Get Out (2017)

[baumer]

On 24/05/2017 at 3:45 PM, Goffe said:

I was bored the whole way through it. I found the music to be intrusive, the sad backstory incredibly mechanic, the 'family pretends to be perfect' scenes super cringey (not in the way the movie intended), etc. Just lacking in general. 3/10

 

What a shock.

[nick64]

My review of Get Out:

https://grabyourseat.wordpress.com/2017/05/26/get-out-film-review/

 

Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele dominated the comedy world for the first half of the decade with their hit show Key & Peele, a sketch comedy series that touched on a wide variety of racial and social issues. Since the show’s cancellation in 2015, Key has gone on to have a very successful career as a supporting player in various comedies. Peele, on the other hand, has decided to dip his feet into directing, and that’s where Gets Out comes in. While certainly humorous at times, Get Out is a straight-up horror film. But unlike so many, it’s a genuinely smart one that manages to both scare you and provide interesting commentary on race relations and social interaction, making this a true breath of fresh air.

 

Get Out centers around photographer Chris Washington (Daniel Kaluuya) as he travels with his girlfriend, Rose (Allison Williams), to meet her family. Beyond the normal fears of meeting the parents of a significant other, Chris is worried about how the family will react to finding out that he is black. The meeting with Rose’s family (Bradley Whitford, Catherine Keener, Caleb Landry Jones) is awkward, but still friendly, but Chris begins to notice some strange behavior among the various black residents in the neighborhood, including family housekeeper Georgina (Betty Gabriel) and groundskeeper Walter (Marcus Henderson). Things keep getting weirder, and Chris must try to figure out what’s going on before it’s too late.

 

Get Out does so many things rights, and at the center of all of this is what it has to say about race relations. The film has some very smart commentary. None of the white characters in the film are loud-and-proud racists, but the dialogue given to the interracial conversations is spot on at capturing the subtle ways that nervousness is shown between the two races. These conversations come off very cringey, but in an intentional way. For example, Rose’s father states randomly that he would have voted for Obama a third time if he could and tries to speak in a “cool” way. This cringiness makes you uncomfortable, which helps the horror scenes pay off even more than they already would.

 

For a first time director, Peele is very good at directing horror scenes. The scares themselves aren’t completely original and he’s not above using a jump scare, but he is excellent at building up tension properly in a way that allows these more clichéd moments to feel earned. The camera is staged perfectly to build up maximum tension, the score is great and works well to set the mood (as done a genius use of Childish Gambino's "Redbone"), and scenes are set up in ways to make you as uncomfortable as possible. The horror direction is truly masterful, and certain scenes, including a hypnosis halfway through and the film’s entire third act, are sure to give you chills that will stick for awhile.

 

Peele is strongest at directing the horror scenes, but he still succeeds in spades at building a story that is interesting with characters we care about. The mystery of the film really is intriguing and will have you on the edge of your seat. Chris is a relatable every-man with human flaws, and he never becomes a stereotype. Daniel Kaluuya plays him well, giving him a charm that is easy to root for. Bradley Whitford and Catherine Keener are excellent as Rose’s parents. They make their characters likeable and hateable at the same, which is exactly what we need from them. But stealing the show is Lil Rel Howery as Chris’s best friend and a proud agent of the TSA. He helps Chris figure out what’s going on and serves as the film’s comic relief. He is superb in that role and nearly all of his jokes land perfectly.

 

As demonstrated by its success, Get Out is a much needed film in today’s environment. It shines light on real issues in a really intelligent way without compromising the truly entertaining film around it. It’s not without its flaws though. The racial subtext can be a little heavy handed at times, and the film never reaches its full potential by staying one-sided in its commentary. The reasoning behind the mystery of the film is also very weak, essentially coming down to “because we want to make it a race movie”. Regardless, Get Out is a genuinely scary, funny, and entertaining film with great performances and award-worthy direction. It has a lot to say and goes about it very cleverly. It’s an important film that should be viewed by those of all races.

