1699. Get Out (2017)

Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Lil Rel Howery

Director: Jordan Peele

Running Time: 104 mins

Get Out is an American film about a young black man who travels with his girlfriend to her parent’s large country estate for the weekend, where he comes across a series of mysterious characters.

This is such a clever film. Not only does it have a thrilling, unpredictable and often shocking plot, but it also brilliantly interweaves the horror/mystery element with fantastic comedy and strong social satire. Brilliantly directed by Jordan Peele from start to finish, and featuring an entire cast of excellent performances, Get Out is a hugely entertaining movie that you really won’t be able to take your eyes away from.

If there’s one thing that really works about this film, however, it’s the story. Don’t go into this expecting a typical horror movie, because you’ll come out disappointed. Whilst Peele brilliantly honours so many classic elements of the genre, this is much closer to a mystery thriller than a bog-standard scarefest, and although there are one or two fun jumpscares, it’s the tension of the story that’ll really get you hooked.

With an immediately unsettling atmosphere, Get Out is a riveting watch right from the start. However, what it does best is patiently build more and more tension and mystery into the plot as it moves along. The opening act won’t have you on the edge of your seat, but it effectively establishes the strangely uneasy atmosphere of the big country house, something that plays a big role in making the following two acts work so well.

From then on, it’s twists and turns galore as the film dives into thrilling and even shocking territory. I’ll avoid all spoilers as always, because you really don’t want to miss the incredible reveals that happen again and again throughout the movie, reveals that turn it from an unsettling thriller/horror parody into something much darker, and yet so ludicrous you could never see it coming.

And that’s where the comedy comes in. As strong as the eerie atmosphere is throughout the movie, the story would be lost if there wasn’t a good sense of humour thrown in too. As I said, things do take a turn for the more preposterous in the latter stages, but it works perfectly because the film always lets you know it’s not taking itself too seriously, right from the start.

But the great thing is that it’s not the sort of comedy that would make this a horror-comedy. Whilst it definitely leans more towards enjoyment over scares, the humour in Get Out is fantastically nuanced throughout, never cheapening the nail-biting thrills of its atmosphere and story, yet still making for some brilliant laughs.

You do get a good bit of comic relief from time to time thanks to Daniel Kaluuya’s effortless charisma, as well as the hilarious supporting performance from Lil Rel Howery, but the best laughs in the movie come from the mix with the almost comically unsettling world of the upper middle class white people.

And that’s where the last spark of genius comes in. Jordan Peele’s screenplay is already thrilling and funny, but what makes it even more impressive is its ingenious social satire. Although a little heavy-handed on the subject in the opening act, the film eventually gets into its stride with an utterly hilarious series of jabs at the suspiciously sanitised world of upper middle class white people.

With all of the actors playing along brilliantly, to the extent where you get an insanely creepy Village Of The Damned vibe from the white side of the cast, there’s so much fun to be had with the film’s satire of that side of society, as well as awkward race relations that are brought up time and time again. It’s a brilliantly clever touch, and it adds so much enjoyment to the movie as a whole.

Finally, we need to quickly talk about the performances and the directing. The entire cast is fantastic throughout, all playing their roles appropriately for both a horror movie and something a little more comical, helping to glue Peele’s two genres together so effortlessly, with particular stand-out performances from Daniel Kaluuya, Lil Rel Howery, Betty Gabriel and Stephen Root.

And then we come on to Jordan Peele’s brilliant directing. I’ve already talked about how perfectly unsettling and creepy this movie is from start to finish, as well as its brilliant blend of humour, satire and thrills, but I also can’t ignore how well-paced and well-established this film is. With some excellent editing as well, Peele’s fun-loving yet unnerving style works an absolute treat throughout, and that’s the final reason that this film just comes together so well.

Overall, I absolutely loved Get Out. It’s a seriously creepy and unsettling film right the way through, and one that will have you biting your nails and sitting on the edge of your seat right up to the end. However, it’s also much more than a brilliant thriller, with amazing humour and social satire thrown into the story, a whole host of amazing performances, and stunning direction from Jordan Peele, and that’s why I’m giving it an 8.5.