By: Steve Bielefield
I was ready to start writing off the horror genre after last week’s review of the abysmal A Cure For Wellness. If that is the best Hollywood has now, I thought, then we really need to have a sit down with horror and give it a tough reality check that it just isn't working out anymore. Then I decided to give it one last chance and see Get Out,the new psychological horror from, of all people, Jordan Peele (comedic genius behind Key and Peele and many of Mad TV's best sketches). I walked out of that theater at the end, and it was the first time in awhile that I thought maybe, just maybe, it can work out. If horror maintains the same quality as Get Out, maybe it can survive yet.
Get Out follows Brooklyn-based photographer Chris Washington (Daniel Kaluuya) as he goes with his girlfriend Rose (Allison Williams) to visit her parents in the suburbs. He’s nervous at first because of how he thinks her folks will react to him being black, but once he arrives there he finds there is more to worry about. Something seems off about Rose's family and the very few other black people he meets there. At first Chris writes it off as them just being awkward white people, but as he discovers more disturbing secrets about the family, he begins to doubt that the strangeness truly is skin deep.
One thing you’ll need to know going into Get Out is that it is not just a horror film, but a horror-comedy. As you might expect from a comedian like Peele, the film contains several jokes to accompany the disturbing psychological torture. Don't let this discourage you, though, because the comedy never once detracts from the horror aspect. It enhances more than anything, actually, as the jokes help connect the audience to Chris, further the narrative, and let the horror take you more off-guard. There is even a comedy foil who has an important role in the plot and moves the story forward while telling jokes that kept me and my friends laughing. Most of the humor, though, comes from the awkward interactions between Chris and the white family. The funny attempts by Rose’s cringeworthy white parents to connect with Chris are all situations the audience likely knows too well, and from the familiar awkwardness come good jokes that also entirely serve the story.
Much of the reason this works is because of the great acting on display. The performances are excellent and the characters feel like real people. Star Daniel Kaluuya plays Chris as a likeable, non-confrontational and cautious man with a difficult past, and he is easy for the audience to connect with. Kaluuya’s performance is subtle and never reaches into any kind of stereotype. Allison Williams has great chemistry with Kaluuya and is believable as a caring girlfriend who wants Chris to be comfortable. Bradley Whitford and Catherine Keener play the parents, and perfectly portray (for lack of a better term) a very white couple that seem to genuinely want to connect to Chris (even if their methods are a bit strange), but with a subdued sinister quality that leaves us on edge as it does Chris.
With the subject matter of race being so up front in Get Out, you may be afraid of a preachy, obvious message about racism being shoved in your face. Interestingly, though, the film never goes there. Instead the film uses the existing and very real underlying tension regarding race issues and uses that as a jumping off point for good laughs and conflicts and adds authenticity to the narrative. With a lesser director, this would quickly fall into preachy territory, with stereotypical and unrelatable characters. Peele, however, exercises control and keeps the film focused on the story and characters, all to his benefit.
I can't stress enough how well Peele directed this film. He seamlessly transitions from the humorous scenes to the mind torture that Chris goes through. The pace is slow and creeping but picks up at the appropriate moments. And despite one or two cheap jump scares towards the start, each scare is earned and effective. What's better, and what puts it miles above A Cure For Wellness, is that it's written to correspond with the audience working out the plot. Whereas Wellness kept dragging itself out long after the audience figured out what was going on, Get Out brings out a clever twist right when you think you know what's going on. The story is just as much of an audience member as you are, and the twists never feel cheap. When I thought deeper about the plotting, I realized just how much of the first act was giving clues to figure out the mystery. The film rewards the audience for paying attention, which in turn immerses us deeper into it.
I highly recommend you go see Get Out, and for more than just the novelty of seeing the guy from Keanu direct a scary movie. Jordan Peele has crafted a truly effective, funny, well written and acted film that left me more than satisfied. He announced recently that he plans to make a series of films about “social demons,” and if Get Out is anything to go by, then I'll be eagerly awaiting his next project, as he's proven himself to be a visionary director here.