peele intertwines gruesomely beautiful shots of chaos and human nature, all within 135 minutes of pure adrenaline.

   Each film is distinctly different, yet they always find a way to make the audience question what it means to be a human in a world that has changed, adapted, and modified in the blink of an eye. Peele’s work is thought-provoking and handled with a care that is intentional and powerful, so much so, his films will be remembered for generations to come.