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Is Get Out set to be 2017's first surprise horror hit?

Daniel Kaluuya in 'Get Out' (credit: Universal)
Daniel Kaluuya in ‘Get Out’ (credit: Universal)

It’s the directorial debut of a figure hitherto known exclusively for working in comedy, but it looks like ‘Get Out’ is poised to be 2017’s first major breakthrough horror movie.

Produced by Jason Blum of Blumhouse – the production company behind ‘Paranormal Activity,’ ‘Insidious,’ ‘The Purge’ and many more modern horror hits – ‘Get Out’ is written and directed by Jordan Peele, one half of TV comedy duo Key and Peele, who also starred in 2016 comedy ‘Keanu.’ However, ‘Get Out’ sees Peele stay entirely behind the camera to create something altogether different – and so far, the response stateside has been hugely enthusiastic.

For one thing, the film went straight to the top of the US box office on Friday. Box Office Mojo tell us it took $10.8 million on its opening day, easily recouping its $4.5 million budget, and more than doubling the day’s takings of former US number one ‘The Lego Batman Movie.’

For another thing, ‘Get Out’ is currently rated an exceptional 100% fresh by review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the site’s assessment taking into account 132 reviews to date, every one of them positive. The site also notes a very positive audience response too, with an 86% approval rating from viewers. IMDb users also seem to hold the film in fairly high regard, with 7.8/10 approval rating at present.

Credit: Universal
Credit: Universal

It seems a key part of what is making ‘Get Out’ such a talking point is the real-world resonance of its premise. The film casts English actor Daniel Kaluuya as Chris, a young man whose girlfriend Rose (Allison Williams) takes him home to meet her family for the first time – only for him to find things aren’t quite as they seem on the family’s historic estate.

Doesn’t necessarily sound like too unusual a set-up for a horror movie, until we take into account that Chris is black and his girlfriend and her family (including Catherine Keener and Bradley Whitford as her parents) are white, and based in the Deep South.

However, most critics seem to agree that the socially conscious overtones of the film are only part of its success, emphasising it still works as a straight-up horror movie: Alan Cerny of Coming Soon says it’s “as relevant as it is scary,” whilst Screen Rant’s Chris Agar calls it “an entertaining and clever satire that is equal parts funny and terrifying.”

Still, some critics feel Peele’s comedy roots drown out the horror elements: Rob Hunter of Film School Rejects calls ‘Get Out’ a “terrific comedy, but a somewhat muddled thriller,” whilst James Verniere of the Boston Herald says it’s “subversively funny if not very original.”

Will ‘Get Out’ win over UK audiences too? We’ll see when it opens here on 17 March.

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