Jordan Peele's audacious directorial debut is not only the first great movie of 2017, but a movie that makes you think

Rating: 10/10 (28 February 2017)

It's very hard to describe a movie like "Get Out" without spoiling the secrets or the fun that makes the movie subversively dazzling and audaciously triumphant. I even had the decency to watch this movie without having to see the trailer. But knowing the premise right away, I knew that this was an unusual kind of horror movie, one that actually makes us think about ourselves once we leave the theater. Watching it in a crowded movie theater, I haven't seen a movie this stunning that made an audience feel uneasy since last summer's surprise hit (and my favorite horror movie of that year) "Don't Breathe". The opening scene sets up the premise immediately and then it'll come back to you later in the film because of the idea of it is surprising. The idea of an African-American being introduced to your significant other's parents and the fear of suburban life for a black male kicks off when photographer Chris (the wonderfully expressive British actor Daniel Kaluuya) asks his girlfriend, Rose (a remarkable film debut by Allison Williams of the HBO series "Girls") before they go to meet Rose's parents for the weekend: "Do they know I'm black?" She says no, but she did say that her father would've voted for Obama for his third term. Once we get to meet Dean (the incomparable Bradley Whitford) and Missy (the calm and comforting Catherine Keener), Rose's parents, they really do seem like really wholesome parents. After a few subtle, but very offhand remarks that Dean says (including that Obama line and also about Jesse Owens), you get the sense that something weird is slowly starting to go down. Even the happy, friendly maid Georgina, (Betty Gabriel), the groundskeeper, Walter (Marcus Henderson) and Rose's brother Jeremy (a eerie performance by Caleb Landry Jones) are acting quite odd. Even the relatives and friends Dean invited are making Chris and Rose feeling uncomfortable. Then that's when the shift start to change and Chris might need some help for his friend, a TSA Agent named Rod (Lil Red Howery, a showstopping comic performance) to uncover some secrets. This is where I stop and tell you who the real star of this movie is. This movie, of course, marks the directorial debut of Jordan Peele, one half of "Key & Peele". Here he had the audacity to make a horror/comedy with social themes that a lot of people are still talking about. What people should take away from this are the themes of white conservatism, how black lives really do matter, and how most people ignore the rules of society and prefer to live their lives the way they think they should. White it's sublimely scary and, aside for a brief moment, not over-the-top gory, it's wickedly funny as hell. Most of that humor, which Peele is known to do on the "Key & Peele" show, comes from Rod, especially in a pivotal scene with a social moment interwoven into it when he tries to tell someone about Chris' situation, but no one believes him. Plus the score by Michael Abels, the editing by Gregory Plotkin, the production design by Rusty Smith and the cinematography by Toby Oliver are phenomenally first-rate. "Get Out" is the first great movie of 2017. It plays its game straight and the movie weaves its powerfully scary spell on you. And, to my surprise, it kept me on the edge of my seat and refuses to reveal its cards to us until the right moment when it starts to get a little queasy for us, the audience members. And in this day and age, we needed a movie like this that encourages us to stay woke. Something also tells that I'm looking forward to see what other tricks Jordan Peele has up his sleeve. This isn't the traditional horror movie you always prefer, it's an original horror movie with a feeling and a savvy social side to match.