We have Chris and Rose, a seemingly romantic couple on a road trip to visit her parents for the first time in the countryside. Chris, a photographer, poses the innocent question at the front of the film: do your parents know I'm black? Rose laughs, tells him not to worry, and assures Chris that her dad would have voted for Obama a third term. Were this the opening scene of the movie, one might think this would be a film closer to "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?" as opposed to "Stepford Wives." How the film really begins is a cryptic scene, one that requires rethinking, in which a black man in search of an address in a suburban neighborhood is unexpectedly attacked by an unseen stranger in a car. Is it a cop? No, but we immediately realize how unique of a film this is in that the character doesn't fear this stalker, he's unphased by it.
I can't stress this point enough because it helps the film set up to be one of the more unique horror films I have seen, equal parts timely and clever. Arriving at the family estate in the country, Chris is quick to notice the "help" Rose's parents have: a black groundskeeper and a black maid. He rolls his eyes. Invariably the father brings up Obama within the first 10 minutes of meeting. At first Chris feels like this is just a white-washed culture that isn't used to seeing a black man around. Of course we know he is wrong.
If you've seen the trailer you know that the film is centered around race. I don't think going into the plot serves much justice for a film that is so wildly entertaining and thrilling. Knowing that Rose's mom (Katherine Keener) is a hypnotist who has experience in getting people to quit smoking seems like little in the beginning, but there's a scene in which she and Chris discuss a childhood trauma as a way to get to know each other. We hear the mother scraping her spoon against the china glass of her teacup, a sound that comes to be of crucial importance later in the film. I can still hear it crystal clear. Same for a night time scene in which Chris finds the groundskeeper running laps in the yard well past midnight. It's eerie and odd in the moment, but a clever audience member might be able to figure out the reasoning for this based on little more than some throwaway dialogue and half a brain.
Jordan Peele's directorial debut is simply a revelation in horror. He has given interviews in which he cites Night of the Living Dead as inspiration given it's racial themes and isolation. I would suspect Peele has studied more of the great masters Hitchcock and Wes Craven. There is a sophistication in camera movement and angles that a first-time director might have been inept to realize. Staging, colors, editing is all so precise, if you would have told me that this was the work of a true professional I wouldn't be surprised. I don't even think M Night Shayamalan's debut with Sixth Sense packed as much of a punch.
Let's return to the top and discuss the film's genres. Yes, it's horror. It's a thriller. It's suspenseful. It's also side-splittingly funny. There is a way that Chris's mindset is balanced in the film that puts him more in control, more aware of what is happening at every set of the way. How often have we watched horror films in which the hero makes a dumb decision? We yell at the screen and pity the characters for making such unwise choices. Chris is a product of our current generation. Same for his friend Rod, a TSA agent who's simple task was to dog-sit for the weekend. Chris and Rod have a friendship that is instantly identifiable, and in the film's last half it definitely becomes a movie in which Rod has to outsmart the villains. Rod begins to become suspicious when Chris stops answering his phone. In another film this wouldn't amount to anything. Here, Rod knows what's up. His actions through the film are so smart that audiences can't help but laugh. It's undeniably funny the way Rod handles his scenes. Finally, a film that has a brain!
The finale, so thoroughly built-up and suspenseful, had the packed theater I was in screaming and yelling at the screen. I'm not one to make a peep during movies, but I caught myself for once becoming an active part of this story, hollering and cursing out of shock. I don't think I've never had a more communal film-going experience, and boy was it fun! When the movie looks like it's veering down one path, it suddenly switches gears and goes down another. I'd have to rewatch it to really try and understand how Jordan Peele was able to make such an effective, crowd-pleasing movie. All I know is that there's nothing else like it in theaters, and I can't think of any other movies that I have ever seen with such a unique tone and balance of genre. You owe it to yourself to check this one out.
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