"I told you not to go in that House." Get Out Review

Get Out

2.5/5

Written and Directed by Jordan Peele

Rated: R

           In February 2017 comedy writer and actor Jordan Peele made his directorial debut with his culturally relevant comedic horror movie, Get Out. The story is about a young African American named Chris Washington, played with a genuine performance by Daniel Kaluuya, and his Caucasian girlfriend Rose Armitage, played charmingly well by Allison Williams. Chris is spending the weekend at Rose's house where he meets her family, but once Chris' stay starts, weird stuff begins happening (and it's not the usual kind of "oh, that was spooky" weird. This is some messed up everything is telling me "run, it is absolutely not safe here" kind of weird). In typical horror film fashion, by the time our protagonist realizes that everything is not what it seems, it is too late. Caught in a deceptive trap with no foreseeable escape, our hero has one goal, get out. Peele's movie has been nominated for two Golden Globes, including best motion picture that is a musical or comedy and Kaluuya has been nominated for best performance by an actor in a motion picture that is a musical or comedy.
           The best aspect of Peele's debut movie is its cast. Kaluuya does a terrific job playing Get Out's lead. Since the primary goal of Peele's screenplay is placing audiences in Chris' proverbial shoes, Kaluuya's genuine reactions to the bizarre events happening around him and his real sense of dread and fear are a great benefit for audiences. Accompanying Kalyuua are Williams as Rose, Chris' girlfriend, and LilRel Howery as Chris' best friend, Rod Williams. Between these two supporting performers they bring more than enough substantial realism and intriguing line delivery to match Kaluuya's performance. Bringing an alluring and creepy atmosphere to Get Out's cast are Catherine Keener, playing a motherly and ruthless hypnotist, and Bradley Whitford, playing a maniacal and executive leader of all that is creepy. Along with a complete cast of eerie performances, two highlights being Lakeith Stanfield's almost robotic persona and Stephen Root's dark and foreboding undertones, Get Out's cast of characters make the movie an engaging and startling experience, at least upon initial viewing.
           Though this movie's cast is superb, the rest of Get Out ranges between well done and below average. For instance, Peele's screenplay does a good job using a series of dinner conversations as a way of addressing the effects of implicit racism, the act of making ignorant assumptions based on someone's skin color, or deliberately making comments just to show you are not racist without realizing your comments are uncomfortably singling out an individual. These scenes are handled in an honest manner that promotes empathy for the movie's protagonist and anyone audience members may know who would be in a situation similar to Chris'. Peele's story also does a good job delving into the realm of weird, using minimalistic horror oddities and the occasional jump scare. Unfortunately, though, Peele's screenplay is not able to maintain an above average level throughout the majority of the movie's scenes, as most of Peele's dialogue is straight forward exposition or simply characters saying inconsequential weird things.
           The greatest detraction from Get Out is its off-putting pacing. The balance between scenes featuring conversations on honest implicit racism and scenes showcasing the most bizarre neighborhood antics is jarring. The movie's editing is just shy of efficiently connecting scenes, and it can make parts of Get Out feel either too quick or too slow. There is a sweet spot that this movie occasionally hits, but it is seldom. Even if this movie's inconsistent pacing is intentional, it does not justify Get Out's bombastic ending. In a complete turn from the movie's slow building suspense horror genre, Get Out concludes as a high speed action thriller. This sudden and unwarranted change in genre is more than enough to remove audiences from the movie and make them question and doubt Get Out's narrative. Though there are parts of this movie that are engaging and intriguing, Get Out's ending lacks payoff and is bound to leave some viewers laughing at the movie instead of laughing with it.

Verdict: Though it features realistic performances, sincere dialogue addressing implicit racism and worthwhile moments of minimalist horror, Get Out's off-putting pacing and bombastic conclusion reduce this movie's impact and are more than enough to deter this movie's less than casual viewers.