I’m white, and white people scare me now. Get Out, the deliciously entertaining horror satire from Jordan Peele, is one of the smartest, sharpest and ridiculously good thrillers you’ll see all year.
Get Out stars Daniel Kaluuya as Chris Washington, a non-token black man who has traveled to his white girlfriend’s all-white family estate. Though he convinces her (Allison Williams) that everything is fine, he immediately begins to notice some strange things, like the fact that the only black people around are servants with very odd temperaments and his girlfriend’s mother (Catherine Keener) may or may not have hallucinated him.
White people are crazy. Get Out takes that statement literally.
What’s great about Get Out is that it’s a thriller that defies convention. It’s not scary in the traditional sense, but writer/director Peele establishes such an electric atmosphere–one that is both creepy and oddly hilarious–it’s impossible not to find something to love. The screenplay is as sharp as the deer’s antlers that may or may not impale someone through the neck at some point in the movie, a legitimately well-written piece that doesn’t waste a moment.
Kaluuya is terrific in the lead role, but it’s LilRel Howery–as his eccentric friend/TSA agent–who steals the show. In fact, the entire cast is spot on.
Get Out is by no means the scariest horror-thriller you’ll see, but it’s pitch-perfect.
Review by Erik Samdahl unless otherwise indicated.