A creative if rather bland horror movie.

Rating: 6/10 (2 March 2017)

Coming off of the amazingly bad comedy 'Keanu' Jordan Peele has decided to branch out into the horror genre. From various interviews that I saw with him, he seemed to bring this film out of a very genuine place. Saying that, while it has commentary about racism, it's not intended to be aggressive or hostile. It's just things that he has personally noticed. So he combined his own personal observations about race relations and his favorite genre of film, horror. The story is mainly about a black man that goes to visit his white girlfriend's parents (it's very weird typing it like this but, trust me this is vital information). Upon arrival, things aren't quite as they seem. Like the tagline suggests, "Just because you're invited doesn't mean you're welcome."
Shortly after arriving the mom of his girlfriend puts him in a trance of sorts. She claims that this specific type of hypnosis is to aid him in breaking his smoking habit (a "habit" that we never see). This hypnosis scene is probably the best scene in the entire film and I wish we got more stuff like it. The way it's intercut with things from his past and how it slowly ratchets up tension using sound is all very well done.
That's the thing with this film, though. It's about 50% good 50% bad. When it's good, it's really good, but when it's bad, it's really bad. The best thing I can say about this film is that It's a strong directorial debut for Jordan Peele. He puts a noticeable amount of effort into this film and it's clear that this material is something he really cares about. Everything looks great, sounds great, and offers great performances across the board.
But this film really feels like a tale of two halves. The first half of this film is mostly positive. It offers some strange and surreal sequences that do make you feel uncomfortable. But, at the same time, there's also incredibly obvious racial commentary. It feels like the idea for the film was created before the story was. So we get a variety of great ideas for scenes that don't quite connect to make a cohesive whole.
For example, the opening scene. We watch as a black guy gets abducted as he walks about the streets. OK, but why was that in the film? It's not really apart of the main story and doesn't offer anything much aside from a minor set up for later on that we didn't need. Is it a cool scene? Sure it is. It's all shot in one take and does have blatant satire but it's a good idea for a scene.
And that's the biggest problem with the film. It mostly feels like a collection of good ideas that were poorly thought through. The execution rarely falters but the script feels like a first draft. The main story, satire aside, is basically none existent. But that's OK because there's social commentary to fill that void. The only problem with that is the satire is so obvious and so on the nose that it rarely left me with anything to dwell on. It's always spelled out for you to the point of it feeling like it was hitting you over the head.
This is the most frustrating part especially coming off 'A Cure for Wellness'. Which not only had a solid story holding your attention but subtle, strong political and social commentary for anyone paying attention. And you really had to pay attention to see it, which is something 'Get Out' simply doesn't do. The oddest part is that the commentary all but evaporates by the end of the film. The crazy, violent things you expect going in start happening and it seems to completely lose its edge.
It turns into this violent quest to survive but and that was great and all but I completely lost any sense of satire. Which was the only thing carrying the first half of the film. It's bizarre that the payoff to all this obvious satire isn't anything but mindless violence featuring characters that the film barely bothers to develop. 'Get Out' isn't the film it could've been. Its heart is in the right place and it has a good message in there. But the message is bogged down by how in your face it is and the fact that there isn't much more to the film other than that.