Speaking to /Film ahead of the film’s release, Daniel Kaluuya spoke about the shared background in improvisation between himself, Allison Williams and Jordan Peele. “[Jordan] he trusts that instincts are very important and doesn’t try to micromanage you. He kind of lets you go and trusts you,” Kaluuya said. “I think most of the movie was improvised, a lot of stuff made up in one day, if it didn’t work, as it happens in that moment, don’t works. It doesn’t seem right to us, we have to be loose and flexible enough to allow any idea to be realized.” Kaluuya added:
“I think everyone knew where their character arcs were going, so people were kind of managers of their characters and mapped them out. And Jordan allowed us, gave us license to do that. So a lot of it was improvisation, a lot of it had right and wanted it to feel natural and out of the ordinary, which is like life, you know?”
Although some viewers consider improv to be more of a comedy, horror has a long history of improvisation: after all, comedy and horror are closely intertwined. From the most famous phrase from “Jaws”, to the reactions in the chest-bursting scene in “Alien,” there is one long history of unscripted moments making horror movies better.
After playing with several subgenres, Jordan Peele is back with a new movie this year, coming out this Christmas. Will it combine horror and comedy once again? More importantly, what role will improvisation play in the new film? Stay tuned.
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