Horror fans excited to see Jordan Peele’s latest politically tinged thriller might want to rethink their weekend plans. While Peele’s name is all over Him, which stars Tyriq Withers as a rising football star who’s both mentored and tortured by an all-star quarterback (Marlon Wayans), the movie was actually directed by Justin Tipping. It’s also, to put things bluntly, a bad film. Him is mostly style and only scratches at the surface of some substance. By the third act, I found myself asking why Peele would attach his name as executive producer, only to realize I’ve asked that same question before.
I know he’s a genius, but every time I watch a Peele-produced project, it makes me second-guess his talent. After the release of Get Out, Us, and Nope, many critics likened him to Steven Spielberg, and there’s definitely some truth to that. But with that brand power comes a trade-off: for every standout movie, there are bound to be a few duds.
Spielberg’s Jaws is credited as creating the summer blockbuster, and Get Out is credited as a landmark in black horror and black surrealism. Both directors used their influence to produce and champion other films and filmmakers through their production companies, Ablin Entertainment and Monkeypaw Productions, respectively. And each has put their names on a handful of winners — and a bunch of questionable stinkers.
Three O’Clock High (directed by Phil Joanou) is an ’80s teen movie that stuck out like a sore thumb during the era of Ferris Bueller and The Breakfast Club, and bombed so hard that Spielberg removed himself from the credits. We’re Back! A Dinosaur’s Story is a ‘90s animated movie directed by four people (none of them Spielberg) that rode the coattails of Jurassic Park, but had nothing to do with the franchise. It also flopped, reportedly because Spielberg and Phil Nibbelink, the most hands-on of the four directors, couldn’t see eye to eye on the script. And then there’s Cowboys & Aliens (directed by Jon Favreau), one of those early 2010s disappointments that came and went so fast some people may second-guess its big marketing push as a fever dream. Spielberg executive-produced all of them, and there are plenty more stinkers where that came from. After that last fiasco, he played it safer, only putting his name next to tentpole franchises created through Amblin — a list that includes all the Jurassic movies, Transformers, Indiana Jones, and Men in Black movies, with diminishing returns from each new installment.
Peele is relatively new to the spotlight, so his bag of projects as a director, writer, or otherwise isn’t as deep. He ushered in a new age of horror with Get Out, and kept the momentum going with follow-up films Us and Nope, although those two showed more cracks than his debut magnum opus. Between these tentpole films, Peele also began to executive-produce other middling projects, including both comedies (Keanu, The Last O.G. and horror (Hunters, Scare Tactics, and his 2019 Twilight Zone reboot). Peele’s biggest successes as a producer have come from partnering with directors who have distinct voices of their own, like Spike Lee (BlacKkKlansman) and Dev Patel (Monkey Man). In contrast, projects like Nia DaCosta’s Candyman and Him bear the familiar imprint of Peele-style horror, but to diminished effect compared to when he’s the one directing. And that, ultimately, is where the real difference between Peele and Spielberg lies.
Spielberg has long been rumored to “ghost-direct,” with films like Poltergeist and The Goonies often cited for their unmistakable Spielbergian camerawork and story beats — despite his official role as executive producer. Even on projects like Gremlins, Back to the Future, and Young Sherlock Holmes, each helmed by different directors, Spielberg’s hands-on involvement left a clear imprint. But how hands-on is Jordan Peele? For The Last O.G., which he also co-created, he wasn’t a day-to-day showrunner and only wrote one single episode. His involvement in BlacKkKlansman was seemingly pretty minimal besides throwing his support behind Spike Lee’s vision, while he acted as more of a traditional producer on Monkey Man, championing the film and convincing Universal to release it in theaters save the film from a muted streaming debut.
However, it’s the projects that lean into his signature brand of “conscious” horror, like Candyman and Him (both of which Peele co-wrote), that most lack the razor-sharp edge he’s become known for. What’s causing this disconnect? Why can’t Peele craft a “Jordan Peele caliber movie” without both writing and directing it? Either Peele pulls his punches when collaborating with other filmmakers, or the real missing ingredient in these projects is his own presence behind the camera.
Spielberg eventually learned to reserve his name for projects within his own powerhouse franchises. Maybe it’s time for Peele to do the same — focus on expanding his own film universe rather than propping up others’ visions. Otherwise, the “executive producer” tag risks diluting his brand.
All that’s for certain is that the release of Him has opened the eyes of many who see Peele as a genius filmmaker who can do no wrong. Some people going to see Him opening weekend will believe he’s the one who directed it. He’s not, but maybe he should have.
