“Nope” director Jordan Pele thought that might be going a bit too far when a fan suggested he might be the best horror director of all time.
“I know this is a hot take, but when do we declare Jordan Peele the greatest horror director of all time?” wrote comic book creator Adam Ellis Wednesday morning on Twitter. “Can you think of any other horror director who’s had 3 great movies, let alone 3 in a row? I can’t.”
Although he was flattered, Peele objected to being ranked ahead of one of his favorite veteran filmmakers, John Carpenter of “Halloween,” “Christine” and “The Thing.”
“Sir, please hang up the phone, please,” Peele tweeted in response. “Sorry. I like your enthusiasm, but I won’t tolerate any slander from John Carpenter!
Sorry. I love your enthusiasm, but I won’t tolerate any slander from John Carpenter!!! pic.twitter.com/71sVfXAu7S
— Jordan Peele (@JordanPeele) July 20, 2022
To bolster his argument, Ellis tweeted screenshots of the Rotten Tomatoes rankings for Peele’s “Get Out” (98%), “Us” (93%) and “Nope” (89%).
Other Twitter users were quick to take issue with the original tweet, offering examples of filmmakers with far more credits than Peele and just as much critical acclaim, including Alfred Hitchcock, David Lynch, Wes Craven, David Cronenberg, Brian de Palma and many others.
In VarietyIn reviewing “No”, film critic Owen Gleiberman mentions several influences, including Steven Spielberg, M. Night Shyamalan and Denis Villeneuve. He goes on to say that “‘No’ has a seductive atmosphere of unease that makes the film, for a moment, feel like something new: the first cellphone-ready UFO thriller I’ve seen. online, how-can-you-not-believe-your-own-eyes? era.”