If the new intense Horror-Satire Get Out teaches us only one thing, it is do not go to meet the parents (as in do not go to meet the parents the event as opposed to do not go to Meet The Parents the movie - actually you know what, do not watch Meet The Parents the movie, it’s a horror, but in a completely different way.) Having just hit Australian shores, having dominated the American box office, Get Out is a must-see in theaters so that you don’t feel left out of everyone else’s conversation.
So the story is about a young talented African-American photographer who goes to meet his caucasian girlfriends parents all the way out at their secluded family-estate, and once they arrive, something just doesn’t seem right. Now I’d love to tell you more but the less you know about the film the better. Honestly, going in as cold as possible is probably the best way to experience this well-crafted social-horror movie that explores so many aspects about racism in America, if not the wider world.
Written and directed by comedian Jordan Peele, this film really explores the social awkwardness, the in-built racism and prejudice people can have, the out-and-out racism, along with the back-handed racism in a way that is tense, unnerving, uncomfortable, horrifying, but also incredibly funny. You'll be surprised how much you laugh in the film in between all the moments where you are covering your eyes. Not because the film is violent or gory , but because each scene, each moment is just shaped in a way where you are thinking and rethinking the words or actions of characters, you hold your breath as someone says something or your heart-rate picks up as two characters look at each other and you are wondering if this is going to be the lynchpin that sets off the horror you know is going to come.
Now a lot of this is down to the way Jordan Peele drip-feeds information to you throughout the film. Things happen, people say things that can be taken multiple ways, and still you know very little about what is actually going on; You spend your time trying to piece story threads together, figure out people’s motivations and intentions, you start guessing and re-guessing what’s really happening with all these weird white people and even when things come to a head, you’re still questioning what’s really happening and if there are still more twists to come.
Much like 2014’s It Follows, this film is effective in its horror with an understated approach. And where It Follows explored STDs, Get Out has something to say about how African-Americans are generalized and how even a perceived compliment can be an example of brutal back-handed racism. The film will have you talking afterwards, obviously after you’ve seen the doctor about what to do when you’ve bitten all your fingernails off, so don’t be left out of the conversation and get yourself to the cinemas to see what many are already calling not just the best Horror of the year, but the best film of the year.
Get Out gets Four and Three-Quarter Stars out of Five (or Four and Three-Quarter fingernails bitten right down to your friggin’ knuckles)
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