Get Out is a modern day cinematic masterpiece. If you haven't seen Jordan Peele's film that he has written and directed, then I strongly recommend that you do. This Oscar-winning movie is a masterful feat in filmmaking, combining horror with social issues in the most brilliant way. Along with spectacular performances from the entire cast and a story that will make you uneasy (in the best and worst ways possible), this movie is a necessity.
This movie is beyond comparison to any other horror film made in a long time. The performances in this film were outstanding. Daniel Kaluuya, who plays Chris, was absolutely outstanding. He nails the role as the young man trapped in his girlfriend's racist family's house. Kaluuya's Best Actor nomination was absolutely deserved because he was excellent in this film, showing pure fear and dread during many of the film's most tense scenes. The rest of the supporting cast was great as well, including Allison Williams, Catherine Keener, and Bradley Whitford. Even though (I strongly hope) they do not actually carry these prejudices in real life, they were able to portray a lying and subtly malicious family during the entirety of the movie. Every scene with these actors in the same room, while amazing to watch, was seeping with eeriness and uncertainty. Other amazing aspects of this movie include the cinematography, editing, and directing. While the camera work in this film is not ground-breaking, it is utilized very well, especially for a horror film. Many scenes are so personal thanks to many of the camera's close shots. Most of these same scenes use very unsettling framing and editing to make the tone just a tad bit off, making the audience queasy. The most important scene of the film to really cement this feeling was the hypnosis scene in the living room. While, of course, Kaluuya's superb acting makes this part that much more incredible, the entire scene nails the tension and made me shudder. This use of the camera and editing through the movie is mostly thanks to Peele's directing. He knew exactly what his vision for the movie would be and definitely did his research on what makes a movie terrifying. This, of course, was also due to the nature of the content of the film.
While Jordan Peele is not new to film and television, this movie makes his writing known to Hollywood as a force to be reckoned with. The writing in this film is astounding, blending social and racial issues with an engaging horror plot. This movie absolutely deserved the Best Original Screenplay and I am glad that a horror film was even considered for this category. Peele has crafted an intensely haunting movie experience that brings to light many of today's social problems. This film addresses racial inequality in a very unique way but still contains the same powerful message if it were to be done differently. Even though it still uses a typical horror film structure, the content is what makes this movie stand out, especially in the socially-divided world that we live in. The strongest aspect of this writing, however, were its subtle details and intricate plot devices. Every piece of this film's puzzle was detail-oriented and nothing was left out-of-check, similar to the attention level of Edgar Wright. So many minute details, like Chris' smoking habit, the running grandfather, the Froot Loops, the deer's head, and the cotton in the chair make this film so captivating. These motifs seen throughout the movie all came full-circle and were utilized very well. While nothing directly political was seen, the underlying messages were quite obvious. The other great part about the writing was the subplot of Rod (played by Milton Howery) warning Chris about the family. Rod was the comic relief in this movie and even though he was critical in saving Chris' life in the conclusion, his humor was balanced well with the terrifying tone set early on.
Get Out is an incredible milestone in cinema and I truly hope that it inspires future filmmakers to focus more on the writing and content of their horror instead of the easy jump scares. I am thoroughly impressed by Jordan Peele's storytelling ability in this perfect film and I am very excited for whatever he may think of next.
My Rating: ★★★★★
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