After Comedy Central’s “Key & Peele” ended in 2015, Jordan Peele, half of the titular comedy duo, worked on a pet project based on his fondness of horror movies since he was a kid. Instead of a typical slasher or haunted house film, he decided to combine a haunted house with a satirical take on interracial romance. Think of it as “The Amityville Horror” meets “Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner?” After writing the screenplay, Jordan visited Blumhouse Productions with the help of Jason Blum, funding his directorial debut titled, “Get Out” alongside Jordan’s production company, Monkeypaw Productions. Jordan’s first full-fledged motion picture began filming in 2016. He casted Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Lil Rel Howery, Bradley Whitford & Catherine Keener as the main characters. After nearly month of filming, the film went through a year of post-production. Jordan & Blumhouse recruited a test audience to see which ending is suitable. If you’ve already seen the whole movie & eager to see an alternate ending, check it out.
Get Out was released in 2017. (same year Logan came out) It received critical acclaim from many critics, horror fans and movie goers alike. Besides positive reception, the film managed to make enough money at the box office with a total of a quarter billion dollars surpassing its $4 million budget. The film went on to earn Oscar nominations at “The 90th Academy Awards.” Jordan ultimately won his first Oscar for “Best Original Screenplay.” Plus, he made history as the first African American to win the category. Now that Jordan’s latest film titled, “Us” is officially out in theaters earning positive reactions from critics, I want to share my real thoughts on Get Out before I see and write a future review of Us. By the way, Jordan will host a revival of “The Twilight Zone” slated to stream soon on CBS All Access.
Note from 2022: CBS All Access is rebranded as Paramount Plus.
The following review doesn’t list any pivotal SPOILERS whatsoever. If you have never ever ever ever seen this movie, feel free to read my non-spoiler article.
Yay & Nay Elements
Yay: The Main Cast such as Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Lil Rey Howery, Bradley Whitford & Catherine Keener all did a fantastic job for their respective performances.
Jordan Peele did an excellent job writing, co-producing & directing the film. Not bad for a first-time filmmaker.
Fun Fact: Jordan revealed on an interview that the title of his movie is taken from Eddie Murphy’s stand-up special, “Delirious,” about white people not leaving a haunted house.
Jason Blum helped co-produced the film from his production company, Blumhouse Productions.
Scare Factor felt perfectly executed. There’s no constant use of Jump Scares. The real tense of fear is about paranoia based on an interracial couple meeting his/her parents cranked up to eleven.
The pacing at first, is slow, if you’re very patient and want to know about the characters, you’ll get used to it. I didn’t mind the slow pace. I never got bored.
Death Scenes were pragmatic in a realistic tone.
The family aren’t a bunch of stereotypical over-the-top hillbillies, they’re actually interesting characters with an interesting motivation.
The Hypnosis Scene was creepy & awesome at the same time.
For those who’ve seen the true ending of the film, there’s an alternate ending. I can’t tell you about the details for any of you guys & gals who haven’t seen both endings.
Despite being labeled as a horror thriller, elements of comedy managed to make me laugh. It’s not going overboard as in the “Scary Movie” parody series. The humor felt suitable as long as Jason Friedberg & Aaron Seltzer (Seltzerberg) didn’t participate as uncredited writers.
If you’re a fan of “Office Space” or “Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story,” Stephen Root plays a blind guest invited by the family.
Familiar horror movie clichés are subverted at times. Jordan did his best to create new tricks making them unique. Felt like a breath of fresh air. You can tell he’s a passionate horror fan.
According to Jordan, Get Out is influenced by iconic horror films including “Rosemary’s Baby,” “The Shining,” “The Stepford Wives,” “Scream,” “The Silence of the Lambs,” “Night of the Living Dead” among many others.
The Villains’ evil motif is understandable based on their history. I can’t tell you why, you will have to see for yourself to get the context straight.
A Plot Twist reveals the true nature of the family linked to one of the main characters.
If you wanna know why a few servants are acting strange, there’s an explanation why they’re behaving weird.
Nay: Cinematography mostly contains unnecessary use of Shaky Cam.
The Final Verdict: A-
Get Out is a sleeper hit, indicating Jordan Peele has hidden depths as a filmmaker capable of telling a Three Act Structure with a unique narrative, interesting characters, scare factor, good writing among a few positive things I’ve listed as the main reasons why it’s a very good movie. If you’re excited to see Us, I highly recommend Get Out. It’ll keep you entertained from beginning, middle and end.
Nickthemoviecritic.com 