Feels Like Standard Paranoia, Yet Driven Down A Different Turn

Rating: 8/10 (5 April 2017)

I can now see why this psychological horror is so mind-bending. After catching this movie, I have to say that this is a thrill ride that continuously toyed with my perspective up until the terrible truth is unveiled midway into the film.
Chris Washington (Daniel Kaluuya), a black man with a hobby in photography has a white girlfriend named Rose that live happily together in the city. When she then decides to finally introduce him to her parents in her hometown outside the city, they seem to welcome him in open arms. However, the townsfolk begin to show signs of odd behavior whenever Chris so much as approaches any of them or if he even speaks his mind in conversations. Chris becomes increasingly paranoid as he uncovers more to the town than meets the eye.
For comedian Jordan Peele's directorial debut in a horror film and his pairing with "Paranormal Activity" producer Jason Blum, this is something that required more thought as the story began to play out. I honestly attempted to comprehend the motives of each character, but as I started deducing their reasons, it grows unsettling each time. Instead of racism being used as a plot device, it seems this is a bizarre twist on that subject matter by making the residence not racist, yet they add insult to injury in their true nature by giving off a form of liberal ignorance. There are moments in the film that were pretty laughable to ease the tension done by the leading man's best friend TSA Officer Rod (played by comic Lil Rel Howery). And I say this doesn't ruin the ride, more like only gives depth into what his character knows what's best for himself and his friend. In the end, this isn't a movie made for cheap jumps or thrills. Instead, it kept the gears in my mind constantly turning and my curiosity growing with how the horror conventions were approached differently here. It's certainly interesting.