Jordan Peele Talks Michael Myers and John Carpenter on Conan O’Brien’s Podcast

Jordan Peele recently appeared on the Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend podcast, during which he and O’Brien discussed their favorite horror films, leading off with Halloween and Peele’s love for Michael Myers and John Carpenter.

“The thing about Michael Myers,” Peele says in the clip below, “is I think of him as a truly minimalist villain, which I just love. That’s always scariest… And Carpenter is a genius… What I love about that movie, is how Carpenter tailored this monster in all the choices – the mask,  the way he moves, the stillness, shot from across the street, the Where’s Waldo aspect. It’s all very elegant for what’s ultimately meant to be a brutal killing tale. That’s why I think horror is such elevated cinema when done right.” 

Later in the horror-full clip, Peele reiterates something he has said before, that John Carpenter is the greatest horror director of all time. “I find if I can unlock the right horror engine and world,” he says, “I can get more glee out of trying to tell that story than even doing sketch (comedy) or any other thing, but it’s not like I can just go, ‘Okay, I’m going to make my Michael Myers movie’ where I make a movie about a killer with a knife, and necessarily have that be fun for me. That’s not my thing. Respect, you know. That’s why Carpenter is the GOAT in horror, but I’m going to be looking for some way to subvert it in my own way.”   

You can watch the clip below, in which Peele and O’Brien also discuss other genre favorites, including The Witch, Midsommar, and It Follows, among others.

For more Halloween news, follow @HalloweenDaily.