 

Grade: 8.5/10

Edited May 27, 2017 by nick64

[somebody85]

Yeah sorry guys, I'm going to go against the popular opinion. As a horror fan, I don't really like this movie. It doesn't hold up well on rewatches at all much like It Follows. But that at least had better atmosphere then this did due to incredible cinematography. The only thing I got on the rewatch of this was some of the double meanings of certain lines of the social commentary (which I guess was cool). Like the first meeting between Chris and Roses parents are full of them. 

With both viewings I started to dislike this film right at the hypnosis part. My dad is a licensed hypnotist and it's portrayal in this movie is complete garbage as is the actual practice itself. He has never used it effectively on me because it only works for people who are susceptible and it's never ever like that. I felt that plot device was a lame attempt at using something else besides guns as a way to keep the main character hostage while still keeping the liberal theme of the family/guests. Sorry it did not work for me. I thought every single scene that involved it was flat out stupid and took me completely out of the movie. And since it's such a huge part of Get Out, it in turn took me out of the entire premise.

And once you know where this thing is headed, the middle seriously drags. I got this films message the first time around and on second viewing, it felt like it was beating me over the head with it. The acting is great but there's not much here besides it.

And then I hate how they telegraphed that twist before it happened. Like "Here ya go Chris, here's this wide open closet door with my box of my super secret photos because I'm so manipulative and it's too late now! I know that there's no possible way for you to escape! We have our nifty spoon and cup video and it's never failed us!"

This scene would have been a lot more effective without Chris finding the photos beforehand. Instead it's like "Yeah we get it, she's evil too. Let's move on and see how he's going to get out of this" It kills all of the tension of the "Where's the keys Rose!" scene that follows which goes on forever because the movie already played it's hand way too early.

EDIT: I was incorrect about this scene (rewatched this last week and just commenting on it now). The problem is not Chris breaking the hypnosis. It's the hypnosis video not immediately starting after the blind guy speaks to him like the first video did. He should have only had 6 seconds to stuff cotton in his ears but for reasons unknown the cup and spoon video does not immediately start again like it did before and the movie does not explain why.  This is what gives Chris time to shove cotton into his ears to escape and I still think it's lazy.

Then let's get to the magic appearing cotton earplugs. I would love someone to explain how the hell these got in Chris's ears. Yes I did catch that he was ripping the chair as he was tied down with this viewing but Get Out doesn't explain how it gets in his ears which is the main problem I had with it in the first viewing.

He's tied down the entire time before the big swapping procedure and then he's briefly let go to take into the operating room. How did he manage to stuff cotton into his ears while he was tied down? Did he just throw it up towards his face and tilt his head while his hands are completely strapped to the chair? How did he do this when he's supposed to be knocked out? Did this super effective family leave his hands looser then usual to allow for this escape? Remember the video of that cup and spoon starts right after the exposition video from the blind guy who explains the procedure that's about to happen.

Either that, or this rich super smart family of villains who have done this procedure numerous times were dumb enough to leave that video off while they unstrap him for plot reasons. So I guess Chris is passed out and is just faking being asleep with cotton stuffed in his ears. Or! The hypnosis and the stupid spoon and cup video magically stopped working for some reason but the movie has no intention of explaining how.

And that's a huge reason why I have such an issue with the hypnosis stuff. If it's this integral to the plot then you better explain how the hell he broke out of that trance to stuff cotton into his ears while he's supposed to be completely incapacitated.

The movie completely skips over how he escapes and expects audiences to just go with it because 'We gotta see him get revengeeee!"

This scene is extremely stupid for a movie that is trying to be smart and it's not something I can just overlook because it's the whole reason for the third act. Every explanation for how this occurs makes no sense with the movies own rules.

All they needed to do was include a scene of Chris escaping that stupid hole he gets put in during the hypnosis and figuring a way to beat it but they never do. 

EDIT: I was incorrect about a lot of this scene (rewatched this last week and just commenting on it now). The problem is not Chris breaking the hypnosis. It's the hypnosis cup and spoon video not immediately starting after the blind guy speaks to him like it did after the first video played. He should have only had 6 seconds to stuff cotton in his ears but for reasons unknown the cup and spoon video does not immediately start again like it did before and the movie does not explain why. This is what gives Chris time to shove cotton into his ears to escape and I still think it's lazy.

