Moheeze Reviews ‘Get Out’

“Aye I ain’t making this s#*! up, I saw it on A&E man, that’s real life!” – Lil Rel Howery vouching for the authenticity of this film’s events. 

• Introduction •

Woah boy, this one’s a doozy, folks. I have to say; this is certainly a movie I had no idea what to expect in the months leading up to it. Having seen the trailer for it for the first time last year and laughing through most of it, coupled with the fact that Jordan Peele from Key & Peele was directing it, I sincerely thought this would be the furthest thing from horror we’d get. Then months passed since my initial trailer viewing and a slew of really bad horror movies hit cinemas like a tidal wave. We were treated to slogs like The Bye Bye Man and Blair Witch, and the horror genre as a whole seemed to be struggling with itself the more and more these movies get pumped out.

My hopes for this particular movie let alone the genre wore thinner and thinner every time I saw that ridiculous “handshake” play in the ads; but for some odd reason I just felt more compelled to see it every time. Even with this draw I had to the film’s trailer, I thought it was just going to be some politically charged attempt at horror that got too distracted by the comedic elements sprinkled in to actually tell a compelling story. Then I finally watch this movie, and I’m happy to say it’s not quite what I was expecting in the best way possible.

So just to get this bit out of the way: Yes, this movie is a race thing. There’s no two ways about that; and the intent of the director was obviously to address a plethora of stereotypes and issues regarding social class, racism, and prejudice. But no, this isn’t a problem at all because this movie isn’t out to offend people; it’s not trying to convince anyone of anything, but it isn’t afraid to say what it has to say and you can take that message however you wish. If the subject matter bothers you that much, it’s best to keep in mind that this is a psychological horror movie, and a considerably well-done one at that. There’s much more going on here than just a black man meeting his white girlfriend’s racist parents. These layers peel back the deeper we get into it and this movie is special in a lot of ways. Let me tell you about it. Don’t worry people, I’m keeping this one totally Spoiler Free! 

• The Review •

Touching on the general plot without giving too much away, the story is about an interracial couple made up of a black man named Chris and a white woman named Rose, and they’re headed up to the middle of nowhere so Chris can meet Rose’s high class and out-of-touch parents. Things initially start out uncomfortable between Chris and Rose’s parents due to their racial insensitivity; but things gradually take a turn for the worst when Chris’ grasp on reality becomes endangered when he realizes things aren’t quite right at this family estate. The one greatest strength about this film is how intricate, yet simple the story is. The plot thread runs pretty straightforward, but there’s a lot of grooves in this thread that make it feel tight and strongly tied together. Everything has a purpose and foreshadowing is heavy handed in this film. There’s so many little threads of detail that crop up only to come into play later that just make you gasp with clarity. It’s incredible how well put together the plot is while at the same time it maintains not just elements of horror, but also some genuinely funny comedy! It’s a strange mixture of genres that can be difficult to pull off, and admittedly I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to take this film seriously, but Jordan Peele managed to nail that balance with great success. The plot grounds itself in such a surreal form of reality that even when something kind of absurd happens, it’s totally acceptable because of how that instance contributes to the complete story. Everything is justified; not a whole lot is contrived. I adore when a movie gets that right; and I think Peele deserves some praise because of how believable he made his characters.

The main cast could be counted on one hand, and they’re all played by your run-of-the-mill B and C list actors and the supporting cast is more of the same, but they all carried their own weight and their performances held this movie up well. The one thing that caught me entirely off-guard was that there was actually a fair bit of character development passed around. Everyone was fleshed out to varying degrees; everyone had their quirks and layers, some of these layers even proving to be pretty deep. Everyone felt like actual people and these quirks and layers played actual roles in the plot to boot! I was so excited I nearly cried.

