All 7 Jordan Peele Horror Movies, Ranked By How Scary They Are

Jordan Peele is now known for his frightening horror films, but many remember him starting out as a comedian with Key & Peele. While some were surprised by his shift in focus, he quickly found his niche directing scary movies.

Jordan Peele became a huge success immediately after his first film, Get Out, came out. The movie was nominated for the prestigious Best Picture Oscar, which is unusual for a horror film. He continued making suspenseful horror movies and also started helping other horror directors bring their visions to life. Today, Peele has been involved in seven scary movies as either the director or a producer.

Him (2025)

Jordan Peele recently produced the film Him, directed by Justin Tipping. It’s a horror story that explores the damaging effects of toxic masculinity and offers a critical look at the violence inherent in American football. The movie takes a surprising turn halfway through, revealing a supernatural element that completely changes the narrative.

Tyriq Withers plays Cam Cade, a promising young football player who gets a life-changing opportunity: training with his hero, veteran quarterback Isaiah White. But when Cam arrives at the training facility, he discovers the intense dedication and sacrifices required to succeed at the highest level, and he begins to question if achieving his dreams is worth the cost.

I was really intrigued by this horror movie when I heard about it – the idea of a cult creating perfect athletes through some pretty dark rituals sounded amazing! And it is creepy at first. But honestly, after watching it, I felt like it focused a lot on looking good and being visually interesting, but didn’t quite deliver the scares I was hoping for. Compared to Jordan Peele’s other films, it just didn’t hit the same level of truly frightening.

Despite the film’s flaws, Marlon Wayans delivers a standout performance as Isaiah White – it’s an award-worthy acting job that deserves more recognition than the movie itself provides.

Wendell & Wild (2022)

Wendell & Wild is a stop-motion animated film directed by Henry Selick, who also directed classics like The Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline. The script was co-written with Jordan Peele, who also stars in the movie alongside his frequent comedy partner, Keegan-Michael Key.

Key and Peele provide the voices for Wendell and Wild, a pair of demon brothers from the underworld. They simultaneously begin seeing visions of a girl named Kat and discover their father’s hair product has the power to bring people back to life.

Okay, so I’m totally hooked on this story! It’s about Kat, this rebellious girl at a Catholic school, and she gets this creepy skull mark on her hand. Turns out it means she’s connected to these demons, Wendell and Wild. They make her an unbelievable offer – they’ll bring her parents back to life if she helps them cross over to our world. She agrees, naturally, but things quickly go sideways and it’s a disaster! It’s wild and a little spooky, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Critics loved the story in Wendell & Wild, calling it both imaginative and welcoming to a wide audience. It’s a good horror movie, especially for fans of the genre. Though it’s not as frightening as other films by Jordan Peele, it’s an enjoyable movie and stands out as one of his stronger projects even though he didn’t direct it.

Abruptio (2024)

I recently discovered Abruptio, and it’s seriously one of Jordan Peele’s most under-the-radar horror films! It came out in 2024, and it’s a really unique adult puppet horror movie. Interestingly, Jordan Peele only lent his voice to it – he wasn’t involved in the production side of things at all, just a talent on the project.

The movie featured a fantastic cast, including James Marsters (known from Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Christopher McDonald (Happy Gilmore), Hana Mae Lee (Pitch Perfect), horror icon Robert Englund (A Nightmare on Elm Street), and Sid Haig (The Devil’s Rejects), all working with Peele.

The movie is a strange and unsettling horror story. It centers on Les, played by Marsters, who discovers a bomb has been surgically implanted in his neck. He’s then blackmailed into committing terrible acts by an unknown caller. Jordan Peele appears as Les’s friend, who suffered the same fate but whose bomb exploded earlier in the film.

Unlike the lighthearted adventure of Wendell & Wild, this film isn’t meant to be enjoyable. It’s a series of unsettling and often repulsive scenes where Les races against time to uncover the truth.

