Groundbreaking film may define a new genre

Rating: 10/10 (4 April 2017)

Jordan Peele has described this movie as a "social thriller", and in some respects his use of small, subtle cues to build a growing sense of unease borrows heavily from the "psychological thriller" genre made popular by Alfred Hitchcock. Part of this film's strength lies in the frank examination of social expectations and nonverbal communication. Chris, the main character sees, and hears many things that bother him and contribute to his anxiety. But because he is in a social situation where awkwardness and stereotypical gaffes are something he expects, he writes off many of his experiences as misunderstandings or coincidences, or of examples of ways in which his own social expectations are out of place. He is unable to clearly verbalize what's bothering him. He therefore overlooks things that, to his friend Rod, are gigantic warning flags, while voluntarily putting himself in a situation where he is more and more helpless to escape when he finally realizes he's in danger.
It may be necessary to draw a distinction between a "psychological" thriller, wherein the key factor driving the plot and the decision making of the characters is the internal thoughts and feelings of the characters, and a "social" thriller in which the tension comes from the interaction between different characters and the contrast in their expectations as to what behavior is or is not appropriate. Is a particular behavior creepy, abnormal, and worthy of a jump scare? Or is it simply a normal aspect of a social situation in which the main character is not comfortable? The way Chris begins to question and second-guess himself, and the way he starts to doubt his own instincts and intuition, comes almost entirely from the social aspects of the situation he's in.
Unlike many horror films in which the victims do phenomenally stupid things, this film accurately depicts exactly why Chris tolerates what most people would consider inappropriate behavior, and why he stays at the Armitage home instead of leaving. Every single decision he makes is completely understandable, even when it puts him at risk. Frequently even his riskier behavior is the only possible option given his life experiences and his emotional state.
Race, and racism, are omnipresent in this movie and some of it is overt. Chris is treated differently, objectified, and patronized by the Armitages and some of their friends. In the midst of a scene where "White" racial stereotypes of "Black" people are being trotted out and exaggerated to the point of hilarity, Peele injects a few lines of dialogue with a Japanese character who, ironically, can easily be interpreted as a stereotype. With layer after layer of irony, the film subtly mocks its own effort to deconstruct racial stereotyping.
Lacking the stereotypical gratuitous nudity and sex many people associate with horror, this movie has several violent scenes at the end but is not gratuitously gory. The victim's helplessness, and the casual predatory nature of the villains (who really are Up To Something) is conveyed almost entirely through the acting, which is outstanding. Many horror conventions are turned on their heads, such as who the victims are and who the villain or villains might be.
It is also important to pay attention to the score. The background music for this movie is spectacular, particularly "Sikiliza Kwa Wahenga".