MovieChat Forums > Jordan Peele Discussion > Some absolute cock-womble called him the...

Some absolute cock-womble called him the greatest Horror director of all time.

posted 2 years ago by [deleted]
27 replies | jump to latest

“I know this is a hot take but at what point do we declare Jordan Peele the best horror director of all time?” wrote comic book creator Adam Ellis Wednesday morning on Twitter. “Can you think of another horror director that had 3 great films, let alone 3 in a row? I can’t.”

Though he was flattered, Peele objected to being ranked ahead of one of his favorite veteran filmmakers, John Carpenter of “Halloween,” “Christine” and “The Thing” fame.

“Sir, please put the phone down I beg you,” Peele tweeted in response. “Sorry. I love your enthusiasm but I will just not tolerate any John Carpenter slander!”

To bolster his argument, Ellis tweeted screenshots of the Rotten Tomatoes ranking for Peele’s “Get Out” (98%), “Us” (93%) and “Nope” (89%).

https://variety.com/2022/film/news/jordan-peele-best-horror-director-john-carpenter-1235321658/

Extreme ignorance! What other Horror director has had 3 great films????? (Nevermind 3 in a row?) Fucking clown. Unbelievable.

To list all the horror directors who have made 3 great films would fill a fucking phone book. 3 in a row is a bit more challenging as some Directors have had ups and downs. Also what about non-Horror films they released between their Horror releases? Does that break the streak and make them inelligible?

John Carpenter - The Fog, The Thing, Christine. (Halloween in place of Christine would be stronger but Someone's Watching Me! was released between Halloween and The Fog and whilst it's good it's not quite a great film).

Dario Argento - Any sequence of three between The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970) and Opera (1987). Nine Horror films in a row which for me are all great. To pick a three sequence I guess many would go with Deep Red, Suspiria & Inferno.

David Cronenberg - Another director with numerous great Horror films back-to-back. His best sequence is probably Videodrome, The Dead Zone & The Fly.

Jacques Tourneur - Cat People, I Walked with a Zombie, The Leopard Man.

George A. Romero - Martin, Dawn of the Dead, Creepshow.

Stuart Gordon - Re-Animator, From Beyond, Dolls. (Dolls for me is a bit iffy. A decent film, maybe not quite good enough for a '3 great in a row'.)

Tobe Hooper - The Funhouse, Poltergeist, Lifeforce.

Steve Miner - Friday the 13th: Part 2, Friday the 13th: Part III, House. (Less prestigious for some, but those F13 films are amongst the best in the franchise and are great slasher films. I prefer them over Get Out and Us.)

[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

This is the problem with many modern movie fans. He used the films Rotten Tomatoe scores as proof.

He seems like the kind of dude who literally just gets his opinion from critics and IMDB.

I imagine he'd argue Peele above others because his films have higher RT scores. Hilarious. A complete lack of intelligence and free thought.

At least Peele brushed the praise aside. John Carpenter is a good pick for the G.O.A.T.

Others to consider include Argento, Fulci, Bava, Hooper, Craven, Romero, Cronenberg.

[–] April-151-CT (10210) 2 years ago

This is what happens when an entire generation has been raised on the internet. Websites and social media are all they know.

[–] mirelurk (884) 2 years ago

The Bird With The Crystal Plumage sucked

[–] samoanjoes (56646) 2 years ago

Incorrect.

[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

Hard disagree. It's a fantastic Horror film and an outstanding directorial debut.

Beautifully shot by legendary cinematographer Vittorio Storaro.
Beautiful OST by Ennio Morricone.
Good death scenes.
A few great chase sequences.
Great who-done-it? plot. Plenty of red-herrings and surprises. A Giallo classic.

But hey to each their own.

[–] April-151-CT (10210) 2 years ago

TBWTCP is the top giallo film.

[–] mirelurk (884) 2 years ago

I don't think that's saying much. Giallo is not a particularly good subgenre IMO

But I think Suspiria is an all-time great Horror movie and 100 times better than Plumage

[–] legnadibrom (6215) 2 years ago

leave the hall

[–] mirelurk (884) 2 years ago

Do you like Giallo? If so you can explain its merits or ask me to explain my grievances

Otherwise spare me your film geek reactionary groupthink snobbery

[–] legnadibrom (6215) 2 years ago

i said "leave the hall," not "reply to me"

[–] mirelurk (884) 2 years ago

Reported

[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

To each their own pal but for me and others Giallo is Slashers groovier and snazzier older Sister.

Love the genre. Like fucking Murder She Wrote or Columbo meets the All American Slasher set in the swinging 70s Italia. Glorious stuff.

Red herrings galore, absolute insane reasonings for killing sprees, convoluted plots, gorgeous Euro babes, stylish titles.

The American Slasher devolved into slash-n-hack flicks. You knew the killer from the start, no mystery was involved. A madman in a mask is killing people once again, just because. The mystery is a major driving point for the gialli films. First time viewings in particular are a lot of fun guessing who the killer is.

[–] Kowalski (75528) 2 years ago

I DO NOT AGREE WITH ANY OF THOSE THREE PACKS BEING "GREAT"...LET ALONE IN A ROW...INCLUDING PEELE...WHO I LIKE.

ROMERO & CARPENTER COMING THE CLOSEST.

[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

This is the thing. What constitutes a 'great' horror film?

Is that dude correct in that the film needs to meet a certain degree of critical/fan appraisal? I strongly disgaree with that approach.

