Get Out is the debut film from Jordan Peele, of the comedic duo Key and Peele. Peele's previous work never indicated to me that his first foray into directing would be a horror film, but I do love to to be taken by surprise, This film is certainly a surprise, especially in regards to the fact that this is anyone's - not just Jordan Peele's - debut film. The story, and all of the racial and social subtexts that come with it, are balanced with such a confident and assured hand that it seems like this comes from a veteran filmmaker of the genre.
We follow Chris Washington (Daniel Kaluuya), a black man embarking on a trip to meet his girlfriend, Rose's (Allison Williams) parents. Chris is initially nervous because of the racial disparity between him and Rose's family, and as life at their remote home grows stranger and stranger, Chris discovers the family's dark secret. What the film is essentially presenting is a racially-centred version of The Stepford Wives, with a much darker tone and more modern social implications. While it's certainly going to create some rage from people approaching it with the wrong perspective, this is definitely a film that should exist.
What makes Get Out feel so special is that it's a horror film that's actually about something. The film isn't just an excuse for teens to die in the woods; it has a socially relevant story to tell. Most of the subtleties on Chris' side of the story were lost on me, but a lot of tension still lies just under the surface of many conversations in the film. This can be seen in Chris' initial talk with Rose's father, Dean (Bradley Whitford), who very unnaturally brings up that he "would have voted Obama in for a third term if he could." Overt attempts to not be racist are very identifiable, and Peele recognises the inherent silliness of that type of interaction. The humour also gives the characters some much-needed lightness and relatability, making them feel much more human.
Get Out isn't just a horror film, it's a horror-comedy. The comedic aspect of this film is essential to its identity, and Peele's background in comedy adds a lot of self-awareness to the characters. Chris' friend Rod (Lil Rel Howery) is essentially an audience proxy, but thankfully, the jokes aren't on the same meta level as Scream or Deadpool. For all of the silliness that later emerges, the characters do adhere to some level of realism. This is greatly helped by the talent of the cast. Kaluuya has to balance a lot, but he delivers a perfect blend of forced lightness, polite discomfort, and all-out disturbed horror. He can say a lot with only a look at someone, and desperation is written all over his face throughout. On the flip side, Bradley Whitford and Catherine Keener as Rose's mother, Missy, portray a constant sense of quiet menace. It seems like every character is on the verge of cracking, and when they do, the "horror" aspect really gets going.
Both horror and comedy are utilised very effectively, and the story itself is also very compelling. The film is paced very well, and scene after scene manages to create an uncomfortable feeling, which generally emerges because people are saying weird, racist things. Get Out isn't saying "all white people are evil", and while some people will certainly interpret the message as that, the film is much too smart and much too subtle to have such a blunt purpose. This film manages to tell a story about dehumanisation and modern slavery without being preachy, and that alone is worth praise. The social commentary is an essential part of the film, but even if you were to (somehow) ignore all of that, it's an engaging thriller in its own right. The subtext just enhances the film and makes the stakes feel all the more real.
For an R-rated horror film, Get Out is delivered with a fairly restrained vision. When violence does eventually occur, there's almost no gore or lingering on special effects makeup. The effect lies more in what you don't see, and the sparing amount of violence give the individual moments more impact. Peele also crafts some visually and stylistically distinct sequences, which add a very unexpected but very welcome artistic layer to the story. There's also a strong grasp of tension, which was greatly helped by the usage of the score and the sound design. Aside from the occasional - and fairly unnecessary - musical sting, the score greatly helps to reinforce the unsettling atmosphere.
A bit of steam is lost when exposition has to be delivered. It's nice that characters don't simply stop and talk to the camera, and there was some attempt to stylistically deliver the essential background information, but it still felt a little stilted. Get Out clearly takes influence from some classic horror films, but that's a detriment in some ways. Some tropes should have been left out, like pointless jump scares, and very important evidence of the villain's plan just being left out in the open for the protagonist to discover. Maybe these moments were intentional, but they feel just as cheap as they would in any horror film.
While horror-comedies are designed to balance tone, this film slipped into being goofy just a tad too much. The ultimate reveal of the villains' plot was fairly silly, although any alternatives or slight alterations likely wouldn't have been any more realistic. There was also one character, Jeremy (Caleb Landry Jones), who was unnecessarily antagonistic, and was too early of an indicator that something was wrong. As soon as he appeared, it was fairly obvious who his character was going to be, and I wish that some originality had been devoted to him. The tweaked-out Macaulay Culkin look didn't exactly scream "subtlety".
While Get Out may not be a perfect film, it's certainly an impressive one. While I couldn't personally relate to the racial challenges being portrayed, I could still identify with the characters, and I loved every second of the journey that they went on. I hope that this film goes down as one of the great horror-comedies, and it's absolutely brimming with subtext to analyse. While I don't have any real interest in horror films, this is an intelligently-written, tense, socially-charged thriller that delivers excellently on both the horror and comedy aspects of its story. If this is where Jordan Peele's directorial career begins, I absolutely can't wait to see where it leads.
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