GET OUT (2017) - Movie Review

Director: Jordan Peele
Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Lil Rel Howery, LaKeith Stanfield, Bradley Whitford, Caleb Landry Jones, Stephen Root, Catherine Keener, Betty Gabriel
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Writer: Jordan Peele
Runtime: 104 min
Rated: R for violence, bloody images, and language including sexual references
Buy This Movie: Blu-ray (Amazon), DVD (Amazon), 4K Ultra HD (Amazon),Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV

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Synopsis:

Now that Chris and his girlfriend, Rose, have reached the meet-the-parents milestone of dating, she invites him for a weekend getaway with Missy and Dean. At first, Chris reads the family's overly accommodating behavior as nervous attempts to deal with their daughter's interracial relationship, but as the weekend progresses, a series of increasingly disturbing discoveries leads him to a truth that he never could have imagined.

Review:

Jordan Peele, best known for creating and starring alongside Keegan-Michael Key in the popular Comedy Central sketch comedy series "Key & Peele", left the life of a comedian behind to focus on writing and directing horror films. You might think it's a peculiar transition, but so many comedic artists have shown impressive dramatic chops. A few quick examples off the top of my head: Jerry Lewis in "The King of Comedy", Jim Carrey in "The Truman Show" and "Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind", Robin Williams' incredible body of work, "Airplane" co-creator Jerry Zucker directing "Ghost", or Monty Python's Terry Gilliam helming "Brazil" and "The Fisher King".

Comedy requires a deep understanding of the complexity and absurdity of human nature, and an appetite for subverting societal norms. With "Get Out", Peele demonstrates all of the above in a terrific first time directorial effort. The film is a disturbing satirical horror film that plays out like a nightmarish variation on "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner". Daniel Kaluuya stars as black photographer Chris Washington, who seems to be in a perfect relationship with his white girlfriend (Allison Williams from "Girls" and "M3GAN"), but a weekend visit to the girl's rich parents leads to a series of sinister revelations that add up to bad news for Chris.

Horror by way of satire is not a new concept. "Night of the Living Dead", "American Psycho", "Scream", or "Jennifer's Body" are but a few examples of movies that successfully meld horror and biting social commentary. "Get Out" also walks that same fine line and sticks the landing. Peele's comedic background helps him inject just the right amount of dark humor without ruining the overall tone, while also cutting deep into issues of race and class in America, rightfully earning "Get Out" its place among the aforementioned classics.

Peele is in complete control of the story, easing us into the unsettling atmosphere and keeping us involved while the steady pace lulls us into a hypnotic vibe that transforms into a surreal nightmare in the film's final chapter. It's like an episode of "The Twilight Zone". The mystery at the heart of the twisted story requires quite a bit of exposition dumping, which the movie handles as elegantly and efficiently as possible in the film's third act. It's bonkers, but Peele wisely doesn't go out of his way to over-explain things, leaving room for a healthy dose of ambiguity and vagueness that our imagination can run with.

None of it would really work without a strong cast, and thankfully, the acting in this movie is top quality. Kaluuya brings a ton of emotional depth and succeeds in making us feel Chris' increasing unease and terror with great expressivity. He's also such a great crier. He received his first Oscar nomination for this role, and eventually won one for his supporting turn in "Judas and the Black Messiah". Williams is sympathetic and charming as the girlfriend, but becomes chillingly intense as the movie goes along. Other fantastic performances include Catherine Keener and Bradley Whitford as the creepy parents, Caleb Landry Jones as their unhinged son, Betty Gabriel and LaKeith Stanfield in roles that I won't reveal for fear of spoilers, and Lil Rel Howery as Chris' friend who also provides the film with some welcome comic relief moments.

Even though "Get Out" doesn't break any new ground in the genre, it is wildly original and extremely well made. For his work on this movie, Jordan Peele won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, and was also nominated for directing and producing (Best Picture). A talanted filmmaker with a fresh vision was introduced to the world, and Peele's next films, "Us" and "Nope" confirmed that "Get Out" wasn't a fluke.

SCORE: 9/10