Some people, like myself, will readily consider many horror films as being great. Others perhaps use it very sparingly and only consider 15-50 Horror films ever as being 'great'.

In any case the dude is hilariously incorrect. It is true that a 3-in-a-row streak of great Horror films is hard to come by. But for me the 3 great Horror films in a directorial career is ridiculously common. The fact he believes no other director has made 3 great Horror films in their entire career is the height of ignorance.

I've yet to see Nope. I'm not a big fan of Get Out but will concede it's a good film and is worthy of being called great. Us on the otherhand was a poor film in my opinion. So Peele for me can't attain a 3-in-a-row just yet as he's already broke the streak.

[–] Kowalski (75528) 2 years ago

LMAO...OPINIONS ARE FUNNY...I PRETTY MUCH AGREE WORD FOR WORD WITH WHAT YOU SAID...EVEN THE PART ABOUT GET OUT...EXCEPT...I REALLY LIKED US.

[–] jcnyclv (1557) 2 years ago

Yeah, that's a little ridiculous.

He's actually very out of touch too IMO. I saw an interview where he says that 5 years ago "they" (financial backers) would not have let him do this movie because he's Black! FFS Spike Lee was doing movies way more than 5 years ago and so was Will Smith, Tyler Perry, Melvin van Peebles and many, many more Black directors! Not to mention Get Out came out 5 years ago so what is he even talking about???

BTW I think you forgot Wes Craven on your list 🙂

[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

I'm a big fan of Craven and consider him one of the greatest Horror directors of all time but he was more up-and-down. He lacked consistency.

Take a look at his filmography and name me the 3 Horror films in a row you think are all great. If you want. I took a quick glance and don't quite see it happening. Too many poorer Horror films breaking the sequences up.

[–] jcnyclv (1557) 2 years ago

I know I'm in the minority but I didn't think Get Out was such a great film. I did enjoy it but it wasn't scary IMO and I thought the storyline was a little dated. Us, on the other hand, I liked a lot and thought it was an excellent horror film. I haven't seen Nope yet so I can't comment on it.

So. . . . IMO I don't think Peele actually has three great horror films under his belt yet.

Re: Craven, I looked at his filmography and you're right, he doesn't have three in a row either, although I think he's absolutely a huge horror talent and like so many of his films.

[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

The thing with Craven is he would work for a paycheck. He released 3 films in 1984 alone. He also slapped his name on so many Horror films 'Wes Craven presents...'. I'm not saying this to disparage him, in fact it's a good thing. Good for him for being active and continually working and making money.

He was happy to direct low budget flicks, t.v movies and the likes. Some other people are very protective of their legacies and standings and go years between releases.

Craven lacked consistency not through lack of talent but his career choices. One thing I find interesting is I think he's the director with the biggest time span between great Horror films. Scream 4 (2011) his final film is underrated in my opinion, many would consider The Last House on the Left (1972) to be a great Horror film. That's a 39 year time span. His directorial debut and his final film. The bookends of his career.

When you look at Horror directors many of them 'lose it'. People would consider Carpenter, Argento and Hooper as examples of people who were dynamite in their younger years before losing their touch and consistently releasing poor films at the tail ends of their careers. Craven for me never lost it. He was good from day one to the very end, with many blips along the way. Whilst Argento was extremely consistent for a good 17 years before the wheels started coming off, he hasn't made a film on the level of Opera (1987) since it's release.

As for Peele. I'm not a big fan of his. Get Out was pretty good but I didn't like Us.

[–] April-151-CT (10210) 2 years ago

Peele is a POS race-baiter.

[–] jcnyclv (1557) 2 years ago

I have to agree with that assessment.

[–] April-151-CT (10210) 2 years ago

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

I'm pretty sure that distinction goes to John Carpenter. And even then by a slim margin over Romero and Craven.

[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

I think John Carpenter is a great pick. He has the quality (some of the best Horror films of all time), quantity (he's directed 15-ish Horror films), he had the consistency early in his career and he's tackled several sub-genres. He also has the distinction of being a great composer.

Some other directors are loaded into one sub-genre be it Horror-Comedy, Zombie films, Slashers etc, etc. With some others being a bit inconsistent.

Romero & Craven are definitely others in the running.

I'm fond of Tobe Hooper too (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Salem's Lot, The Funhouse, Poltergeist, Lifeforce, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2). Though I know not everyone likes The Funhouse, Lifeforce or TCM 2 as much as I do. Still I think everyone agrees TCM, Salem's Lot and Poltergeist are heavy hitters. Though people tend to credit Poltergeist more to Spielberg.

[–] R_Kane (15828) 2 years ago

When you mention Tourneur, please do not overlook Night/Curse of the Demon. It scared the toadstools out of me as a little boy—and still does.

[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

That's a great film indeed.

I was mentioning him as a 3-great-films-in-a-row context. He released Cat People, I Walked with a Zombie and The Leopard Man all back-to-back in a 2 year period. Night of the Demon came later in his career.

He also directed Out of the Past (1947). One of the best Film-Noirs ever.

Superb director.

[–] spurtle467 (1546) 2 years ago

I wouldn't even have him above some of his contemporaries like Mike Flanagan. I liked Get Out, thought Us was simply alright, and have not seen Nope yet, but Peele has been way overrated, and this shows it. He's got and continues to get special praise for woke reasons no doubt.

[–] Juschill (808) 2 years ago

He’s not even M. Night Shyamalan.