And that leads to the finale which is ripped right out the revenge torture porn movies from the early to mid 2000s. I didn't care to see Chris get his bloodlust here (besides maybe the mother) like I did when Doug went after the hillbilly cannibals in The Hills Have Eyes remake after they killed so many members of his family in that unforgettable RV sequence. I don't really like torture porn movies in general but that one is more entertaining then something like Hostel. 

We don't really see them do bad things. We just hear about it and therefore they come off more as caricatures instead of actual people I hated. They didn't feel authentic after that opening greeting scene.

So Chris runs over the maid and she springs to life inside his car. If he knows that his cell phone flash can take victims out of that trance why didn't he use it on her before driving away with her? We know he knows this works because he uses it on the other housekeeper (or Grandfather). 

So then we get to the real scene of the person who he should want the most revenge over besides the mother...Rose and he's strangling her and stops while she is smiling evilly up at him...because? I guess somewhere inside he still loved her even though she was the reason for him being there? Yeah...that makes a ton of sense! So the torture porn revenge bloodlust wasn't even applied to the person who deserved it most. The housekeeper was the one who shot her not him. And how convenient that guns come into this part and are left out of the rest of the movie. 

Man as a horror fan, I really don't like it. I would be able to forgive some of this stuff and say "well it's just a dumb horror movie" but it's not trying to be that. It takes itself so damn seriously.

It's a horror film for people who don't usually like horror. I feel like critics and a lot of people that watched this movie saw that spoon and cup video instead of what I watched.

C+

 

Edited May 27, 2017 by somebody85

[CoolioD1]

you spent like 1000 words talking about the cotton earplugs. it's totally possible to move your head down to your hands to put it in when you're sitting like that. pretty easy actually!

Edited May 27, 2017 by CoolioD1

[somebody85]

10 minutes ago, CoolioD1 said:

you spent like 1000 talking about the cotton earplugs. it's totally possible to move your head down to your hands to put it in when you're sitting like that. pretty easy actually!

Okay how did he break out of the magical hypnosis trance then? He had to in order to accomplish this?
 

Please, be my guest and explain how this scene was possible if it made sense to you instead of mocking me for how much I wrote about it. Go ahead and explain how he broke out of the trance when the movie didn't.

And no if we're to take this seriously, I don't buy that this wealthy elite family is stupid enough to leave a fault like that in a procedure that probably involves millions of dollars. They would tie him down extremely tight to allow for no movement or chance of escape.

Remember they are supposed to be so manipulative and confident from Rose leaving that box of photos out from the directors own commentary.

 

Edited May 27, 2017 by somebody85

[aabattery]

8 minutes ago, somebody85 said:

Okay how did he break out of the magical hypnosis trance then? He had to in order to accomplish this?
 

 

He just woke up. Like, there was precedent for it. They showed him waking up after being put in a trance the first time.

 

Edited May 27, 2017 by aabattery

[CoolioD1]

he wasn't in the trance at that moment. you can see that, the scene pretty much cuts away just before he actually puts them in! you can see how well tied down he is. so yes, i guess the family doesn't do a proper risk assessment. whatever. these are just the kind of nitpicky noncriticisms that the internet loves these days. all i can say to that is "alright, you do you man".

Edited May 27, 2017 by CoolioD1

[somebody85]

38 minutes ago, aabattery said:

 

He just woke up. Like, there was precedent for it. They showed him waking up after being put in a trance the first time.

 

Okay so this means they had to leave the video off while they unstrap him? Why would they do this? And why would he need to shove anything into his ears if there's no video playing?

No they don't. They show him waking up in bed after the first trance. He thinks it was a nightmare at first until someone comments about it later and he realizes it actually happened. They never explain how he gets out of it.
 

 

38 minutes ago, CoolioD1 said:

he wasn't in the trance at that moment. you can see that, the scene pretty much cuts away just before he actually puts them in! you can see how well tied down he is. so yes, i guess the family doesn't do a proper risk assessment. whatever. these are just the kind of nitpicky noncriticisms that the internet loves these days. all i can say to that is "alright, you do you man".

