GET OUT – Review

The first few months of the year seem to be prime territory for the studios to unleash new horror flicks. Perhaps the thinking is to get out of the way of most of the action blockbusters of the Spring/Summer and steer clear of those serious “message” prestige films near the end of the year. Well, maybe this “chiller” could be close to the later category. It’s got lotsa’ scares and some not-so-subtle bits of social commentary, a message horror flick. But it’s really not something new to ‘sinister cinema”. Many interpret the vampire legend as a commentary on female sexuality while others see zombie stories as metaphors for the struggle in the class system (the walking dead as the lower classes rising up to consume…). Perhaps the most famous example of this “mixing” is 1956’s iconic INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (and its three remakes), which some interpret as an attack (or is it an endorsement?) of that era’s anti-communist paranoia. Other recent genre films like IT FOLLOWS and THE WITCH have these extra layers. But this new release blends the frights with a “take” on race relations. maybe more so than those 1990’s gems CANDYMAN and TALES FROM THE HOOD. And it’s the feature film directing debut of Jordan Peele, yes one half of that celebrated comedy duo. I’m sure he hopes you’ll go out and see GET OUT.

After a truly spooky abduction scene opens the film, we’re introduced to the story’s main focus: professional gallery photographer Chris Washington (Daniel Kaluuya). He’s got a pretty great life in the city sharing a place with his gorgeous girlfriend Rose Armitage (Allison Williams). But on this day he’s a bit nervous since he’ll soon be meeting her folks for the first time. It’s a tense time for any couple, but the “race thing” worries him. Has she told her folks that he’s black? Rose insists that they’ll be fine (“My dad will tell you he would’ve voted for Obama a third time”). After leaving their pooch with his pal, TSA agent Rod (LilRel Howery) they hit the road. Then the road “hits back” when a charging deer streaks past them (causing some damage, but they proceed). When they arrive at the lush Armitage home, tucked away far from civilization, the first person they spot is the beefy, reserved groundskeeper Walter (Marcus Henderson). The front door flings upon as Chris and Rose park the dinged-up car. It’s Papa Dean (Bradley Whitford), a renown surgeon, and Mamma Missy (Catherine Keener), a successful psychiatrist. Dean grabs Chris in a warm embrace (“We’re huggers!”) and takes them into the house.

That night they’re joined by Rose’s vaguely confrontational kid brother Jeremy (Caleb Landry Jones). Over dinner, she’s reminded that a big family gathering will take place over the weekend. Chris is rattled by this and by the odd, passive (almost from another earlier era) behavior of the black housekeeper Georgina (Betty Gabriel). More strange sh…er..stuff.. occurs overnight when Chris is almost run down by the charging Walter (doing his exercises), then has a weird encounter with Missy in the dining room (did she put him in a hypnotic trance?). More bizarre awkward encounters happen the next day at the big Armitage family get-together. Chris meets a blind gallery owner, Jim (Stephen Root), who’s a fan of his work. Then he meets another “brother”, a man around his age married to an Armitage matron nearly 30 years older. But he acts and dresses like a man in his sixties. Then when Chris snaps a cell phone pic of him (with a flash bulb), the man (Lakeith Stanfield) lurches toward him and yells, “Get Out!!”. Chris agrees, but is it too late for the couple to escape?

Kayuuya delivers a great nuanced, subtle performance as the “stranger in a strange land”, a terrific take on the horror hero determined not to be a victim. Chris rises to the occasion, becoming pro-active when he’s plunging into this “bizzarro-land”. But we also see his vulnerable side when forced to confront the horrors of the past by the horrors of the now. We’re on his side every step of the way. Williams is quite the dream girl, the stabilizing force during this strange trip. But she’s conflicted, trying to support Chris while staying loyal to the family. We’re curious about her real allegiance. Bradford has a gregarious clumsy charm as the patriarch, seeming too eager to become Chris’s buddy, a surrogate daddy even as he awkwardly calls him “my man”. As the matriarch, Keener goes in nearly an opposite direction, her Missy is an intellectual, a tad reserved and frosty as she coolly observes every interaction. We get that this “iron lady” really runs the “show”, especially when she must deal with Jones as her “loose cannon” son. Jeremy appears to really enjoy shaking up this “picture perfect” home, coming off as a passive aggressive variation of Christopher Walken as Annie Hall’s twisted brother. As creepy as he is, ole Jere’ is nothing compared to “the help”. Henderson is all slow quiet menace as the lumbering Walter, while Gabriel, as the nearly always smiling Georgina, makes her the stuff of nightmares. Her scenes with Chris as she unravels are riveting and unnerving. We’re on the edge of our seats as we wonder when she’ll eventually snap. She makes us relish the story’s energetic comedy relief, the scene-stealing Howery as Chris’s best pal and confidant. The phone calls that convince him that things are “hinky” provide huge laughs as his Rod becomes an “audience surrogate”. He has no filter and says the things we feel we’d say (a TSA agent hero, not a bumbling doofus!). The only problem is that the audience laughter nearly drowns out his great line delivery.

The very talented Mr. Peele makes a spectacular debut as feature director and writer, with no platoon of story and screenplay aides. Many have tried to describe this work via other films, calling it a modern mix of MEET THE PARENTS, GUESS WHO”S COMING TO DINNER, and THE STEPFORD WIVES, but that can’t really capture its unique vision and originality. We’re expecting a comedy from this vet of TV and improv, and, as I mentioned, the Howery character is hysterical, but the strong dramatic tone and striking visuals are a wonder. Peele’s restrained use of special effects make the sequences inside Chris’s head very powerful. He’s endlessly, slowly plunging into an overwhelming pitch black chasm while the window through his eyes slowly blurs and darkens (great use of his point of view), showing his helplessness. He’s fighting back to little effect. Plus there’s the overall atmosphere orchestrated by Peele. Chris and Rose aren’t just out of the city, they’ve left sanity behind. From the deer encounter, through the welcoming, and particularly the family “gathering”, a sense of uneasy dread oozes from every frame. Then Peele throws us a curve by delivering a nail-biting action-packed finale that will have audiences cheering, despite the underlying bits of parody and satire (unlike the recent CURE FOR WELLNESS, Peele knows when to end the story). On so many levels, Jordan Peele’s “message monster movie”, GET OUT, is outstanding.

4 Out of 5