Get Out Film Review

Rating: 8/10 (6 May 2019)

An interracial college couple, Chris and Rose, set out to meet Rose's family. Chris an African American, is apprehensive of meeting Rose's family because he is black and sadly, not many white people are accepting of interracial relationship. While at Rose's family's house, Chris experiences an uncomfortable welcome from a family who seemingly is very accepting of the situation. Chris interacts with the family's two black housekeepers, Walter and Georgina. From the moment we meet Walter and Georgina, we can tell something isn't right and they appear to be in some sort of trance, or zombie-like state, but function completely normal. Rose's family holds their annual get together with other people, predominately white, in their community. While Chris' discomfort rises, the family begins to show their true motives behind their community. Chris wants to leave, meanwhile, the community holds a secret auction to sell Chris' body to a member of the community. The goal of Rose's family is to hypnotize Chris so that Rose's father, who is a neurosurgeon, can implant the brain of another white person so that they can use Chris' body to their advantage. Chris manages to escape with the help of his close friend Rod. This film feels like The Stepford Wives with modern elements and modern issues that are addressed.
Get Out is a horror movie that gives satisfaction to those who love a good thrill and deep message for those who enjoy meaningful substance in the film. The theme for getting Out is a focus on ideas and more specifically, a focus on social problems and the truth of human nature. Get Out really hits on race and racism issues that people of color face in America today. Racism isn't always blatant, and, in this case, it comes from the least expected family. Rose comes from a middle-high class white liberal family, appearing to be accepting of her African American boyfriend Chris. However, there is a deeper motive for the Armitage family and their community. They use people of color to preserve the minds of fellow Caucasians by transplanting their brains into the bodies of black people. For some people like Hudson who wanted to use Chris's body because of his ability to see and his photography skills. Then there is Rose's family who use Georgina and Walter to preserve the minds of their family elderly family members and use them as modern-day servants.
Get Out is filled with symbolism that supports the theme of the film and helps tie the story together. When Rose's mother hypnotizes Chris, she refers to his hypnotic state as "the sunken place" and this symbolizes the treatment of people of color in America throughout history. Whether its slavery or mass incarceration, people of color have felt powerless and vulnerable just like Chris in the "sunken place" state.
For a satirical horror film, this really will put the audience on edge and that is the brilliant work of the editor, Gregory Plotkin. The key to a good horror film is not necessarily the content that is scary but the moments that make the audience "jump." The well-timed surprises like when Chris and Rose ran into a deer on the way to Rose's parent's house made for a jolting scene and could take away an audience members breath. The editor liked to build up suspense and make the audience feel like something was going to happen but then use time control to throw the audience off and have the suspenseful moment happen during the least expected times.
Jordan Peele, first time director, put together a wonderful piece of art that catches the essence of multiple themes, including focusing on the truth of human nature, social problems and wrapped together in a horror style package. This horror movie isn't a typical dark and twisted film, it is lighter and more suspenseful, but the evil actions of the characters are what make this film belong in the horror genre.