31 Days of Horror 2017, Day 3: Get Out (2017)

“Now you're in the sunken place.”
-Missy Armitage

Directed by: Jordan Peele

Starring:  Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Bradley Whitford, Caleb Landry Jones, Lil Rel Howery, Stephen Root, LaKeith Stanfield and Catherine Keener

Trailer/Video: Here

The premise: A young interracial couple (Chris and Rose) visits the estate of Rose's parents, with the experience justifiably leaving Chris feeling very uneasy.

My Familiarity With the Movie: Heard about the critical and audience acclaim when it was released, and a friend also recommended it to me.



Random thoughts as I watch it:

• Aw, young love.
• Right from the get-go, Rod is already my favorite character.
• Oh deer.
• You really get the feeling that the Armitages are patting themselves on the back for being so welcoming and accepting.
• I can see why Walter's running became a meme.
• The hypnotism is genuinely creepy.
• Not gonna lie, I had to pause the movie and step away during the get-together because of how uncomfortable it was to watch. Don't want to use the word "cringe", but...
• Is this an auction?
• CUTIE ALERT: Detective Latoya
• Rod continues to be the best.
• We're getting genuinely creepy now
• The movie as a whole is getting really intense
• And here's the cavalry!

The Good:

• Well-constructed story. A lot of seemingly insignificant things in the film's first half play out in the latter half in clever ways without feeling forced or contrived.
• There's a "spooky" vibe to the whole movie that makes the audience feel very uneasy.
• Great cast. The characters are all interesting and well-developed, and everyone puts in a great performance.
• Rod Williams, played by Lil Rel Howery. Loved the character so much he gets his own bullet point here.
• The satire is great, as well, pointing out that the Artimages' virtue signaling and enthusiasm about Chris being black is just as racist as outright hatred.
• A slow payoff leads to a tense finale.
• While the general plot might be easy to predict, there's still some very surprising twists and turns that play on the viewers' expectations and subverts them.

The Bad:

• It's a very slow burn, which admittedly did get a little frustrating. Like I said before, though, it pays off.
• The aforementioned "cringeworthiness" of how the white guests are engaging in what TV Tropes calls "positive discrimination". I understand that's the whole point, though. Still made it hard for me to watch.

Best Scare: Everything about the surgery.

What Did We Learn Today? Hypnosis probably isn't the best way to quit smoking.

Recommended? Yes.