They say that horror and comedy tap into the same part of the brain, so it should be no surprise that one half of Key & Peele managed such a successful horror film in his directorial debut.
A friend recently described the social commentary of George Romero films as obvious, even heavy-handed. He’s right, I think, and I’m glad for it since I am pretty obtuse when it comes to subtle themes in film. I tend to get wrapped up in the story being told while I’m watching, and then go on to marvel at the insights of more astute viewers that I encounter after the fact. It got me thinking about the horror genre as a whole, though, and whether or not such inelegant symbolism was par for the course. I’m inclined towards “yes”, but It’s a tricky question to answer. I just heard a podcast host casually mention the allegory to terrorism in The VVitch as if it were common knowledge, but it certainly isn’t anything that I picked up on (that’s after I watched it and wrote a critical evaluation, mind you, not after a casual viewing where I was checking my email the whole time.) I’m more confident answering a second, related question. Does obvious, even heavy-handed, social commentary in horror films make them bad? As Get Out demonstrates, the answer to that one is a definitive “No”.
If you have paid any attention to the marketing of Get Out, then you probably have a pretty good idea of what it’s about. A black guy (Daniel Kaluuya, who was in the great Black Mirror episode “15 Million Merits”) travels with his white girlfriend (Allison Williams) to visit her wealthy family, and some bad shit goes down. You probably also guessed that the film would tackle racism, and it does. I would go so far as to say that it isn’t even subtext, but that the film is overtly about racism, just exaggerated and extorted to meet the demands of the horror genre. What you probably can’t guess is what types of racism are in the crosshairs, and precisely what type of terror they manifest as. Romero (among many others) has used his movies to look at overt, traditional racism. Director Jordan Peele sets his sights slightly differently, tackling the sort of concealed racism that the practitioner doesn’t even realize they are participating in. It’s the kind of racism that prompts William’s dad to share with Kaluuya, unprompted, that he would have voted for Obama a third time if he could. When Williams’ parents throw a big party with their mostly white friends, the comments and questions become much more uncomfortable. In a weird way, once all the twists and secrets have been revealed, all those comments and questions become perversely understandable. It’s as if Peele imagined the only scenario he could think of that could reasonably prompt people to say these things. What does that tell us then about the people who say them in the real world, without the high concept horror movie plot machinations as an excuse?
I’m being particularly coy, because this is a very new movie and I don’t want to spoil anything. I really enjoyed Get Out, and for a myriad of reasons beyond the thematic elements. Peele already has a great eye for horror, and the style of the film is a big strength. The two lead performances are excellent, and Bradley Whitford and Catherine Keener are also outstanding as the parents. Keener, in particular, is perfectly cast in this part. She already has an offhand intensity that served her well in films like Being John Malcovich, and the way she can simultaneously laugh and smile yet make you uneasy is leveraged to full affect. The movie is also funny, though perhaps not as much as you would think coming from the mind of Peele. The primary source of comedy is Lil Rel Howery as Kaluuya’s best friend and proud TSA agent. He provides a much-needed lifeline for Kaluuya as they talk on the phone, and for us as he gives us a few brief respites from the tension that Peele is constantly building.
My only criticism of the movie is that the third act feels a little short in comparison to acts one and two. I think you need the time spent early to slowly turn the screws and make the protagonist and audience more and more on edge, but I would have loved another ten or fifteen minutes to revel in the manic, violent climax. Setting aside that minor issue of balance, this is a complete success as both a horror film and a social commentary. I would encourage everyone reading this to check it out.
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