Get Out is a rare cinematic treat. It is one of the most daring films that I have seen and it’s a masterpiece that I have understood but not fully processed. Pushing the boundaries is an understatement for this movie. I can guarantee you, the reader, that Get Out is unlike any other horror film you have seen.
Get Out is one of the very few movies where I was trying to deconstruct it in my head, yearning to get to the core of the movie’s concepts. Normally, I either understand the movie or I don’t. Get Out manages to become a film that explores social commentary on race relations from a perspective I haven’t seen before. It succeeds in finding that very tricky balance of horror, comedy and social commentary.
The plot: Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) and Rose (Allison Williams) are a young romantic couple and are going to meet Rose’s parents. Chris is worried that Rose’s parents (who are white) won’t accept Chris because he is black. When Chris meets Rose’s parents, they accept him because he is black.
Make no mistake, Get Out is a horror movie. Get Out follows the conventions of a horror movie with set-ups, tension, suspense, the villain with the evil and messed-up motive and the resolution. But how the movie executes these elements is something that is unquestionably unique and, in my opinion, quite extraordinary.
Rarely does a horror movie build suspense and tension through dialogue that’s unsettling but never disturbing. With all the commentary on black people, I would argue that Get Out is never a racist film, but builds the tension by constantly teetering on the brink by going way too far into the opposite direction of ignorance. It’s done by the family being over complimentary about Chris for his “talents” that “inherited” from being black. I used quotation marks here because it’s from the perspective of the majority of the characters. Those passages of dialogue were so great because of it.
The other thing that was so great was the acting from the whole cast as they give it replay value for me. I would like to watch it again, knowing what I know now after seeing the movie I would love to see the subtleties in the performances of Catherine Keener as the mother (who was so amazing) Bradley Whitford who was the father and especially Allison Williams (Chris’ girlfriend). There were also incredibly freaky performances played by Marcus Henderson and Betty Gabriel who play housekeepers. There were also performances by Get Out is not a movie that needs to be seen twice to understand it, however, I think I will gain a new perspective on the performances having seen the movie.
If you are remotely into horror I think that Get Out is one of those films that pulls itself away from the rest of the pack. It is both an intense and a thinking kind of movie which gave Get Out a weird sense of an indescribable (and somewhat odd) cathartic release. ⭐⭐⭐⭐3/4
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