So again this super efficient family just left that video off to allow him to break the trance in the moment they needed it the most? This makes no sense with the rules they laid out for hypnosis and it's usage during the rest of the film. They are shown to be incredibly confident in how they do this procedure and we're just supposed to believe they acted carelessly this one time and during this one time, Chris was lucky enough to shove something in his ears to escape? And again why would he put cotton in his ears before striking the brother and then remove them afterwards?

The scene makes it seem like he got out of this situation due to the earplugs blocking him from hearing the video. This allowed him to pretend to be knocked out to surprise the brother when the right moment arose. If he put them in before striking the brother it makes no sense because there's no reason for them anymore. The video would not be playing so there's nothing he is trying to block himself from hearing. Furthermore he immediately removes them right after the brother is knocked out on the floor before looking to see if the TV that is playing that video is even off (so it must be). It doesn't add up. 

The only logical explanation is that he figured out a way to break out of the hypnosis. But the movie never explains how. It just happened because they needed a way for him to escape to set the revenge part into motion. That's pretty lazy writing. 

And no the movie doesn't show him not in a trance. I watched this scene multiple times to try to see it. The brother walks in the room and Chris is layed out on the chair. The movie cuts to the brother doing something with his back turned and then the movie cuts to Chris's hand gripping a ball before striking him. That's all it showed.

The only time it even shows the ripped cotton from the chair is while he's watching the exposition from the video. The film never shows him putting it in his ears. The only time we find out he had cotton in his ears was after he strikes the brother down.
 

And how is it a noncriticism when it leads into the entire climax? 

Edited May 27, 2017 by somebody85

[aabattery]

25 minutes ago, somebody85 said:

Okay so this means they had to leave the video off while they unstrap him? Why would they do this? And why would he need to shove anything into his ears if there's no video playing?

No they don't. They show him waking up in bed after the first trance. He thinks it was a nightmare at first until someone comments about it later and he realizes it actually happened. They never explain how he gets out of it.
 

 

So again this super efficient family just left that video off to allow him to break the trance in the moment they needed it the most? This makes no sense with the rules they laid out for hypnosis and it's usage during the rest of the film. They are shown to be incredibly confident in how they do this procedure and we're just supposed to believe they acted carelessly this one time and during this one time, Chris was lucky enough to shove something in his ears to escape?

And no the movie doesn't show him not in a trance. I watched this scene multiple times to try to see it. The brother walks in the room and Chris is layed out on the chair. The movie cuts to the brother doing something with his back turned and then the movie cuts to Chris's hand gripping a ball before striking him. That's all it showed.

The only time it even shows the ripped cotton from the chair is while he's watching the exposition from the video. The film never shows him putting it in his ears. The only time we find out he had cotton in his ears was after he strikes the brother down.
 

And how is it a noncriticism when it leads into the entire climax? 

 

I just don't understand your issue with the hypnosis. It all seemed pretty consistent to me. I know your dad is a licensed hypnotist but is it really that hard to believe that this form of hypnosis is different to the one you know?

 

As for the cotton thing, you don't need to see him put it in his ears. I really don't see what you find so unbelievable about a guy putting cotton in his ears.

 

And you're right, he didn't go into a trance. That's because he had the cotton in his ears. He was pretending to go into one. The brother came in and just assumed he was in one. Again, I don't see what's hard to believe about that.

 

Edited May 27, 2017 by aabattery

[CoolioD1]

i just checked that scene again online. literally, you see him notice the cotton, he moves his head close to it and then it cuts away. gee whizz, i wonder what happened next.

Edited May 27, 2017 by CoolioD1

[somebody85]

3 minutes ago, CoolioD1 said:

i just checked that scene again online. literally, you see him pull at the cotton, he moves his head close to it and then it cuts away. gee whizz, i wonder what happened next.

Man I must have watched a different cut of this movie because I never saw this. When the tape comes on that last time after the blind guy explains what's going to happen, the cup and spoon video starts immediately. Chris says "No...No" and then the scene cuts as he falls into the trance again and goes to something else. It never showed him moving his head towards cotton. And I watched for that multiple times.

 

15 minutes ago, aabattery said:

 

I just don't understand your issue with the hypnosis. It all seemed pretty consistent to me. I know your dad is a licensed hypnotist but is it really that hard to believe that this form of hypnosis is different to the one you know?

