“Get Out” Review

Jordan Peele is best known for his comedy duo with Keegan-Michael Key “Key & Peele”, but prior to the release of “Get out” it wasn’t commonly known that his favorite genre has always been socially-conscious horror that both thrills and teaches.

“Get Out” begins with a black photographer, Chris, living on his own in a city and preparing to leave to meet the parents of his white girlfriend of four months. Chris seems apprehensive in the beginning but with the comfort of his girlfriend, Rose, he works up the courage. Upon arriving, Chris meets Rose’s aberrant father Dean and austere hypnotherapist mother Missy, who claim to be open-minded despite some off-color jokes. However, the more time Chris spends with the family, the more uncomfortable he becomes at the secluded estate.

Originally written during the early years of the Obama administration, Jordan stated he was inspired by idealistic progressives who claimed that we live in a “post-racial America.” After taking years to reach the screen, “Get Out” is more timely hitting theaters in 2017, as racial and political divisions have grown, revealing the underlying tensions that Peele saw beneath the surface all along.

The villains here aren’t southern rednecks or Nazi skinheads. They’re middle-class white liberals. The kinds of people who shop at Trader Joe’s and would have “voted for Obama a third time if they could.” People we encounter every day. Your neighbors, probably. The thing “Get Out” does so well is to show how these same people can make life so hard and uncomfortable for black people. It exposes a liberal ignorance, and it shows that complacency can be just as dangerous and horrific.

Unsurprisingly, Jordan kept some elements of comedy in his horror flick, with one scene in a police station practically being a Key & Peele sketch. However, overall the movie is something very unexpected from Peele. The horror aspect is a twist on the common daily interactions black people have with caucasians and shows just how scary those interactions can be. Peele’s interview with Forbes hints that we can expect to see more socially conscious horrors from him that will be just as thrilling and have the audience on the edge of their seats, comparable to “Get out.”