Halloween Countdown: Get Out

So we’re counting down to -2. But it’s a great movie that deserves mention and a review.

A mind is a terrible thing to waste.

Cast, Crew, and Other Info:

Director: Jordan Peele
Writer: Jordan Peele

Daniel Kaluuya as Chris Washington
Allison Williams as Rose Armitage
Catherine Keener as Missy Armitage
Bradley Whitford as Dean Armitage
Caleb Landry Jones as Jeremy Armitage
Marcus Henderson as Walter
Betty Gabriel as Georgina
More…

Available on DVD, BluRay, and Digital

Premise

It’s time for a young African American to meet with his white girlfriend’s parents for a weekend in their secluded estate in the woods, but before long, the friendly and polite ambiance will give way to a nightmare.

High Points

  • Playing “Bingo” (To be fair, there are a lot of scenes with double-meanings and they’re all excellent)
  • Relentless sense of dread

Low Point

Chris’ discovery of the photographs. It feels jarringly convenient when it happens and it’s a hiccup in the overall pacing in the last act of the film.

The Scores

Originality: The core premise is a horror staple but it’s approached in such a unique and timely way, I have to give a high score. 5/6

Effects: Effects are minimal, but effective. 6/6

Story: In any other year, this story would be good. But this year, it’s excellent and, frankly, necessary. 6/6

Acting: There are some minor annoyances from secondary characters, but all told, the cast is fantastic. 5/6

Production: It’s great to see an excellent film on such a small budget. 6/6

Emotional Response: Even without the racial subplot, this would be a truly horrifying movie. Using genre language to make a social point is often what we love most about genre films, TV, and books. This works on so many levels and leads to some excellent post-watching conversations. 6/6

Overall: Jordan Peele has a genuine masterpiece of horror as his directorial debut. Watch it. Now. 6/6

Total: 40/42

Bonus Features

I don’t usually spend a lot of time on the bonus features of a DVD, but I highly recommend watching the alternate ending of Get Out. Either ending is excellent and, ultimately, I’m not sure which one is better.

5 replies on “Halloween Countdown: Get Out”

  1. The alternate ending strikes a more sinister note, and in one sense, works better for the genre and premise, but a lot of people want some positive release at the end of this kind of journey, and the new ending provides that.

    • It’s been several months since I watched it and I’m still on the fence as to which is the better ending. I would assume that the “canonical” ending gives Peele a better shot at making a sequel.

  2. I am not typically a horror fan, because usually they were gore-fests, jump scares, or too outlandish to engender real feelings of fear. I still ended up watching this, and it was excellent. Excellently made, excellently written, and while I agree with the scores, I think it might have found a way or earn those last two points.

    …I am going to have to seek out that alternate ending.

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