Sitting in a dim theatre, about to watch a horror film, we have certain expectations. The tropes and cliches we’ve become accustomed to have even been referenced in recent, contemporary horror films. But it is the most inventive films creating different circumstances for audience engagement that ultimately stick with us. A change in perspective is sometimes all that is needed for audiences to willingly sink into the trap, a horror film that resonates on a new level. With it’s near universal critical praise, audience reception, and the added bonus of Oscar nominations, “Get Out” is a game changer for the horror genre. And here is why.
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In a video essay, Lessons from the Screenplay divulges with detailed analysis how the perspective in “Get Out” impacts the horror genre, and challenges common tropes. We first start by confronting the new point of tension writer/director Jordan Peele is presenting: a weekend in the country with rich white people. It’s uncomfortable but not necessarily threatening. It is, rather, a circumstance that could be relatable.
But things grow more unsettling. In this setting, there is trust that is established between Chris and Rose. Like Chris, the audience (upon first watch) is willing to believe that we can in fact trust Rose as Chris does. It isn’t until the subversion of this trust that the true horror of isolation and tension builds to the peak of Chris’s helplessness.
Finally, in most horror, there is a sliver of hope in the wait for help to eventually arrive. But with “Get Out,” the hope of police coming to Chris’s aid is nonexistent. Following their collision with a deer on the road, an officer who comes to Rose and Chris’s aid asks to see Chris’s identification, even though he wasn’t driving. There is a lack of trust and a lack of safety shown through a protagonist the genre hasn’t seen. So where could the help possibly come from?
Jordan Peele’s directorial debut is a self-aware horror film. Contemporary, and blatantly honest, “Get Out” subverts genre norms simply by shifting the perspective of our protagonist. By mining unique narrative elements, we can find a new way of relaying a story. “Get Out” has resonated with audiences, and there is no doubt that it terrified us as well.