"Get Out" (2017) is a genre*-bending horror film directed by Jordan Peele. The movie follows the story of Chris (Daniel Kaluuya), a young African-American, who visits his white girlfriend's isolated family estate for the weekend. As the weekend progresses, Chris begins to notice strange and alarming behavior from his girlfriend’s family and friends, slowly leading him to uncover a dark secret. This cliché-destroying film is an exceptional example of how horror can be used to provide a penetrating analysis of profound contemporary social issues.

Indeed, racism together with the neglected social anxieties of African-Americans are the main focus of the movie: Peele uses horror to explore everyday racism as well as the use of black bodies as expendable commodities. These themes have been gorgeously embellished with the time-tested motifs of the haunted-house. Thus, with the help of an ingenious plot, Peele masterfully defies and manipulates audience expectations, just like other masters of the genre, such as Hitchcock, Don Siegel, and Kubrick, did in the past.

Peele deservedly won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay (the first African-American to do this), with additional nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Director. The film also earned two nominations at the British Academy Film Awards and two more at the Golden Globe Awards. “Get Out” was a box office success, earning over $255 million with a budget of just $4.5 million.

The film pays homage to a number of classics, such as “The Stepford Wives” (suburban conformity and individual identity), “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” (people being replaced by emotionless duplicates), “Rosemary’s Baby” (the protagonist’s suspicion about a sinister conspiracy), "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" (interracial relations and tensions), and of course "Night of the Living Dead" (when violence finally breaks loose). Peele not only successfully combines these heterogeneous cinematic motifs, but he also adds an intellectually stimulating racial twist.

“Get Out” was Peele's directorial debut (he also wrote the script) and his greatest gift possibly is the way he walks a very fine line in the movie’s first half: as the white partygoers keep commenting on Chris’s race, the protagonist (and with him the audience) keeps wondering what the lurking menace behind the calm surface is. Indeed, the story unfolds gradually, slowly building suspense with Peele careful to never reveal too much too early.

Finally, a few words on the protagonist. Kaluuya is a British actor of Ugandan descent who until “Get Out”’s success was limited to supporting roles.He effectively portrays the character's vulnerability and growing unease as he confronts the surreal events taking place around him. Kaluuya showcases authentically questioning grimaces, making the spooky situations in the movie seem true-to-life and humorous. His veracity and honesty against the manifest abnormality surrounding him is remarkable.