This sounds like basic stuff to the casual moviegoer; one might think these qualities are standard in modern films. You’d think that. But it’s just not the case nowadays. I don’t know why most horror movies (or movies in general) have such a hard time writing believable and fleshed out characters, but they do. It’s gotten to the point where something as simple as a character’s goals of basic survival are called into question because of how badly the plot and their behavior to move it forward betray those needs. If you don’t believe that characters are becoming more lazily written, look at all of the horror movies released in 2016 and take note of the characters’ defining qualities and then take a long nap or something. When you wake up, if you can’t be bothered to remember which characters had what traits, or if they all seem to mix together due to how similar they were, congratulations! You’ve identified the problem. You can easily see why I appreciate movies that go above and beyond the dreaded cardboard cutouts that stand in for actual people.

That being said, there wasn’t a single weak link in the cast for me. That’s incredibly rare for me to say. I think that stems from the way these characters are so deliberately written. You can see Peele made a conscious effort to make every character the way they were for clear reasons that become revealed as time goes on. The best of the bunch was most certainly Lil Rel Howery’s character Rod. He was the comic relief best friend of Chris and not only did he masterfully take the edge off of this movie with his paranoia and outlandish theories, but he was also the realest dude in the movie. I loved him. He was everything you could possibly want from a supporting character and every time he had a scene I lit up with joy. Other highlights include Allison Williams, who played Rose, and Caleb Landry Jones who played Rose’s overtly deranged brother Jeremy.

So with the initial premise on the table; the first half hour or so is about what you’d expect: incredibly awkward. To call Rose’s parents’ prejudice subtle would be a grievous misinterpretation of their characters. They are so incredibly overt about it, but in such a passive aggressive way because of how deadpan they were in their line delivery. Racial insensitivity aside, the core part of what makes their interactions with Chris so uncomfortable is the fact that it slowly becomes clear that there is something very wrong with them. The real subtlety lies in how this movie is actively working to make you feel like you’re out of place even though you as an audience member have no reason to be. The movie took a page out of The Shining’s playbook in the way everything was presented; and like Kubrick’s film, you can see that the circumstances are simply not normal despite being told constantly that they are. The influences from The Shining are pleasantly ever-present and easy to pick out if you love these sort of movies. There’s a distinct silence in many of the scenes, followed by an abrupt jump or noise caused by something harmless that feeds into this paranoia that’s gradually manifesting in the back of your mind. The way Rose’s family acts is much like the Torrence family in that they do seem like real people who live in a functioning world, but there’s this distinct air of hostility that lies underneath the calmness of their characters. There’s a dreamlike vibe to everything that’s happening; and things gradually take a turn to surreal. The similarities even lie as early as the opening credit sequence where an unnerving track plays over an otherwise mundane forest scene. The true beauty of the horror in this film lies in those subtleties, and the payoff this constant state of insecurity brings is deliciously high quality. I can’t emphasize enough how important atmosphere is in a horror movie, and this film understands that importance entirely to the point where it actively works to put you in Chris’ shoes. His discomfort and insecurity is your discomfort and insecurity. When things ramp up toward the end you almost feel a sense of relief because by that point you finally know why you’re unnerved. That moment when the plot hits a twist or a turn it feels earned, and the payoffs always feel rewarding.

Get Out is such a unique movie in that it takes a bold approach to its storytelling and it spins a tale that feels new and exciting despite taking a great deal of influences from other great horror movies. The movie’s horror/comedy elements help it maintain a defined identity and the concepts it explores keep the experience memorable, and it’s because of that mixture I dare say there’s something for everybody in this movie. Now don’t get me wrong, you probably won’t be checking under your bed for monsters with this one, it wasn’t that type of horror and you’ll be disappointed if you want something that affects you in that way. This one was more cerebral and I think the horror aspects are there to unnerve you during the experience, but the lasting impact is meant to be taken from the story itself. Even though it’s not without its faults, it’s still a quality movie for horror fans and casual viewers alike and certainly one you won’t want to Get Out from when you’re watching!

Definitely my cup of tea.

– Moheeze

Tyler Mulholland-Gain

Nobody Reads Anymore

I’m Tyler, but my friends call me Moheeze! I’m a time traveler college student who’s stuck in 1984 and thousands of dollars in student debt and I say things like groovy and rad. I like old fashioned things and I’ve spent more money on cassette tapes than I’m ready to admit.