"Get Out" Movie Review

By: James Southworth
Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

The horror genre is one of the most primary for being known as a cesspool of bad content. In the earlier years especially, it could be REALLY tough to dig through all the mud and find any movie of redeemable value. But I would claim that in recent years, horror movies have gotten a lot better. There have been a great amount of gems; I'd say 2016 in particular was an excellent year for quality horror movies. It seems like 2017 might be even better off. "Get Out" is the directorial debut from Jordan Peele. If you're familiar with that name, you might question why on earth he'd make a horror movie. After all, Peele is much more well-known for teaming up with Key, making one of the best comedic duos of all time in my opinion. But on seeing this movie, you will be surprised. This movie is one of the most clever horror movies I've seen, with pitch perfect direction and quite a few superb performances. The basic plot is this: young black man Chris visits his white girlfriend Rose's mysterious family estate.

One of the best things to commend about Peele's first directed movie is that he effortlessly combines horror and satire together. Let's talk about the scares first. One of the things I really appreciated about this movie was that there weren't really that many jump scares. I counted maybe one moment where I jumped, and that was about it. Otherwise, we are treated to scares that make your skin crawl. Some of the scares I don't think I've ever seen before. There's this one incredible scene where Chris is getting hypnotized by one of Rose's mother. He gets thrown into this world known as The Sunken Place. I won't go into many details about it, but this moment is surreal. You are just thrown into this weird world, and it's creative what they do with it. There are plenty of other moments here that are bone-chilling, such as a creepy Bingo game and Rose's insane family. There are some good supernatural scares, but a lot of the scares come from real people. That makes the scares feel all the more harrowing. The satirical aspects of this film usually work hand in hand with the scares. For example, you are meant to be scared of the black people in this film, but once you realize what's really going on, Peele's message of subtle everyday racism is revealed. The whole time you're at the Armitage's house it feels as though you are on a plantation, and that is exactly what Peele wants you to think. The Armitage family tells Chris he's free to go, but just how free is he really? The themes that arise out of the satire are insanely clever, and I don't want to spoil too many of them.

The actors as well as the characters they portray are also great in this film. Daniel Kaluuya as main character Chris Washington is just wonderful. Right from the beginning you instantly attach to this character. You find him interesting because even when subtle racist things are done to him, he accepts them. But as the movie goes on, it is revealed why he just goes along with them, and it makes you think more about how minorities have had to adapt to America's racist culture. Kaluuya brings so much to Chris, making every moment with him great. His fear feels very real, and when parts of his tormented past are revealed, the audience is able to sympathize with his raw emotions. This actor also has a knack for seemingly being able to cry on the spot, which is something that I admire. Catherine Keener and Bradley Whitford are also great as Dean and Missy Armitage. They both do a good job at making the seeming friendliness of their characters feel creepy. I found Missy particularly interesting with her hypnosis abilities. The best of the Armitage family in my opinion was Caleb Landry Jones, who plays Rose's brother Jeremy Armitage. Unlike the rest of the family, he wastes no time in revealing that he despises Chris, and that makes him much more interesting. Jones brings some legitimate menace to his character; I always felt very tense when he was around. There's a great scene where the whole family along with Chris are eating at a dinner table and Jeremy arrives. The lines that Jones delivers in this scene are pitch perfect, and they made me feel uncomfortable. But perhaps my favorite performance of the whole film was Lirel Howery as Rod Williams. I feel like Peele was speaking a lot through this character, as much like Peele himself, this character is gut-wrenchingly hilarious. His commentary on how black people are always the first to die in horror movies is great. Any time he was on screen, I was cracking up. I want to see this guy in a comedy, because he clearly has a knack for it. Honorable mentions go to Marcus Henderson and Betty Gabriel as Walter and Georgiana, two of the black folks working for the Armitages. They both gave some of the most clever scares the movie had to offer. The only weak point of this movie to me was Allison Williams as Chris's girlfriend as Rose. I never found her particularly interesting. She played her character blandly. While I understand this character trait almost contributed to the film's themes, I still felt Williams could've given Rose more personality.

"Get Out" deserves all the praise it is getting. It fully warrants the 99% it has on Rotten Tomatoes, and it makes sense that it is one of the highest earning horror movies of all time. It's unique, the scares feel frighteningly realistic, the funny moments work well in building up the scares, and there are some dynamic performances from a cast of people that aren't very well known. I've got to say bravo to Jordan Peele. I can't wait to see what this multi-talented individual has to offer to the movie world in the future!