It is not everyday a comedian makes a horror film that is truly terrifying and original. But that is what Jordan Peele has achieved courtesy of Get Out. The skit comedy veteran took a major risk and branched out in 2017 to make his directorial debut and according to the critics, the gamble has paid off handsomely.
Praised for it's subtle techniques, genuine chills and thrills and an ability to maximize the story from a modest budget, Peele could be making more of his transition behind the camera than many would have expected. Released nationwide on February 24 last week, the feature has already taken in $33.4m. All while word spreads about the scariest movie in theaters right now.
Black & White Issue Shown In Full Black & White Terms
Based on a young African American man being introduced to the white parents of his girlfriend, all hell breaks loose for a movie that provides as many laughs as frights. Peter Debruge of Variety argues it is something of an odd crossover.
“Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner meets The Stepford Wives in Get Out,” starts the reviewer, "in which a white girl brings her black boyfriend home to meet her parents, whose superficially warm welcome masks an unthinkably dark secret."
But it is the subtext that plays underneath which the director nails, according to Debruge.
"What a watershed feat Peele has pulled off, delivering such a gloriously twisted thriller that simultaneously has so much to say about the state of affairs in post-Obama America. Get Out goes there, so to speak, and though one could argue that it crosses the line, the film’s subversive p.o.v. challenges the place of white privilege from which most pop culture is conceived."
The New York Times are equally enthralled by the movie. Calling it an "exhilaratingly smart and scary freakout," that starts off with the laughs before delving into the dark.
"Mr. Peele is after more than giggles and shocks; he’s taking on 21st-century white racism and its rationales."
Edgy and Incisive: Peele Aims To Educate and Entertain
Although the title probably won't fair too well out in America's suburbs, Benjamin Lee from The Guardian believes moviegoers will be rewarded for their investment. Giving a 4/5 star critique, Lee says that Peele's work is as good as anything going around right now.
"Jordan Peele doesn’t want to make things easy for his audience," starts the reviewer. "Like the greatest sketches from his co-authored Comedy Central show Key & Peele, his new film Get Out is designed to lift the facade of post-racial America and showcase the ugliness that lies beneath."
"Get Out is a provocative, button-pushing shocker that buries itself under your skin and lingers, its genre trappings serving as devious delivery for a scathing takedown of liberal white suburbia. It’s rare for a studio horror film to feel this fresh and daring and it’s arrived at a frighteningly topical moment for a country where racism is scarier than ever."
Source: Variety, The Guardian, NY Times
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