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Jordan Peele Feels That ‘Get Out’ Was a “Social Thriller” But Says That ‘Us’ is a Full On Horror Movie

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Horror fans are *still* debating whether or not Jordan Peele‘s Get Out was a horror movie, as we’re apt to do these days – for what it’s worth, of course it’s a horror movie… if you’re asking me – and Peele himself comments on that discussion in a new chat with Rolling Stone this week. In his mind, this year’s Us will be his first true horror movie, he explains.

I’m such a horror nut that the genre confusion of Get Out broke my heart a little. I set out to make a horror movie, and it’s kind of *not* a horror movie,” Peele told Rolling Stone.

He continued, “As a horror fan, I really wanted to contribute something to that world.”

The follow-up paragraph explains, in Rolling Stone writer Brian Hiatt’s own words, “Us, his new movie, is that contribution, unambiguously so. Get Out is existentially terrifying; Us is spill-your-soda scary. It’s the tale of a family facing off with unsettling doppelgängers of themselves, which Peele calls the Tethered — he means them to be a “monster mythology,” in keeping with Universal’s Frankenstein/Dracula/Wolfman tradition. He’s taking some mischievous pleasure at the prospect of freaking out some of Get Out’s more genteel fans.”

Admittedly, I will forever be annoyed by the suggestion that Get Out isn’t a horror movie – even if it’s coming direct from Jordan Peele – but it’s certainly exciting to hear that he personally views Us as much more of a horror film than his debut feature. Should be a true nightmare!

Set in present day along the iconic Northern California coastline, Us, from Monkeypaw Productions, stars Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o as Adelaide Wilson, a woman returning to her beachside childhood home with her husband, Gabe (Black Panther’s Winston Duke), and their two children (Shahadi Wright Joseph, Evan Alex) for an idyllic summer getaway.

Haunted by an unexplainable and unresolved trauma from her past and compounded by a string of eerie coincidences, Adelaide feels her paranoia elevate to high-alert as she grows increasingly certain that something bad is going to befall her family.

After spending a tense beach day with their friends, the Tylers (Emmy winner Elisabeth Moss, Tim Heidecker, Cali Sheldon, Noelle Sheldon), Adelaide and her family return to their vacation home. When darkness falls, the Wilsons discover the silhouette of four figures holding hands as they stand in the driveway. Us pits an endearing American family against a terrifying and uncanny opponent: doppelgängers of themselves.

Us arrives in theaters on March 22.

Writer in the horror community since 2008. Editor in Chief of Bloody Disgusting. Owns Eli Roth's prop corpse from Piranha 3D. Has four awesome cats. Still plays with toys.

Movies

Jessica Rothe Keeps the Hope Alive for Third ‘Happy Death Day’ Movie

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It’s now been five years since the release of sequel Happy Death Day 2U, Christopher Landon’s sequel to the Groundhog Day-style slasher movie from 2017. Both films star Jessica Rothe as final girl Tree Gelbman, and director Christopher Landon had been planning on bringing the character – and the actor – back for a third installment. So… where is it?!

We’ve been talking about a potential Happy Death Day 3 for several years now, with the ball in producer Jason Blum’s court. Happy Death Day 2U scared up $64 million at the worldwide box office, a far cry from the first film’s $125 million. But with a reported production budget of just $9 million, that first sequel was profitable for Blumhouse. So again… where is it?!

Chatting with Screen Geek this week while promoting her new action-thriller Boy Kills World, franchise star Jessica Rothe provided a hopeful update on Happy Death Day 3.

Well, I can say Chris Landon has the whole thing figured out,” Rothe explains. “We just need to wait for Blumhouse and Universal to get their ducks in a row.

Rothe continues in her comments to Screen Geek, “But my fingers are so crossed. I think Tree [Gelbman] deserves her third and final chapter to bring that incredible character and franchise to a close or a new beginning.”

Back in 2020, Christopher Landon had revealed that the working title for the third installment was Happy Death Day to Us, said to be “different than the other two films.”

In the meantime, Christopher Landon is directing a mysterious thriller titled Drop for Blumhouse and Platinum Dunes, along with a werewolf movie titled Big Bad for Lionsgate.

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