Get Out

Jordan Peele's directorial debut is an exhilarating horror thriller that also manages to spark laughter and comment on social issues. The cinematography, tropes, and soundtrack echo horror, but the film finds abundant moments of comic relief like when a father reassures the main character he isn't racist by claiming, "I would have voted for Obama for a third term." Before the plot delves into a traditional horror frenzy, it mines the horrors of racism. The social commentary plays on audience expectations and results in both humor and suspense. Delivering both on the expectations of the genre and the comedic expectations of a Jordan Peele creation, GET OUT is simply amazing.

A unique and effective blend of horror film and social commentary if there ever was one! Young, modest black photographer Chris Washington is understandably nervous about going to spend the weekend with the parents of his sweet white girlfriend Rose Armitage, who for reasons totally unbeknownst to him has yet to tell her parents that he's black. They set out on their trip and...well the rest is really left for the viewer to discover. Writer-director Jordan Peele shows his master craftsmanship by taking this simple premise and expanding it in many different directions, also incorporating elements of racism, comedy, shock and awe, and wisely never taking things too seriously. The climax is a bit formulaic and over-the-top, but the journey is effectively unnerving and features much stronger acting than you would expect for a film of this genre. Not for everyone, but refreshingly unconventional and worth the viewing experience. ***

I'll say right off the bat, I didn't really know who Jordan Peele was coming into this movie. I knew he had a show with Keegan-Michael Key and was a comedian of sorts. What I didn't know was that hiding underneath all that was a genuine fan of classic horror just waiting to get out.

Get Out surprised me for a number of reasons. The first is it kept me wondering what exactly was going on. There was just enough there to build atmosphere and tension without giving away the surprise. And it was delivered with such skill and care that It truly unfolded masterfully. You know something is wrong. You know something is up. But you can't quite figure out what it is.

And secondly this was the work of a first time director. It's rare that you get a movie written and directed by the same person on their first attempt and they manage to hit it out of the park.

And lastly, it gave us something new. This is possibly the best aspect because I am sick to death of cookie cutter horror movies. People nowadays have forgotten that horror doesn't just mean blood and guts. Before directors had to create tension and atmosphere by building the plot and unraveling the story slowly. It's refreshing to see this done with such care.

Is it a perfect movie? No it isn't, but it's damn good especially if you're in the mood for a good psychological thriller with horror overtones.

Satire doesn't get much darker than this, a perspective derived from the opposite of bliss, the frictions and prejudice society draws, to control and manipulate, exploit and ignore.

What would you do, if someone took control of you, could control you're every move, set the tempo to your groove, had the first and final say, how you went about your day, chose the things that you would do, when and where, with what, with who. If you tried to make a stand, put a halt or raise a hand, the mighty structures that surround, would envelop and impound, one for all and all for one, will ensure you'll soon be gone, but be under little doubt, that you're never getting out.

An outstanding piece of cinema and satirical observation with added barbs.

Get Out is an intense, unnerving movie that keeps you on the edge of the seat --- only if you are satisfied with an adrenal rush and not looking for any depth in the characters or the story. It's a great production done with superb acting, music and visual arrangement, but as a movie about racism it just doesn't go beyond.

It starts with the romance between Rosie and Chris, the sweet white girlfriend and the talented African-American photographer, where Rosie asks Chris to spend a weekend at her posh parents' country house. It's just a weekend, but as things get awry, it escalates to be a matter of life or death. The backdrop can be easily taken as a trope for racial relations/tension in America, but contrary to what Peele the director aspired to do, this movie just couldn't provoke any discussion or shed light on the touchy issues. To have the guests "locked up" in a grandiose house with two distinct camps of the white and the black is also a scene that occurs in Tarantino's Django Unchained. While Django Unchained uses a fictional story to unveil the cruelty and injustice of black slavery, Get Out feels more like a sorcerer's tale that manages to carry the label of racism because the victim happens to be a black. The characters are diabolical and psychotic, but they are also flat and uninspiring. They might carry a secret agenda, but it just makes them look like an underground cult group who somehow has a bit of a supernatural power – it must be because some of the things they do are scientifically impossible, e.g. the surgery scene. Their persona and the things that they can physically do – hypnosis by the mother and surgeries by the father – are just not representative at all. They do not carry any association to racists or the xenophobic. In fact, they are also kind of dumb to have that kind of video conferencing set-up in the room where the victim gets to talk to the perpetrator. It works well if the movie wants to create suspense or terror by paying tribute to the horror classic Saw, but again, it doesn't add any depth to an intellectual reflection on racism.

Some people comment that the film commits dogmatic stereotypes. I think the only stereotype used here is that the black and the white are by default at war with each other. Yet, it's used more as a convenient trick to shove the audience into this them-versus-us mentality so we get as suspicious as Chris. The horror is real, the acting is fantastic and does send the chill off your spine, but it doesn't stimulate your thinking or perpetuate any racial prejudices. If this movie is played in a virtual reality movie house, it's top notch; but if it attempts to be meaningful, it is not.