Director Jordan Peele
Genre Horror | Mystery | Thriller
Cast Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Catherine Keener, Bradley Whitford
Rating R
Release Date February 24th, 2017
“A young African-American man visits his Caucasian girlfriend’s mysterious family estate.”
Get Out is a horror mystery written and directed by Jordan Peele, and is his directorial debut. Peele is well-known for his work on the hilarious Comedy Central skit show Key & Peele, and he has actually written quite a few episodes. His writing debut on the film side was last year's action comedy Keanu, which was very well received. Get Out began receiving substantial praise from critics who were allowed an early screening, setting the bar for expectations pretty high for Peele's debut. The cast includes Daniel Kaluuya (Sicario), Allison Williams (Girls), Catherine Keener (The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Captain Phillips), and Bradley Whitford (Billy Madison, The Cabin in the Woods).
Get Out is not only a game-changer for the horror genre, it is a potentially career altering debut for writer-director Jordan Peele. Rarely is a film capable of making you sit back in your seat in hopes of being able to take it all in, to truly absorb all that you just experienced. This is one of those films. Get Out has an identity all its own which it develops very early on, and builds on throughout. Officially considered a horror mystery, it has been referred to as some sort of genre hybrid, showcasing horror elements complete with jump scares, skin crawling tension, and a very fitting and impressive score, but also a potent dose of good old fashioned humor. All of this is true. How you ask? Well the trailers certainly highlight the latter, but the depth of the script, as well as the mounting tension, not only allows the humor to be effective and timely, it welcomes it. Each element of the film is smoothly transitioned, making sure that nothing feels forced. Personally I really appreciated that aspect of the making of this film. Get Out kept me guessing and had me on the edge of my seat, anxiously awaiting the final act. I won't give anything away, but even if you generally have a difficult time with horror films, Get Out has the ability to appeal to a wide audience due to its blending of genre elements. I feel like it warrants mentioning that many critics are clinging to the racial undertones built into the premise, some of which going as far as to say the film needs to be seen because of how socially relevant it is in terms of the existence of racism in this country. Excuse me? I mean sure this is a fine example of intelligent writing, effectively mixing in societal elements sure to get a reaction out of the audience, but make no mistake, this is not a film about racial injustice that will be available in the history section of your local library. This is a good old fashioned horror flick- unnerving, violent, bloody, and unpredictable. Just what the doctor ordered (pun intended, you'll get it once you’ve seen the film). To say Jordan Peele made an impression as a director would be the biggest understatement of 2017. Not only did he display some serious skill behind the camera, he also wrote this amazing script to perfection. I enjoyed Keanu and I'm honestly really happy to see him find this level of success right out of the gate. I can't wait to see what he cooks up next.
Get Out boasts an extremely talented, yet underrated cast from top to bottom. Daniel Kaluuya was fantastic in the lead role, showcasing what I felt was an innate ability to display a wide range of emotions. His mannerisms and facial expressions really brought his character to life. His resume consists mostly of work in television so far, aside from a role in the cartel thriller Sicario, alongside Emily Blunt. It seems his career is beginning to take off having recently nabbed himself a role in marvel's Black Panther due out in 2018. I like him a lot as an actor and I think he has a great career ahead of him. Allison Williams is an actress of average talent, best known as of late for her role in the HBO series Girls, but she actually impressed me. She ditched that ditsy I think I'm smarter than I actually am attitude and it worked out for the best. One of my overall favorite characters in the film has one of the smallest roles, and that would be comedian turned actor Milton "Lil Rel" Howery, who now officially goes by LilRel. He had me laughing or at the very least smiling each time he was on-screen, and I feel like his presence and the dynamic he added really helped to bring the story together. Veterans Catherine Keener and Bradley Whitford were great as well, and they effectively portrayed off-putting and mysterious characters. I feel like a significant amount of the credit for the success of the cast is owed to Peele and his ability to not only bring together a great group of actors and actresses, but also his ability to ensure he gets the most out of them. It seems he took a page out of Patriots’ coach Bill Belichick's handbook, instilling the simple yet effective mantra of "Do Your Job". Perhaps he also pushed the new mantra "No Day's Off", but I can't be sure as I am not familiar with the filming schedule.
Get Out was the horror movie I was waiting for, especially after that disaster of a money pit known as Rings (I am still waiting for an official apology from Paramount). My faith in the horror genre is officially reignited, and trust me when I say I needed the boost. My expectations were through the roof thanks to overwhelming positive early-release feedback, as well as my own personal anticipation for what I thought would be one of the best films of 2017. It did not disappoint. Not only am I having a very difficult time coming up with something I didn't like about this movie, I absolutely cannot wait to see it again. Do yourself a favor and Get Out (see what I did there?) to the theater and see this awesome movie, you deserve it! Can't find anyone to go with? Bite the bullet and see it by yourself if necessary, it's just that good. Highly recommended.
