This will be the second blog post that will come together with the others in this category to make a collection of all the different movies we have reviewed in our PLP Monsters in the Mirror horror unit. This time we will be jumping from 1978 to present day. Well almost present day, we go to 2017. The critically acclaimed horror movie Get Out takes a look at the racial side of horror movies and puts a cultural spin on the horror movie genre.

This movie puts somewhat of a science fiction spin on the aspect of horror. The main character is a young African-American man who goes to visit his girlfriend’s family. The mother is a hypnosis therapist that he was told would help him quit his nasty habit of smoking. The mother puts him into a trance that he later learns will be his demise. The family is actually recruiting young African American men and women to use as bodies for their customers. These customers who are near the end of their lives, go through a procedure to put their mind and conscience into these young men and women. The customers are in control while the African Americans just watch helplessly as they are just passengers in their own bodies. The horror of being a passenger in your own body is scarier to some than death itself.

In this particular film there aren’t any true killings but instead there is taking of a life. The motivation behind this cruel act is not very clear in the movie. It seems to me that the family that runs this service profits off of their business in the form of money from their clients. This is evident in the movie when the father of the family holds an auction for the main character Chris. 

This movie is a very new horror movie that has taken techniques and skills learned from prior movies to make the best piece of cinematography that they could. The use of long, drawn out shots play a key role in how the movie leaves a lasting impression on the viewer. The sound effects play a big role in leaving the viewer with angst. The use of silence in the movie also leaves the viewer wondering what will happen next. This free time in the movie lets the viewers mind wander and create alternate realities about the movie.

This movie is an amazing example of the use of present day problems. The movie has an overarching theme of racism and inequality in the world, mainly looking at the African American population. The use of the family’s grandparents as servants ties into the history of slavery of the African American community as well as the auction that takes place for the main character Chris. This is again an example of the history of slavery where slaves would be bought by their owners through auctions. If we look at the present day, we can see different times of inequality. This is where the father of the family seems to put Chris on a pedestal and tries to make him feel as if they share commonalities. As he shows Chris the family’s estate, the father talks about cultural differences. He tries to relate to Chris by saying “ I would have voted for Obama for a third term”. This movie is full of little tidbits that connect to present day revelations.

This movie will be viewed as a revolutionary movie that will be watched by people for years to come. The points that I mentioned help to better understand the complex plot and how each action has a hidden point behind it. The article “How Get Out Deconstructs Racism for White People” outlines a lot of these hidden meanings. This article gives great insight behind each point. For example, in the movie when Rose calls the cops after hitting a deer, the cop asks for Chris’s ID. Rose seems to defend Chris and stops Chris from giving the officer his ID. The director said that the true meaning behind Rose defending Chris was so that there wasn’t any trace of Chris. The article also suggests that the viewer watch the movie multiple times to really see all the cultural cues.

The last time I wrote a blog post with this criteria it asked us to compare the Halloween movie to Frankenstein and look at the similarities and differences. With my knowledge of reading the Frankenstein book and later watching the Frankenstein film tell the story slightly differently, my perspective has changed about the monster and his morales. When we look at the similarities and differences with the movie Get Out, we see that both main characters, Chris and the monster, are being hunted. A difference is that in Get Out, Chris overcomes his hunters and escapes. This is unlike the monster, where he finds his fate later in the movie and unfortunately dies. Another difference between the two is that they weren’t being hunted for the same reasons. Chris is being unlawfully hunted due to the colour of his skin.  The monster is being hunted for the act of murder that he committed.

Get Out will be a movie that will continue to teach for years to come. The hidden meanings behind little scenes in the movie keep the viewer engaged. After watching the movie three times, I see new meanings each time. The great camera work and amazing use of music and sound effects is what takes the movie to the next level. I would recommend this movie to anyone.