Get Out (2017)

In this article, we will be looking at 2019’s book “1001 Movies to See Before You Die” and going through each film in a random order that I have chosen. We will be looking at what constitutes this film to be on the list and whether I think this film deserves to be here at all. I want to make perfectly clear that I won’t be revealing details from this book such as analyses by film reporters who have written about the film in question, so if you want the book itself you’ll have to buy it. But I will be covering the book’s suggestions on which films should be your top priority. I wouldn’t doubt for a second that everyone reading this article has probably watched many of these movies anyway. But we are just here to have a bit of fun. We’re going to not just look at whether it should be on this list but we’re also going to look at why the film has such a legacy at all. Remember, this is the 2019 version of the book and so, films like “Joker” will not be featured in this book and any film that came out in 2020 (and if we get there, in 2021). So strap in and if you have your own suggestions then don’t hesitate to email me using the address in my bio. Let’s get on with it then.

"Get Out" (2017)

I have to be perfectly honest, when I first watched this film in the cinemas I completely and utterly fell in love with it. I could not wait for Jordan Peele's next nightmare. And "Us" (2019) did not disappoint at all. Both were excellent. As I sat through "Get Out" (2017) I focused on the incredible cinematography, the fleshed out characters and the extended metaphors which ran throughout the film to serve as reflections of our own society in ways I had never even thought about before. The very first time I heard about the film though, the first thing I thought was: '...the guy from Key and Peele? Are you f-in kidding me?" And then I shut the hell up and sat back down because this film is probably one of my favourites of the decade. True 21st Century Horror.

It gained a 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes on which the critics' consensus stated that the film was: "Funny, scary, and thought-provoking, Get Out seamlessly weaves its trenchant social critiques into a brilliantly effective and entertaining horror/comedy thrill ride."

Film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times, Richard Roeper said something on "Get Out" (2017) that I definitely agree with:

"...the real star of the film is writer-director Jordan Peele, who has created a work that addresses the myriad levels of racism, pays homage to some great horror films, carves out its own creative path, has a distinctive visual style—and is flat-out funny as well."

And Rolling Stone Magazine had this to say as their comment on the film and the way it bent genre: "[Get Out was a] jolt-a-minute horror-show laced with racial tension and stinging satirical wit."

However, an anonymous author wrote to the Hollywood Reporter in the run-up to the Academy Awards in the year that "Get Out" (2017) was nominated for several awards including "Best Picture" and "Best Actor" stating something that I think everyone needs to read and make up their own mind on. They stated:

"Instead of focusing on the fact that this was an entertaining little horror movie that made quite a bit of money, they started trying to suggest it had deeper meaning than it does, and, as far as I'm concerned, they played the race card, and that really turned me off. In fact, at one of the luncheons, the lead actor [Kaluuya], who is not from the United States, was giving us a lecture on racism in America and how black lives matter, and I thought, 'What does this have to do with Get Out? They're trying to make me think that if I don't vote for this movie, I'm a racist.' I was really offended."

But what this anonymous person does not understand that whether it was about racism or not, "Get Out" (2017) was clearly the best scripted movie in the Academy Awards of that year. Oh, and that the entire film is about the racial experience of Africans whether it is in America or in England - it is about the west and honestly, this is a statement I do not agree with. If you are voting anonymously, then nobody is is trying to make you think you are a certain way. You can vote however you want.