Review by C.J. Bunce
The best way to watch Get Out is to know nothing about the film’s conflict. It’s enough to know that it follows an African-American man named Chris (played by Daniel Kaluuya) whose Anglo girlfriend of five months named Rosie (played by Allison Williams) takes him home to a secluded, forested town to experience the time-honored ritual of “meeting the parents.” Chris’s best pal back home, Rodney (played by LilRel Howery), who works for the TSA and is watching his dog and his apartment, warns him not to go just like any friend who is looking out for his buddy. What follows is your typical, awkward first meeting of the parents, which corresponds with an annual town party where Chris gets to meet all the locals.
But is this really a typical encounter?
One by one, elements of the town don’t seem quite right. Is Chris just being paranoid? As with Midnight Special, we’ll hold back on the rest of the details, even the true genre, although you can expect something of the dark drama or horror-thriller realm from the title and posters alone. This one is excellently creepy.
Peele dances with issues of race and culture peppered throughout the story in a very real, imaginative, and thought-provoking way. Fans of the more unusual horror films of 1970s will love this film–you might think you’re seeing bits and pieces of movies evoking anything from The Stepford Wives to Skeleton Key to Wicker Man to The Watcher in the Woods to Coma and Fallen. Or you might see it as all-out horror, but without all the typical genre gore and violence. Ultimately director Peele will give you only what you need to know, when you need to know it. Best of all, Peele has that skill that so many filmmakers mess up: He knows how to end a story with a satisfying conclusion.