 

As for the cotton thing, you don't need to see him put it in his ears. I really don't see what you find so unbelievable about a guy putting cotton in his ears.

 

And you're right, he didn't go into a trance. That's because he had the cotton in his ears. He was pretending to go into one. The brother came in and just assumed he was in one. Again, I don't see what's hard to believe about that.

 

Yes it is hard for me to believe when no form of hypnosis acts like that. Hypnotists who watched this move even called out that aspect of it.

My problem with the cotton thing, is he has to break the hypnosis trance to do this and the movie doesn't explain how that happens. And if he didn't go into a trance then why does he say No No and fall back with his eyes glazed over when the video starts again? The movie never explains how the cotton got into his ears unless there's some scene I'm missing.


 

[aabattery]

Just now, somebody85 said:

Man I must have watched a different cut of this movie because I never saw this. When the tape comes on that last time after the blind guy explains what's going to happen, the cup and spoon video starts immediately. Chris says "No...No" and then the scene cuts as he falls into the trance again and goes to something else. It never showed him moving his head towards cotton. And I watched for that multiple times.

 

Yes it is hard for me to believe when no form of hypnosis acts like that. Hypnotists who watched this move even called out that aspect of it.

My problem with the cotton thing, is he has to break the hypnosis trance to do this and the movie doesn't explain how that happens. And if he didn't go into a trance then why does he say No No and fall back with his eyes glazed over when the video starts again? The movie never explains how the cotton got into his ears unless there's some scene I'm missing.


 

 

He put it in his ears.

 

He was pretending.

 

I also went online and watched the scene again. I'm really not seeing what's confusing about it. 

 

And I guess they took some liberties with hypnotism? I don't know much about that kinda thing. I guess if that's a big part of your life it might bother you but 99.99% of people aren'tgoing to have an issue with the movies portrayal of a fictional kind of hypnotism.

[CoolioD1]

6 minutes ago, somebody85 said:

Man I must have watched a different cut of this movie because I never saw this. When the tape comes on that last time after the blind guy explains what's going to happen, the cup and spoon video starts immediately. Chris says "No...No" and then the scene cuts as he falls into the trance again and goes to something else. It never showed him moving his head towards cotton. And I watched for that multiple times.
 

scene isn't on youtube yet so i can't post a link but here's a screengrab. wonder what he's about to do.

 

[CoolioD1]

this is the greatest trick the devil ever pulled. now i've written 1000 words about cotton earplugs too. the internet was a mistake etc.

[aabattery]

6 minutes ago, CoolioD1 said:

this is the greatest trick the devil ever pulled. now i've written 1000 words about cotton earplugs too. the internet was a mistake etc.

 

We haven't even gotten to the benefits of showing risk assessment forms in cinema.

[somebody85]

1 hour ago, aabattery said:

 

He put it in his ears.

 

He was pretending.

 

I also went online and watched the scene again. I'm really not seeing what's confusing about it. 

 

And I guess they took some liberties with hypnotism? I don't know much about that kinda thing. I guess if that's a big part of your life it might bother you but 99.99% of people aren'tgoing to have an issue with the movies portrayal of a fictional kind of hypnotism.

Okay now I'm watching it online too because I'm trying to make sure I'm not going crazy. I was specifically looking out for it the second time I watched this because I had a big problem with it the first time.

Here's the timetables of this whole sequence from the Bluray:

1:12 - Chris wakes up in the chair from the trance he was put in after the keys scene.
1:13 - Chris tries to bite one of the leather restraints holding him down showing he's strapped in pretty tight to that chair but he can move his head close enough (this family would never allow this running such a tight operation)
1:13:30 - Cheesy New Employee like video starts explaining whats happening
1:15:32 - Video with cup and spoon starts after Chris says what the fuck to Behold the Cuagula
1:15:35 - Chris falls back in a trance again
1:22 - First sign of Chris ripping the chair arm while he's still knocked out
1:22:23 - Video with the blind guy starts
1:24 - Chris recalls the sunken place and how he can't get out from the hypnosis
1:25:42 - Chris looks at the ripped chair after the blind guy says he's done and starts to touch the cotton...scene cuts

The scene cuts....Okay so we're supposed to believe that the hypnosis video didn't immediately start again and he had time to put the cotton from that chair in his ears? The first video cut from the ending to the hypnosis cup and spoon video very quickly. The Behold The Coagula video is playing at 1:15:26 and the hypnosis video is already on again which the spoon touching the cup at 1:15:31. lol it's literally a six second transition from one video to the other.

