Jordan Peele Is the New Master of Suspense

In his highly anticipated film ‘Us,’ the director again uses horror to investigate the soul of contemporary America

The "Us" and "Get Out" director dives into his favorite genre, telling us about the first scary movie he saw, the best B horror movie, the most frightening villain of all time and more.

Jonah Weiner

March 4, 2019 9:01 a.m. ET

On a narrow street in the hills above Los Angeles, tourists cluster together with their smartphones held high: The Hollywood sign looms behind them, and they’re taking selfies. If they paid any attention to the house directly in front of them, they might spot the cameras installed around the facade, or the guard on hand to ward off intruders. These precautions are in place not because of who lives inside but what: Within a temperature-controlled box on the topmost floor, one of 2019’s most-anticipated films sits on a server connected to editing consoles throughout the house. The movie is Us, comedian-turned–horror auteur...