Sinister satire loses its way in the third act

Rating: 6/10 (22 October 2017)

An offbeat horror film and satirical social commentary about race in America where the upper middle class liberals are the creepy villains and their political correctness is actually an overcompensation to mask the disturbing prejudices that lurk beneath. The film takes a detour from the conventional formula of the paranoid community-conspiracy thriller, but it's ultimately just an update on 'The Stepford Wives' with a racial twist.
This is an assured debut from comedian Jordan Peele, helped by an acutely OTT Hitchcockian score and some winning performances, with particular noteworthy turns from Bradley Whitford, who is perfectly cast as the overeager and sinister father, and Daniel Kaluuya, who balances that 'meet the parents' awkward politeness with a jagged edge of paranoia. There are many squirm in your seat moments - some of which are just the scenes where the thinly-veiled animosity and racial subtext bubble beneath the surface of the dialogue - and the unsettling atmosphere of the piece keeps you digesting in the dark underbelly of rich white suburbia right alongside Kaluuya's protagonist.
Peele manages to keep the story taut for the first hour, with heightened moments of almost comical tension, leaving the viewer unsure as to when things will spill over into pure horror, which it inevitably does. And once all the cards are put on the table much of the tension deflates and the situations become more arch and silly, from the weak comic relief sidekick subplot to the unnecessary expository villainy. All subtly and nuance is suddenly jettisoned at the tap of a teaspoon and Peele lowers the bar by over-explaining everything to his audience, perhaps the only real sign of his inexperience as a cinematic storyteller.
The other major problem with the film is that it's too predictable in terms of its plot to fulfill the thriller criteria of shock and surprise. There is never much doubt as to what is really happening and that takes away from the experience somewhat, but 'Get Out' is still a nerve-jangling tale for about an hour and change even though the third act is pure hokum. The best way to look at this is as a very twisted 'Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?' for millennials.