Get Out

I watched this with a friend who didn't know the reveal, while I had read about it online last year. It worked really well for both of us. I want to try not to spoil too much about this in case you haven't seen it.

If you know what's coming, the way things keep getting progressively stranger and more ominous has you sitting there dreading the moment it stops being odd and starts being deadly. If you don't know, the things are sufficiently weird that you know things are going to go badly (plus the title of the movie is Get Out, so. . .)

Daniel Kaluuya did an excellent job as Chris. He's already uneasy, meeting his white girlfriend's family the first time, and things are awkward. But awkward in a way that Chris is unfortunately used to, so you see him trying to put it aside, while also trying to find anyone that he can feel more comfortable with. Which only proves to create more strangeness, and makes him even more uneasy. Kaluuya conveys that sense of isolation that produces nagging uncertainty, that distinct awareness that he's vulnerable.

And I like how the movie handled LilRel Howery's character, Rod. It would have been easy for him to just be the goofy best friend character, and Rod is the source of a lot of humor. But he isn't only that. I feel like we're supposed to underestimate him, but he tries to be smart about things and help his friend, even though he's operating in the dark about what's really happening.

The film builds the tension well, and just in general, the threats and tools are presented in an intelligent fashion. I never felt like the movie was cheating. It sets up our expectations, then twists them or blasts them to pieces in ways that work. It's a very well-done film.