Cheers for fears

Jordan Peele and KeeganMichael Key signalled the end of their five-season Key & Peele comedy collaboration with their movie Keanu last year.

Now, Peel is returning to the spotlight as first-time director and writer of the horror-comedy Get Out, which opens Friday.

In it, an African-American man (Daniel Kaluuya) meets the parents of his Caucasian girlfriend (Allison Williams) at their family estate. That’s when things get weird in a Twilight Zone meets The Stepford Wives kind of way.

The 38-year-old Peele talks about his film during an interview in Los Angeles.

Why do a genre movie for your directorial debut?

A great horror film for me is a such a powerful thing. Even in my comedy, I’ve always had a dark sensibility. I guess there’s a psychopath floating around in my brain.

Was it challenging to mix the comedy and the terror?

Every little choice in the movie has some deeper meaning for me or a satirical reference of what it means to be black or white and the notions of what we think it is.

Was casting the two leads key? Oh yeah. That was really important. It took a while but I loved Daniel (Kaluuya) in Black Mirror. And Allison (Williams) as Marnie in the series Girls is the great jumping off point for her Get Out character, who is a privileged but sassy city girl.

Some of the white stereotyping is exaggerated. True?

Yeah, but I do poke fun at various black clichés, as well.

Would you say you are encouraging audience participation in Get Out?

Absolutely. This is about crafting a movie that satisfies the seasoned horror veteran as well as somebody who hasn’t necessarily fallen in love with the genre like I have. I want to get them involved.

How involved? When it comes to the payback violence, I wanted to make sure the violence gets some cheers.

What was the priority? It was important to me that funny moments ring true. Everybody has to play it straight.

The timing might be right for Get Out. Do you agree?

Part of the problem is when we discuss race in the U.S. these days, it seems to be such a feeling of defensiveness.

So? I’m hoping Get Out injects a little bit of relief in that conversation and shows we don’t have to take ourselves so seriously.