Review // Get Out

[projekktor id=’27180′]

If, like me, you are a fan of the comedy stylings of Jordan Peele (one half of the sketch comedy group Key & Peele), you were probably excited when you heard about his directorial debut, Get Out. Discovering Peele opted to make a horror film instead of a comedy was a bit of a head-scratcher, but upon seeing the film it’s clear that it was the right choice. A perfect blend of horror, comedy and social commentary, Get Out is the film to watch this week.

Get Out sets the tone with the opening scene. Exterior; Night time. A young black man is walking around lost in the suburbs, complaining on the phone to a friend that all the streets look alike and the street names are confusing. He hangs up only to notice a white sports car is stalking him. The audience is pulled closer into his frame of reference. His attempts to dismiss his fear by talking do the opposite, his fear is palpable. He’s the outsider here. It’s a twist on the young blonde clutching her purse as she walks through the inner city. You’re hoping the car just drives away, or opens to reveal a friend or anything other than what happens – a masked man comes out, hits our lost protagonist over the head, shoves him into the trunk and speeds away. There’s a tinge of humour mixed with real horror about the abduction but we can’t dwell on it for too long, because we’re quickly introduced to Chris Washington (Daniel Kaluuya) and his girlfriend Rose Armitage (Allison Williams) as they prep for a weekend away, visiting her parents in the suburbs. When Chris addresses the elephant in the room – do her parents know he’s black? – she’s quick to shrug it off, promising she wouldn’t take him there if she thought they would make him uncomfortable. And off they go. As the trailer suggests, the weekend getaway and Rose’s family aren’t exactly what Chris expects. As the mystery of what’s going on in the Armitage household unfolds we realize that while race plays a role in the events, it’s not the only factor. There’s something far more sinister afoot.

Now to say this film is a straight up horror would be a disservice to it. With a voice like Peele involved you know there will be comedic elements and there are. They are also well timed and don’t overshadow the lingering suspense of the film either. If anything the lightness of the comedy helps ground the film and makes the bizarre set up more realistic. Get Out perfectly balances the horror with the comedy. I’d go so far as to put it in league with films like Cabin in the Woods (2011)and Shaun of the Dead (2004). But where Shaun favoured the comedy over the horror, Get Out doesn’t skimp on the scares.

Within the hour and forty five minute runtime the film touches on many socially relevant topics, city vs. country, the African American experience, systemic racism, white guilt, the wealth gap, but at its core the film explores the struggle to understand cultures that differ from your own, and a growing divide caused by a fear of diversity in North America. Despite being two American guys from New York, Chris has a hard time acclimatizing to Dean Armitage’s (Bradley Whitford) affluent way of life, and Dean’s use of “urban” language and pandering confessions of wanting to vote for Obama for a third term do little to make his daughter’s new boyfriend feel welcome. The social anxieties it exploits heighten the film going experience. The film has its share of psychological scares and doesn’t shy away from scares that will literally having you jumping out of your seat.

While we’ve seen him before, most notably in 2015’s Sicario, we get a better introduction to Daniel Kaluuya in Get Out. He proves he has the chops and screen presence to lead a film. It doesn’t hurt that he’s assisted by a very talented cast including Williams, Whitford, Catherine Keener, Caleb Landry Jones and LilRel Howery. Williams who is best known for her work on Girls, also showcases her range in this film, and its pretty refreshing to see her go off-type.

Probably the best film I’ve seen all year (I know it’s only February but I mean it as a compliment), Get Out does what few horror films are able to do; explore a topic that incites real fear in people, help debunk that fear within the safe confines of a fictional narrative, and provide an avenue for cathartic conversation.

Reviewed by Vithiya Murugadas.