When Rose Armitage asks her boyfriend Chris Washington to meet her parents for the first time over a weekend visit, Chris reluctantly agrees. However, Chris is wary of how Rose’s parents will react to their daughter’s interracial relationship.

Upon arriving at the Armitage household, Chris becomes suspicious of the off-putting behavior by both the African-American workers around the house and the rich, elderly guests that arrive for a yearly get together. As stranger and stranger things unfold, Chris must choose between fight or flight — to “Get Out” before it’s too late.

Directing: 5/5

When the name Jordan Peele is brought up, the first thing that comes to mind is the comedy pairing of Key and Peele. So, when one member of that pair decides to do a horror film, it is quite surprising that the result is as effective a thriller as “Get Out.”

Blending his signature style of comedy — as well as classical horror clichés — Peele does an excellent job on his first directorial outing. From the opening scene and title crawl, both the camerawork and soundtrack create a sense of building dread and foreboding that is consistently maintained throughout the rest of the film.

This tension is broken only by moments of quality humor inserted at the right times to keep an even flow of chills and chortles. Another aspect of the film that is handled incredibly well is the race issue that it blatantly brings up. The overall message is never too preachy, but it does provide some food for thought concerning race relations and respect for all people in general, which the audience will most certainly mull over as they leave the theater.

Writing: 4/5

“Get Out” does a superb job of showing, not telling. No time is wasted on monotonous exposition. This helps to move the movie along, especially since the set up can seem a little slow at times. But that is easy to overlook, as the pieces begin to come together one visual clue at a time.

However, the slow, gradual buildup to the climax is offset by the short, steep incline that is the falling action. “Get Out” is still an engaging movie from beginning to end, but it came off as underwhelming when the layered complexity that was so prevalent in the rest of the film is missing from the final act.

Acting: 4/5

Daniel Kaluuya as Chris Washington steals the show with his casual, everyman personality that he brings to the character. His relatable reactions to the things he sees is a sensible mix of skepticism and terror, instead of swinging from one extreme to the other.

Allison Williams as Rose Armitage gives a worthwhile performance in her own right, while having likeable and believable chemistry with Daniel’s character.

Another show stealer is Lil Rel Howery as Chris’s friend Rod. He is the source of most of the comedy in the movie and is never over bearing, owning his part and then appropriately receding when it’s time for the horror side of the movie to kick back in.

Katherine Keener and Bradley Whitford as the Armitage parents give commanding and committed performances but are, unfortunately, never expanded upon and are, thus, one note characters.

Overall:

An excellent blend of two parts horror and one part comedy, “Get Out” is a commendable first effort from Jordan Peele in the director’s chair, albeit a little lopsided plot-wise once it winds down to the final act.