Every so often, a film comes along that is so bold in its ideas, so unrelenting in its intensity, that you just have to allow yourself to be swept up in its grasp. Even given its flaws–mainly an occasionally shaky setup and an over-abundance of jump scares–Get Out is that type of film. It’s a deliriously entertaining ride through comedy, horror, action, and social commentary, and it knows exactly how to blend the four without detracting from any. Via a creative form of social critique, Peele does what horror filmmakers do best: draw from the everyday fears of our times and take them to the extreme. However, he also has a knack for transitioning between tones, and that’s where the beauty of the film lies; for instance, the comedy that oftentimes breaks up the intensity in various scenes actually contributes in a way to the overall intensity. That’s the only way I can describe it, as it’s best experienced firsthand.
I will say that all of his ideas explode in a glorious final act that is unrivaled by most horror films I’ve seen. It doesn’t do anything spectacularly innovative and misses out on what could’ve been a brilliantly twisted final scene (let’s talk if you’ve seen it), but there’s a highly satisfying energy that drives those final 20 minutes. All the actors are at their best here, and it looks like 2017’s best performances thus far are from horror films. There’s one particular acting moment on a staircase involving keys that I won’t mention for fear of spoilers, but again, if you’ve seen the movie, you probably know what I’m talking about. You also know what I’m talking about when I say that this final act is one for the ages, a pure crowd-pleaser that catapults the film into greatness and solidifies Peele’s vision behind what sounds like a fairly conventional sequence of events. Maybe the social critique falls by the wayside here, but it doesn’t really matter when the film is this much fun.
GRADE: B+
Thanks for the review. I don’t normally do horror but did wonder if it might be more satire (with the Peele angle).
Yup definitely some satire in there! Though there are definitely also classic horror elements so not sure if it’s your type of movie.
Really good to hear the movie works. I thought the trailers were terrible but they don’t always accurately portray the movie.
Yeah same, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it.