Get Out (2017) Directed by Jordan Peele. Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Bradley Whitford. IMDB says: “A young African-American man visits his Caucasian girlfriend’s mysterious family estate.”
Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) and Rose (Allison Williams) have been dating for five months. Chris is meeting Rose’s family for the first time during a weekend away to her parent’s. Chris has some apprehensions for how he’ll be received because Rose has never told her parents that he’s black. She doesn’t see why it matters, and they surely seem like the liberal type. However, you know something is weird – and it’s not just that her dad suddenly feels like he needs to start dropping slang into his vernacular. Rose’s parents Dean and Missy (Bradley Whitford and Catherine Keener), and especially her brother Jeremy (Caleb Landry Jones) are just a little too intense. And their hired help, the black maid and groundskeeper do not seem quite right.
The set up here is a twisted take on Guess Who’s Coming For Dinner?, but it really feels so fresh and different. I don’t want to say much more to be honest, because there’s a lot of mystery built up during the movie, and it would be a disservice to reveal too much. It is such a delight to watch it unfold with your own eyes. Get Out is easily one of the most exciting horror movies in recent years.
There’s so much to unpack here with how race relations are reflected in the context of this movie. It touches on power dynamics on small to quite large scales (I want to say more, but no spoilers). Its themes and implications are apparent in an intelligent show-don’t-tell way. Chris is the hero of this horror movie, but it’s obvious that this sinister story is just a heightened version of the day-to-day apprehension he would feel in many circumstances.
Two thumbs up for Jordan Peele, who wrote and directed Get Out, proving himself to be a compelling storyteller. The transition here makes sense, since Key & Peele utilized satire throughout its run. Humor is used effectively here (without becoming a horror-comedy). Special shout out to Kaluuya for carrying the movie brilliantly, and Lil Rel Howery for delivering most of the comedic moments as Chris’s friend Rod.
Horror movies that gain iconic status tend to have some sort of social commentary or greater message at hand. I would not be surprised to see Get Out regarded in the same sense. Besides that aspect, it’s just a great, captivating movie that’s thrilling from the first to last frame.
FTS SCORE: 90%
Get Out is currently in theaters.