Allison Williams and Daniel Kaluuyu.
Camera IconAllison Williams and Daniel Kaluuyu. Credit: Supplied/Supplied

Get Out review: delivers above and beyond

Julian WrightEastern Reporter

GONE are the days where a knife-wielding psycho chasing young blondes was an audience’s go-to for a cinematic scare.

The underperformance of 2011’s Scream 4 was the indication of the inevitable death (again) of the slasher genre, with people now flocking to ghostly offerings (The Conjuring, Insidious) or edging towards creative, indie chillers (It Follows, Green Room).

Get Out falls into the latter category, and has become a runaway hit, domestically out-grossing fellow low budget film The Blair Witch Project.

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After a few months of dating, caucasian Rose Armitage (Allison Williams) decides to introduce her African-American photographer boyfriend Chris Washington (Daniel Kaluuya) to her parents, hypnotist Missy (Catherine Keener) and neurosurgeon Dean (Bradley Whitford).

Meeting the parents is nerve-racking enough, but for Chris it is heightened due to the inter-racial nature of their relationship.

Rose takes him to their country estate for a weekend getaway, assuring him her liberal parents are cool with him – and despite how pleasant they are, there is something a little off.

Not only does Dean’s overly accommodating behaviour seem to be a cover for a hint of prejudice or ignorance, but their strictly black staff is strangely Stepford-like.

There is an added thrill watching a scary film that not only succeeds in the jump scares but delivers them within a wholly original context.

Putting a sweat-inducing twist on Meet The Parents, with a Rosemary’s Baby vibe and topped with an underlying social commentary on racism and the relationship between black and white people, Get Out is an exciting, enjoyable and thought-provoking experience.

The comedy, via sidekick character Rod Williams (Lil Rel Howery), is just icing on the cake of an already pitch-perfect film.

It is pleasing to see audiences gravitating towards original content and Get Out delivers above and beyond.

THE ESSENTIALS

Get Out (MA)

Directed by: Jordan Peele

Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Catherine Keener

Four and a half stars

Review by: Julian Wright

In cinema May 4