Get Out (2017)

With all the hoopla that there has been about this film plus its huge showing at the Oscars, I had to watch it and see if it lived up to the hype.  And with a kill less than five minutes into the movie, we were off to a good start.  I had hoped that we could keep that kind of pace going for the duration of the film but, that didn’t really happen.

While this Jordan Peele film (writer/director) was good, I’m not sure that it deserved all of the accolades that were heaped upon it from the get go.

First of all, the use of a horror film as a platform for a political statement seems a little strange to me.  But, that was well received.  I did think that the film, though it moved steadily, still moved kind of slow. 

Second, for a horror movie, there wasn’t a lot of HORROR as much as there was SUSPENSE.  The events in this film tend to take place like they would in real life, leaving you constantly wondering “What the hell is going on?”  It’s almost like being in a constant state of slight confusion.  And then, when we do find out what the deal is, I think it is extremely poorly explained.

So basically, we have a Caucasian woman who is dates African-American men in order to take them home to her family and friends so they can bid on (now here’s what I’m not clear about) either their body or their body parts.  These poor men are basically being used as harvested donors…of, I guess, anything.  (The reason I am not going into the entire story like usual is because there are a lot of little twists and turns and tiny nuances that you really just need to see.)

Now, the creep factor is way up there in this film, I will admit that.  Although there is no real gore or super bloody scenes or anything like that, the acting is good and everything is played just to the right amount as not to be overdone and cheesy.
 
The ending is the most action-packed part of the film.  There are two endings…the alternate ending is actually the original ending and in today’s world, is definitely more believable on how things would have ended up.  However, if you like happy (somewhat happy) endings wrapped neatly with a bow, then you’ll be delighted with this one.

However, I will also say that some things were somewhat predictable…and to me, predictable doesn’t equal and Oscar…especially in a horror film.  (It’s so rare that horror gets any attention at all at the Oscars, when it does these films are usually groundbreaking and shocking.)  The chick’s whole family was creepy from the very beginning.  There’s obvious tension and dysfunction that goes way beyond the normal American family.

All of that being said, the film did keep me mostly interested the whole way through.  The suspense in not knowing why things are happening and little being explained until the end almost forces the viewer to commit to the entire film.  I only checked to see how much time was left twice, which is not bad.  It did hold my attention for the most part and it did have a couple of good scares in there. 

Overall, I would be able to recommend this to any horror lover and most people who may not be into the typical horror flicks too much.  I will also say that I will be watching it a second time eventually in order to see if I can catch anything I may have missed the first time.

RATINGS
3.5/5 Stars