So in order to buy this escape, we're supposed to believe this family wouldn't put Chris back into the sunken place immediately like the last time. Yeah that doesn't add up. Why the hell would they wait when they didn't wait before? In six seconds, Chris would have been out of time just looking at the chair.

So again, this requires the family running this super operation with millions of dollars on the line to suddenly start acting really stupid to allow Chris to escape. That video would have started right up again. Why would they leave him out of a trance to just sit there when they didn't before? There's no reasoning behind this besides giving Chris time to shove the chairs stuffing into his ears. It's Bond Villain stuff.

Come on. That's lazy writing. 

Edited May 27, 2017 by somebody85

[WrathOfHan]

MFW reading the cotton argument

 

[somebody85]

32 minutes ago, CoolioD1 said:

scene isn't on youtube yet so i can't post a link but here's a screengrab. wonder what he's about to do.

 

Okay since this turned into a full discussion I broke the scene down using timetables. In order for this to happen the hypnosis video would have to not start immediately like it did after the first time. He had 6 seconds to pull this off but conveniently the video doesn't start right up this time. Why would that happen? There was no reason to just leave him sitting there?
 

Sounds like a lazy way to allow a character to escape an unwinnable situation.

[aabattery]

5 minutes ago, somebody85 said:

Okay since this turned into a full discussion I broke the scene down using timetables. In order for this to happen the hypnosis video would have to not start immediately like it did after the first time. He had 6 seconds to pull this off but conveniently the video doesn't start right up this time. Why would that happen? There was no reason to just leave him sitting there?
 

Sounds like a lazy way to allow a character to escape an unwinnable situation.

 

 

I don't think we're gonna get anywhere because I seriously can't see whats so confusing or lazy about the writing. There's a shot outside after the cotton shot before it cuts back to the spoon/cup so you can assume some time passed; it wasn't necessarily real time. I don't see why it would be. He had plenty of time to put cotton in his ears. 

[somebody85]

57 minutes ago, aabattery said:

 

 

I don't think we're gonna get anywhere because I seriously can't see whats so confusing or lazy about the writing. There's a shot outside after the cotton shot before it cuts back to the spoon/cup so you can assume some time passed; it wasn't necessarily real time. I don't see why it would be. He had plenty of time to put cotton in his ears. 

Right that does happen, but if we're to assume this video followed the the same sequence of the Cuagla video, then he had 6 seconds to do this. 6 seconds passed while he was examining the chair alone to come up with this plan so a lot more time must have passed before that cup and spoon video came on again.

I can buy the family using a chair like this if the video is that fullproof. And it makes sense with the first video sequence because you can't do much with 6 seconds even if the chair is ripped if the hypnosis is actually that effective (which it was written as being for the rest of the movie).

But what I can't buy is the cup and spoon video starting later then it did after the second video and the movie giving no explanation for this stall. This doesn't line up with how the family is written for the rest of the movie.

My problem is that he had plenty of time to stuff cotton in his ears when it's shown he shouldn't have if we are going to go by how quick the hypnosis video starts after the first introduction video ends. I guess they had some technical glitch....but then this requires the family to act careless enough to not be watching that room from where they are because they are clearly timing the videos to start and stop from a different location.

I mean they are right down the hall from where Chris is, it's not like this would be a hard thing for someone to keep track of if something went wrong technically. And I would have been happier if the movie explained that they were having issues when the scene cut from Chris looking at the chair instead of doing it the way they did. They could have still gotten their surprise moment. Or put in some dialogue that they were giving him some extra time to be at peace before the procedure to reflect. Like anything to explain that delay to make the family look less incompetent (and out of character). The only reason it's there is to give Chris a way out to start the third act and to give the audience an oh shit moment who didn't pick up on him looking at the chair.

That's why it seems like lazy writing to me but I'm glad others can overlook it.

Edited May 27, 2017 by somebody85