Fantastically unique but needed some fine tuning

Rating: 8/10 (27 February 2017)

Now one thing is for certain this film deserves a lot of recognition. For one, it's the best horror film to come along in a very long time and it's a bit of departure from the new style of horror like Sinister, Insidious, The Conjuring etc. It hearkens more to the indie/international thrillers that I absolutely love. Isolated location, strange people, villagers of sorts...but the film has an obvious not so subtle political tone/message. It's really a creative story. It's even more impressive that this was written and directed by comedian Jordan Peele. This is a really cool extension for him. I also loved that he cast a lot of people who primarily are known for comedic type roles. It was really interesting watching a group of "comedians" take this so deadly serious. My only issue with the film because it was so good and so well shot and so captivating that the social message is lost when the answer to it all is sort of "well...just because." I wanted like a super sick reason as to why this involved African Americans and it felt like Peele really copped out on the message they built. Still brilliant performances, a great build up and some solid scares make this a must see for horror fans.
British actor Daniel Kaluuya leads the cast and does so expertly. He has a great back story and brings real depth to the role and his passion and his curiosity shines through. I don't think we felt like we got to know him well enough but he made for a great hero. Up and comer Allison Williams is fantastic as his girlfriend. She is so believable and has such an amazing opportunity to impress towards the end and she does that. Her and Kaluuya have great chemistry too which helps immensely. This cast really is fantastic and the supporting cast are as important as the main. Bradley Whitford is amazing as Williams' father, Catherine Keener is equally as impressive. The two of them together are absolutely phenomenal and their chemistry and performances could make this film a cult classic. Caleb Landry Jones, Marcus Henderson, Betty Gabriel (a haunting and terrifying portrayal), Lakeith Stanfield, Stephen Root and comic relief LilRel Howery are all literally great in their respective roles. It's not easy to get any comedy into such a dark story and Peele's script along with Howery's performance brings some perfectly dark comedy to a bleak script.
The setting for the film is equally as important. The isolation of this lavish compound and the stark white of the landscape both people and the makeup of the home. The odd tone of the people and then the party unravelling, it's so great in every sense. This will truly put Peele on a whole new level of entertainment value and I hope he actually explores his newfound territory with horror/thriller because honestly to me this was better than any of his comedy but I know people are big fans. 8/10