Get Out

Get Out

I first heard about Get Out when Trevor Noah (host of The Daily Show) tweeted about it at the start of 2017. At that point, I knew nothing about it beyond having seen the film's poster. At a glance, the poster gave nothing away, but if you spend more than five seconds with it, you'll actually have a very good idea of how the film plays out.

Luckily for me, I went in with a very basic assumption that things would turn ugly but, again, I didn't know how or why, or to what extent.

Get Out is directed by Jordan Peele, of the famous comedy couple Key and Peele. They've been doing working with Comedy Central for a while, and they also released Keanu, a comedy-action film about a dog. I didn't watch it.

The comedy influences are obvious throughout Get Out, and that is one of the aspects that makes it such a strange experience. It is not a parody film, nor is there any tongue-in-cheek dialogue or action. It is a straight suspense picture, where the horror is the fact that the viewer is, for the most part, not sure what is going to happen next. The comedy comes from Chris' (the protagonist, played by Daniel Kaluuya) friend Rod, who is dog-sitting for him for the entirety of the film. His interactions with almost everyone are genuinely funny, and offer the film some respite from what is perfectly executed tension and edge-of-your-seat mystery.

Without delving into the story too much and giving away the film's most potent elements/moments, Get Out is an excellent piece of commentary on social consciousness, race and the perception from both blacks and whites. The core narrative is from the viewpoint of Chris, visiting his girlfriend of six or so months, Rose, played by Alison Williams of 'Girls' fame. She is loving, jovial and comes across as a sincerely warm character. However, within the opening scenes, it is made clear that Chris' ethnicity (he is black) has not been revealed to her parents because it is not considered an issue.

Once Chris and Rose arrive at her parents' estate - hitting a deer along the way - it becomes abundantly clear after various awkward conversations with Mum, Dad, and Brother that something is not quite right.

It would be a shame to ruin Get Out's story, because although it is not overly original, it is still an experience which works so well. There are few films within this genre that present such a likeable protagonist, and so few that showcase such solid and refreshing writing. Although I was not actually impressed by the inner workings of the core reveal, that wasn't the main element of the film.

I am not a big fan of thrillers. I love pure horror films. However, Get Out is a film which draws the audience in, and constantly provides all kinds of reasons to feel uneasy. Much like with 'Don't Breathe' from 2016, a film which left me breathless of several occasions due to sheer claustrophobic filmmaking, Get Out leaves you with a sense of mystery, panic and wanting to escape. The excellent casting is of course a massive contributor to this formula, which facial expressions and body language throughout, that makes you question every line, every forced smile and blink of an eye.

From memory, there is no gore involved. It's not a film that needs it. It is 90% psychological, and in horror, many would argue that that is scarier. For those looking for pure violence, look elsewhere, but for a rewarding combination of original filmmaking, unfiltered tension and excellent writing, look no further.

8.5/10