Get Out - Movie Review

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Leave it to a comedian to make one of the scariest movies in recent memory. Jordan Peele moves into writing and directing with this offbeat comedy, a fresh and fiendishly smart story with engaging characters and provocative themes. It's a combination of a knowing issue-based drama, lively romantic comedy and unhinged horror that hits all of its targets with precision. And it keeps us gleefully entertained with its escalating terror.

The story centres on Chris (Sicario's Daniel Kaluuya), whose girlfriend Rose (Girls' Allison Williams) invites him home for a weekend to meet her parents Missy and Dean (Catherine Keener and Bradley Whitford). Rose assures Chris that they're so liberal that they won't mind at all that he's black. But things don't feel quite right from the start. For one thing, there are two creepy servants (Betty Gabriel and Marcus Henderson) who seem to be lurking everywhere. And Rose's brother Jeremy (Caleb Landry Jones) revels in stirring up problems. As things get increasingly freaky, Chris calls his best friend Rod (Lil Rel Howery), an airport security officer back in New York, for advice. Then things take an even more bizarre turn when Missy and Dean's friends arrive for an annual party.

Peele begins to play with the audience right from the start, using Michael Abels' disorienting music and Toby Oliver's quirky camerawork to maximum effect. Often this involves pushing us far too close to a character whose behaviour is just a bit off. Every moment is undercut with humour, including awkward moments and snappy gags that serve as a relief valve even as they set us up for something scary. It's such clever filmmaking that we have little choice but to sit back and enjoy the ride. And woven through all of this is an inventive and lacerating exploration of attitudes toward race in American society.

All of the actors get the tone just right, balancing the comedy and drama while dropping in layers of intrigue. Kaluuya is a particularly likeable, sympathetic protagonist, while Keener gets the scene-stealing role as a smiling, psychiatric hypnotist and Howery provides the badly needed comic relief. Each character and story element is balanced to pull the audience in and then jolt us out of our socks. Peele has a lot of fun with this, referencing classic scary movies, playing with stereotypes, manipulating our expectations and keeping us right on the edge all the way through. He also proves that you don't need cheap scares when smart ones are much more effective.

Watch the trailer for Get Out:

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Facts and Figures

Year: 2017

Genre: Horror/Suspense

Run time: 104 mins

In Theaters: Friday 24th February 2017

Box Office USA: $78,079,925.00

Distributed by: Universal Pictures

Production compaines: Blumhouse Productions, QC Entertainment

Reviews

Contactmusic.com: 4.5 / 5

IMDB: 8.3 / 10

Cast & Crew

Director: Jordan Peele

Producer: Jason Blum, Jordan Peele, Edward H. Hamm Jr., Sean McKittrick

Screenwriter: Jordan Peele

Starring: Daniel Kaluuya as Chris Washington, Allison Williams as Rose Armitage, Bradley Whitford as Dean Armitage, Catherine Keener as Missy Armitage, Caleb Landry Jones as Jeremy Armitage, Stephen Root as Jim Hudson, Keith Stanfield as Andrew Logan King, Zailand Adams as Young Chris, LilRel Howery as Rod Williams, Betty Gabriel as Georgina, Marcus Henderson as Walter, Erika Alexander as Detective Latoya, Ashley LeConte Campbell as Lisa Deets, Lyle Brocato as Richard Shaw, Julie Ann Doan as April Dray, Geraldine Singer as Philomena King, Trey Burvant as Officer Ryan, Jana Allen as Nancy Shaw, Jeronimo Spinx as Detective Drake, Caren L. Larkey as Emily Green, Ben Ladner as Joshua Shaw, Rutherford Cravens as Mr. Dray, Brad Spiers as Officer Gause, Christopher Knittel as Officer Frostie, Mark Baynard Baggs as Frederick Walton, Avery Frawley as May, Debra Barone as Celia Jeffries, Lory Tom Thompson Sr. as Nelson Deets, Caiden Vaughn as Young Jeremy, Michael Amstutz as Party Goer, Gary Wayne Loper as Chauffeur, Jack Teague as Wealthy Party Goer, Jamie Gliddon as Detective, Matthew McCrocklin as Friend Derrick, Evan Shafran as Travel Passenger, Melody Lane Buller as Wealthy Party Goer

Also starring: Jason Blum, Jordan Peele