When Get Out appeared on Rotten Tomatoes to a perfect rating with over 200 reviewers, I knew at that point it would be hard for the movie to match the hype. Not to take away from the movie however, because Jordan Peele deserves the very impressive start to his directorial career. This movie is definitely another one that is best seen without knowing anything, which means that watching No Trailers would provide the maximum enjoyment.
When it comes to horror movies, I think there has been a recent trend in emphasizing the importance of cinematography. Movies like It Follows, The Babadook, and The Witch swap out cheap jump-scares for beautifully made, atmospheric and silent horror. For each of those movies they had a special aspect of the film that made the cinematography feel extra special: It Follows had a very retro-horror film feel, and The Witch had a gothic feel to it. It’s hard for a movie like Get Out to establish an unnerving atmosphere since it’s present day, but it works in the way Peele puts the movie together, making for a very effectively creepy feel.
Everyone in this movie gives a great performance, with a special shoutout to Lil Rel Howery for the well done comedic relief. Based on some of the reviews that I read, I think that the most praised aspect of the movie is also what was the most disappointing for me, which is the fact that the movie is supposed to critique social constructs and racial ideologies in a way that is refreshing and new. To a certain extent, it does do that in a creative way, but at the same time I felt that the main racial motifs in the end were overly simplistic in its nature. I was expecting something more out of the movie, but I felt that it all boils down to the whole “white people tend look at black people differently” theme.
There were also some aspects of the movie that I felt were simply thrown in there, hinting that there might be an explanation for some of the creepy things that happen in the movie. However they were never really explained, but it didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the movie too much. In the end, I found that while there were indeed some really great concepts explored in this film, it also becomes slightly predictable halfway through the second act.
I think people should go see this movie. I’m all for movies expressing ideas in creative ways, which Get Out does well. While the message may be simple, the way it unravels itself is interesting, and I really do have to give it to Jordan Peele for his fantastic direction in this movie. It’s also quite funny, as if you’d expect anything less from one half of Key and Peele. Movies like Get Out put the horror genre in the right direction, and I’m excited to see what Peele does next.
Grade: B/78
No Trailers. 