“Nope” director Jordan Peele thought it might be taking things a little too far when a fan proposed he could be the best horror director of all time.
“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!”
Sorry. I love your enthusiasm but, I will just not tolerate any John Carpenter slander!!! pic.twitter.com/71sVfXAu7S
— Jordan Peele (@JordanPeele) July 20, 2022
To bolster his argument, Ellis tweeted screenshots of the Rotten Tomatoes ranking for Peele’s “Get Out” (98%), “Us” (93%) and “Nope” (89%).
Other Twitter users were quick to dispute the original tweet, offering up examples of filmmakers with many more credits than Peele and just as much critical acclaim, including Alfred Hitchcock, David Lynch, Wes Craven, David Cronenberg, Brian de Palma and several others.
In Variety‘s review of “Nope,” film critic Owen Gleiberman mentions several influences including Steven Spielberg, M. Night Shyamalan and Denis Villeneuve. He goes on to say that “‘Nope’ has a seductive mood of unease that makes the film, for a while, feel like something new: the first UFO thriller of the cellphone-ready, I-saw-it-online, how-can-you-not-believe-your-own-eyes? era.”