An Inventive Horror/Thriller

Rating: 8/10 (27 May 2017)

Though I won't give away any major spoilers in this review, the main reason I clicked the "spoiler alert" button is because of this: I don't usually like telling people that a film will have an ending they can never imagine. "Get Out" is one of those types of films, however, and it can't really be discussed with referencing that very fact.
For a basic plot summary, "Get Out" sees Rose Armitage (Allison Williams) & her boyfriend Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) going to do the first "meet the parents" routine with the Armitage's. Upon arriving, Chris (initially worried about being "the one black guy") starts to realize that things are a bit strange. Rose's parents Missy (Catherine Keener) & Dean (Bradley Whitford), as well as brother Jeremy (Caleb Landry Jones), all act strangely around Chris, and things take a deeper turn when all the other black people (maid, groundskeeper, family guest, etc.) act odd too. Is Chris just jumpy about the new setting...or is something strange actually going on?
The thing I like the most about "Get Out" is that it creates substantial doubt in the mind of viewers. In terms of horror/thriller flicks, I find that to be a key element. Until the last 15-20 minutes of the film, you won't have a good read on any of the events. Too often, scary movies purposely put themselves into convenient boxes (likely for marketing purposes). Fortunately, "Get Out" does nothing of the sort. Instead, director Jordan Peele revels in keeping things a mystery until the very end.
Another thing to like about "Get Out" is its sly social commentary. Made in a decade fraught with racial tension, Peele addresses those ideas (sometimes seriously, sometimes with humor) but is frank about them. This allows the film to work almost as much as social commentary as it provides tension.
Of course, that brings us to the ending: You absolutely won't see it coming. I'm confident enough to reveal that because it is indeed so unique. Again, the credit goes to the writing & Peele here, as the film is set up in such a way that literally anything can happen in the end. When "anything" literally does happen, then, it is quite a sight to behold.
While "Get Out" isn't the best thriller I've ever seen (a character supposedly providing comic relief really took me out of the experience from time to time), it is certainly the most original in quite some time. It uses deft social commentary, and air of mystery, and an atmosphere of tension to lure in viewers. By the end, you'll be totally invested in the characters and their predicaments.