Get Out Review

When it comes to the horror genre it’s more than fair to say that originality is dead, at least more so in concept than execution. Jordan Peele’s directorial debut Get Out might be no exception, but it does in part offer a semi-interesting approach to the age-old get out of that house alive formula while providing an acceptable level of comedy that doesn’t compromise the scares.

British actor Daniel Kaluuya is the lead Chris who, with his new girlfriend Rose, visits her very white upstate family home for the weekend, where he quickly becomes the unhealthy focus for Rose’s creepy brother and parents, as well as the rest of the seemingly-racist community. Rose’s therapist mother also happens to practise hypnosis, a plot device that invites some truly haunting and creative scenes, with the film revolving around an ambiguous and unsettling African-American theme.

But while the suspense slowly rises with the thickening plot, the hypnosis plot device is somewhat underused, and its potential to really up the weird and craft a solid atmosphere – a must for any horror – is overlooked. The twist is also ill-conceived and feels like nothing more than a way of shoehorning in some horror-mandated violence. Though there are some clever and subtle scares here, ultimately they’re short-lived, and despite the critics’ seal of approval, Get Out lacks both the ferocity and white-knuckle, pale-faced tension of last year’s superior Don’t Breathe. That said, it’s a far cry from pea-brained subgenre entries such as 2011’s You’re Next.

There’s still plenty of thought-provoking stuff to chew on here. Sadly, it’s just not quite enough to truly separate the film from others of its own kind.