It’s been seven years since Jordan Peele made his directorial debut for one of his best movies, Get Out. He became a prominent figure in the entertainment industry making us laugh with Key & Peele, only to retire from acting to make us tremble with his horror films. Although the Best Picture-nominated horror film Get Out was filled with anxiety-inducing moments, comedy still hadn’t escaped Peele coming up with the film’s concept, and we can thank Eddie Murphy’s stand-up joke for that.
When you think about it, comedy can be a great source if you’re looking for a bizarre film concept. After all, comedy bits tend to present to an audience worst-case scenarios experienced by the comedian that they can make light of years later. After looking in the direction of Eddie Murphy, a fellow comedic actor with stand-up experience, Jordan Peele took inspiration from one of his stand-up jokes to create the unsettling yet darkly humorous movie Get Out.
Eddie Murphy’s Stand-Up Joke That Inspired Get Out
As you may remember in the 2017 horror film Get Out, a white woman has her Black boyfriend meet her family, only for a sinister plot to unfold. While many horror film directors look to the best horror films for inspiration, former comedian Jordan Peele was inspired by a stand-up performance from Eddie Murphy to help formulate his first original movie. Back in 1983, Murphy wore his iconic red suit in the comedy special Delirious where he made a joke about the role white people play in horror movies:
In The Amityville Horror, the ghost told them to get out of the house. White people stayed in there. Now, that’s a hit and a half for your ass.
Eddie Murphy continued to joke about not hesitating to leave as soon as a ghost whispers “get out” in your ear. Little would the SNL alum know that he’d eventually star in Disney’s The Haunted Mansion, where he and his family don’t exactly leave right away from a spooky house. But, a quick exit would be a very short movie if it played out that way. You can watch the stand-up joke in full below:
Jordan Peele Being a Fan of Eddie Murphy’s Joke Inspiring Get Out
Not only did audiences in 1983 get a kick out of Eddie Murphy’s Delirious stand-up routine, but so did Jordan Peele. While promoting his horror flick Get Out, the Monkeypaw Productions founder revealed to ET that the Universal Pictures film is a reference to the Coming to America actor. Here was his answer:
Absolutely. I mean, Eddie Murphy’s talking about the difference between how a white family and a Black family would react in a haunted house. Some of the best bits of all time. It’s one of the best bits of all time. So yeah, I’m hit.
Cinema history has indeed shown us plenty of white families entering haunted houses. It’s all the more reason why we need more directors like Jordan Peele who’ve forwarded Black horror by casting Black actors as the leads and making sure his Black characters have a good survival chance.
Peele shared with ET other behind-the-scenes Get Out facts of where else he looked for inspiration, like the 2008 Democratic primaries, to bring to light the taboo subjects of racial injustice. The Nope director also spoke of the first time he met his then-white girlfriend’s parents and how creeped out he was not receiving a reaction from them. Using real-life experiences and a memorable stand-up routine truly were powerful ingredients to making his first celebrated horror film.
When Jordan Peele was looking for inspiration to draw on for his directorial debut Get Out, he was “hit” by Eddie Murphy’s stand-up joke of white people staying in haunted houses despite all of the red flags screaming “Get out!” With Peele inspired by a fellow comedian to get his horror film going, it proves that comedy can serve as groundwork for a successful scary yet thought-provoking movie. Get Out is available for your viewing pleasure with your Hulu subscription.