The most horrifying thing about Get Out is how real it all feels. The events depicted are not just possible and imminent, but have already occurred just outside the field of vision. A piece of forgotten history that is 400 years-old looming large, laughing at our presumptions about a world that will not willingly let go of its violence. Jordan Peele’s outstanding commercial and critical success bodes well for the director’s future, as he has become one of the most sought after names in Hollywood. The strength of the film is unique because it is not an outright rejection of Hollywood tropes or another attempt at reinventing the Horror genre – but in its ability to shift the lens through which we are generally used to viewing such films.
Get Out’s use of traditional horror elements tells a story about contemporary social encounters which could be cringe-worthy and horrifying in their own right. The film elevates the alienation and tension in inter-racial encounters as a trope that is strange enough to become a horror movie setting. The first half of the film could be recut as an awkward fish-out-of-water comedy, like an updated version of Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner? Instead of smoothing over differences as quirks and ‘misspeaks’ of a different generation, Get Out satirizes and highlights the deep-seated ways in which we think about racial difference. Daniel Kaluuya has a star-making turn as Chris Washington, one of the most likeable protagonists we have seen in a horror movie in a long time. This British actor balances subtlety with strength, as he delivers on the heroic pay-off with the same ease as he delivers an emotionally tender and vulnerable moment.
That is not to say that the film is without humor, because it is persistently funny, even at moments where laughing out should feel like wrong. Its bleak sense of humor makes any commentator think twice before categorizing it as ‘black’ or ‘dark’ comedy, because such a comment invites another layer of self-examination. The most outrageously funny moments of the film come from Lil Rel Howery’s turn as the most competent TSA agent in the States. In a genre that is not usually known for its self-reflexivity, Howery’s character pre-empts every turn of the film in his own humorous way while resisting traditional pitfalls of stupidity reserved for comedic side-kicks.
[SPOILER] Get Out’s greatest achievement, however, is the reversal of every ugly stereotype about inter-racial relationships (and the larger context of racial relationships). It challenges the fantasy of the black assailant on a white sub-urban paradise by inverting the home-invasion horror genre by making the protagonist fight his way out of the situation. Cruder predatory norms are switched around when the terrifying Rose Armitage (played to perfection by a dangerous debutante, Allison Williams) sits in front of a shrine of other black men she has led to their doom, while searching for ‘Top NCAA prospects’. Yet, the film humorously subverts our expectations about the hateful characters when Rose calls out to her ‘grandpa’. [SPOILER]
There are so many more brilliant moments in the film that discussing all of them would be a disservice to those who have not yet seen the film. In short, I would like to commend on Get Out delivering one of the rare ‘Cinema of the Unexpected’ moments that have become almost impossible to achieve in an era of market-testing and clear branding. I experienced Get Out in a completely different and richer way because it satisfied the norms of both the promised horror genre as well as delivered a rich social commentary. I was wondering when was the last time I was pleasantly surprised by a movie that was advertised as one genre but secretly had another style hidden in it. Just like the film, let me swap genres and turn this review into a list. Here are some movies that came to mind that surprised me with their subtle and enriching act of successful genre-swapping.
Ex Machina (2015) promises a riveting sci-fi tale, but emerges as a film about consciousness and identity. The philosophical turn in the film adds to the bizarre, other-worldly tone of the film, extending the mystique that few sci-fi films are able to offer.
Audition (1999) is perhaps the most horrifying film I have ever seen. The laconic style and the lingering malevolence of the film is thoroughly chilling and it makes you rethink all the certainty you have about the people you have met in your life. There are no surprises in this film, even though there are plenty of opportunities for it, the film targets a different level of viewing. It gives just an ever-growing sense of dread that will make you look over your shoulder and send a tingle down your spine. Interestingly, like Get Out, this film too features a human antagonist scarier than any supernatural threat. Their actions maybe monstrous and yet it is their human position that is worrying.
Contagion (2011) is another horror film that jumped out of a medical drama and showed how the most mundane things are potentially more dangerous than we can ever comprehend. This film also features humans as the antagonist, but not as intentionally evil but an inevitably dangerous. The palpable fear is in the fact that this movie is both the history as well as the future. Unlike earlier movies like Outbreak where cases were easily contained to a single location by an all-powerful governmental machine, Contagion demonstrates the unpreparedness that eliminates any possible resistance against the virus with one sweeping blow.
Which are the movies that surprised you with their genre-bending? Share your comments and views with ScreenEthics.com through facebook or twitter.
SARAVANAN MANI is editor and contributing writer here at ScreenEthics.com. He is a graduate student at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, pursuing a PhD in English focusing on American Crime Television.
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