Get Out

Rating: 7/10 (1 April 2017)

I had heard about this film many times a couple of months before its release, it was being billed as the big scary movie of the year, it certainly looked like something I wanted to watch, so I hoped the hype would be justified. Basically black photographer Chris Washington (Psychoville's Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe nominated Daniel Kaluuya) and his white girlfriend Rose Armitage (Allison Williams) are preparing for a weekend trip to meet her parents, Dean (Bradley Whitford) and Missy (Catherine Keener). Upon arriving at the Armitage home, Chris is curious why the servants are all black, including Walter (Marcus Henderson) and Georgina (Betty Gabriel). Chris talks about his family, and shares that at eleven-years-old his mother died in a hit-and-run, Missy as a psychiatrist offers to help him quit smoking through hypnosis, he declines, Rose's brother Jeremy (Caleb Landry Jones) arrives and the entire family has dinner with Chris. That night, Chris goes outside for a smoke, he notices the strange behaviour of Walter and Georgina, upon reentering the house Missy invites to sit down, he explains his guilt for not calling 911 regarding his mother. Chris finds himself unable to move, through hypnosis, using the stirring of spoon in a china cup, Missy transports his consciousness into a void that she calls "the sunken place", Chris wakes up in bed, he believes it was just a nightmare, later realises he has been hypnotised to stop smoking. The Armitages have an annual get- together, with many guests arriving, Chris in uncomfortable to finds they are white, older couples, with an uncanny interest in him, but there is also a black guest, Andrew Logan King (Lakeith Stanfield), he unsettles Chris with his bizarre demeanour. Chris calls his best friend, TSA (Transportation Security Administration) Officer Rodney "Rod" Williams (Lil Rel Howery), he tells him about the hypnosis and the strange behaviour of the black people. Chris later takes a photograph, the camera flash causes Logan to freeze, have a nosebleed, and hysterically yell at Chris to "Get out!", Dean claims this reaction was an epileptic seizure, but Chris is unconvinced. Chris tells Rose about being uncomfortable with things, she agrees to leave with him, while the guests are seen having an auction, for Chris, with blind art dealer Jim Hudson (Stephen Root) placing the winning bid. Whilst packing, Chris sends the picture of Logan to Rod, who recognises him as an old acquaintance, Andre Hayworth, Chris is also disturbed to find a number of photos of Rose with previous "boyfriends", all of which are black men, he tries to escape, but the family block his path, and Rose reveals herself as being part of the plot, Chris is hypnotised and incapacitated by Missy. Rod becomes concerned when Chris has not returned home or answered his calls, he discovers more about Andre Hayworth and other black men going missing, he is unable to convince the police to take him seriously. Chris wakes strapped in a chair, he learns that the family have developed pseudo-immortality, where neurosurgeon Dean transplants the consciousness of his older friends and family into the bodies of young black people, Jim Hudson will use Chris's body to regain his sight, Chris will doomed to exist in the sunken place while Jim controls his body. Chris manages to escape, and kills Dean, Missy and Jeremy in the process, as he drives away he hits Georgina with the car, he has the same feeling of guilt as he did with his mother and cannot leave her, it turns out she is a vessel for Rose's grandmother, she revives and become violent, causing Chris to crash, killing Georgina. Rose and Walter catch up to Chris, Rose is armed with a rifle, Walter, a vessel for Rose's grandfather, tackles Chris, but a flash from Chris's phone camera frees Walter from hypnosis, Walter takes Rose's gun and shoots her in the gut, and then himself in the head. In the end, Chris grabs the gun, but cannot bring himself to kill Rose, a police car pulls up, Rose cries out for help, trying to make out Chris is her attacker, but the driver is Rod, he and Chris drive away, while Rose succumbs to her gunshot wound and dies. It is a simple story, a young black man experiencing anxiety meeting the people associated with his girlfriend, but then it becomes increasingly weirder and more deadly, paranoia becomes terror, it works well with the unease of situations, the racial stuff adds to the creepiness, but there is also room for a good amount of laughs amongst the scary stuff, all in all it is a most inventive and intriguing comedy horror. It won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for Jordan Peele (the first black writer to win), and it was nominated for Best Motion Picture of the Year and Best Director for Jordan Peele, it was nominated the BAFTA for Best Original Screenplay, and it was nominated the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy. Very good!