Candyman (2021)

Though Jordan Peele didn’t direct it, Candyman is considered the most frightening horror movie he’s worked on. Directed by Nia DaCosta (The Marvels), this film is a direct sequel to the 1992 Candyman and the fourth installment in the series. The story picks up 27 years after the events of the first movie.

For over ten years, the movie was stuck in development before Jordan Peele agreed to produce and Nia DaCosta was brought on to direct. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II plays Anthony, a young artist who becomes fascinated by the story of Candyman, and Teyonah Parris plays his girlfriend, Bri.

The screenplay, a collaboration between Peele, DaCosta, and Win Rosenfeld, builds on the social commentary of the original Candyman film and incorporates current issues like police violence against Black people. This elevates the new movie beyond a typical horror slasher.

Critics generally liked the new Candyman movie, giving it an 84% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Many reviewers felt it successfully expanded on the story established in the first film and delivered genuinely scary scenes, making it the strongest entry in the series since the original.

Us (2019)

Jordan Peele followed up his first film with the unsettling horror movie, Us. The story centers on Adelaide and Gabe, played by Lupita Nyong’o and Winston Duke, a couple whose family is targeted by terrifying look-alikes. As they realize this isn’t a one-time event, they’re forced to flee for their lives.

Jordan Peele’s Us has more unanswered questions than his other films. The story centers around Adelaide, who as a child had an encounter with someone who looked exactly like her, and now we’re left wondering why these duplicates are attempting to replace people in the world above.

Jordan Peele’s Us is a thrilling and twisted movie with some genuinely scary and unsettling moments. It really shines when the story takes a claustrophobic turn underground, and it features the most surprising and satisfying twist ending of all his films, finally revealing the truth behind the terrifying events.

Critics generally liked the movie, but viewers had a more varied response, likely due to its unusual storyline. Despite this, Jordan Peele demonstrated he wasn’t just a lucky beginner, delivering another incredibly creative idea after his first hit, Get Out.

Nope (2022)

Although Nope didn’t earn as much money in theaters as Jordan Peele’s other films, it was just as frightening. It wasn’t a typical horror movie; instead, it blended science fiction and horror with a story about a mysterious flying object appearing near a small town in California.

The story centers on OJ Haywood (Daniel Kaluuya) and his sister, Em (Keke Palmer). They run a horse ranch and have been selling horses to Jupe (Steven Yeun), a former child actor who now owns a theme park. After OJ and Em spot a UFO, they attempt to capture video evidence, hoping to make money from the discovery.

After that, the movie takes a chaotic turn. It’s revealed that Jupe has been sacrificing horses to the UFO, hoping to regain his lost career success. However, things quickly escalate when the UFO turns out to be a dangerous predator and begins attacking, resulting in numerous deaths before OJ figures out what’s really happening.

Unlike other Jordan Peele films, this one features a traditional monster, and he expertly builds suspense by concealing it until the perfect moment. The reveal is genuinely frightening, and the movie culminates in a wild, spectacular climax that makes the slow build-up completely worthwhile.

Get Out (2017)

Jordan Peele’s film Get Out is widely considered his scariest and most accomplished work to date. The story centers around Chris (Daniel Kaluuya), who accompanies his girlfriend, Rose (Allison Williams), to meet her parents.

Liberal racism is on full display in this scenario. The Rose family is obsessed with the Black experience, and they’ve developed a disturbing practice: they capture Black individuals and transplant the brains of wealthy white people into their bodies, effectively stealing their physical traits. Chris is their next intended victim.

The whole situation is deeply frightening, particularly when Rose’s family hypnotizes Chris and he feels helpless. Discovering other Black people in a similar, zombie-like state makes him realize the terrible fate awaiting him if he can’t get away.

Jordan Peele’s film Get Out is widely considered a masterpiece and one of the most impactful horror movies of the 21st century. It received critical acclaim, earning a 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture, with Peele himself winning the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.

2026-02-09 01:53