Get Out is a 2017 American psychological horror film written and directed by Jordan Peele in his directorial debut. It stars Daniel Kaluuya as a young man who uncovers a disturbing secret when he meets a family of his white girlfriend. Allison Williams, Bradley Whitford, Caleb Landry Jones, Stephen Root, Lakeith Stanfield, and Catherine Keener co-star.
Plot[]
Black photographer Chris Washington reluctantly agrees to meet the family of his white girlfriend, Rose Armitage. During their drive to the family's countryside estate, they hit a deer. Though Chris was not driving, the white policeman asks for Chris' identification; Rose intervenes and the incident goes unrecorded.
At the house, Rose's brother Jeremy and their parents, neurosurgeon Dean and hypnotherapist Missy, make discomfiting comments about black people. Chris witnesses strange behavior from the estate's black workers: housekeeper Georgina and groundskeeper Walter.
Unable to sleep, Chris goes outside to smoke and sees Walter sprinting over the grounds while Georgina prowls through the house. Missy pressures Chris into a hypnotherapy session to cure his smoking addiction. In a trance, he recounts the death of his mother in a hit-and-run when he was a child, expresses guilt, and sinks into a void Missy calls the "sunken place". The next morning, he assumes the encounter was a dream, but cigarettes now repulse him. Georgina unplugs his phone, draining his battery, though she claims it was an accident.
Dozens of wealthy white people arrive for the Armitages' annual get-together. They express admiration for Chris's physique and for black figures such as Tiger Woods. Jim Hudson, a blind art dealer, takes particular interest in Chris's photography skills. Chris meets another black man, Logan King, who acts strangely and is married to a much older white woman.
Chris calls his friend, TSA agent Rod Williams, about the strange behavior at the house. Chris tries to inconspicuously photograph Logan with his phone, but when his flash goes off accidentally, Logan becomes hysterical, yelling at Chris to "get out." The others restrain him and Dean claims Logan had an epileptic seizure. Away from the house, Chris convinces Rose that they should leave. Meanwhile, Dean holds an auction with a photo of Chris, which Hudson wins. Chris sends the photo of Logan to Rod; Rod recognizes Logan as Andre Hayworth, who has been missing for months. Suspecting a conspiracy, Rod goes to the police, but they deride him.
While Chris packs to leave, he finds photos of Rose in prior relationships with black men, contradicting her claim that Chris is her first black boyfriend. The collection also includes pictures of Rose with Walter and Georgina. He tries to leave the house, but the Armitage family, including Rose, blocks him. He attacks Jeremy, but Missy hypnotizes him.
Chris awakens strapped to a chair in the basement. A video presentation featuring Rose's grandfather Roman explains that the family transplants the brains of white people into black bodies; the consciousness of the host remains in the sunken place, conscious but powerless. Hudson tells Chris he wants his body so he can gain Chris's sight and artistic talents.
Chris plugs his ears with cotton stuffing pulled from the chair padding, obstructing the hypnosis. When Jeremy comes to fetch him for the surgery, Chris knocks him out. He then impales Dean on the antlers of a deer mount. Dying, Dean stumbles and knocks over a candle which sets fire to the operating room with Hudson inside. After killing Missy and Jeremy as well, Chris drives away in Jeremy's car, but hits Georgina. Remembering his mother's death, he carries Georgina into the car, not realizing she is possessed by Rose's grandmother Marianne. She attacks him and he crashes, killing her. Rose apprehends him with Walter, who is possessed by Roman. Chris uses the flash on his phone to expel Roman from Walter's body. Walter takes Rose's rifle, shoots her in the stomach, and then shoots himself. Chris begins to strangle Rose, but stops. Rod arrives in an airport police car and rescues Chris, leaving Rose in the road.
Cast[]
- Daniel Kaluuya as Chris Washington
- Zailand Adams as Young Chris
- Allison Williams as Rose Armitage
- Catherine Keener as Missy Armitage
- Bradley Whitford as Dean Armitage
- Caleb Landry Jones as Jeremy Armitage
- Stephen Root as Jim Hudson
- Lakeith Stanfield as Andre Hayworth / Logan King
- Lil Rel Howery as Rod Williams
- Erika Alexander as Detective Latoya
- Marcus Henderson as Walter / Roman Armitage
- Betty Gabriel as Georgina / Marianne Armitage
- Richard Herd as Roman Armitage
Production[]
Get Out is the directorial debut of Jordan Peele, who had previously worked in comedy, including the sketch show Key & Peele. He felt the horror and comedy genres are similar in that "so much of it is pacing, so much of it [hinges on] reveals", and that comedy gave him "something of a training" for the film. The Stepford Wives (1975) provided inspiration, about which Peele said, "it's a horror movie but has a satirical premise." As the film deals with racism, Peele has stated that the story is "very personal", although he noted that "it quickly veers off from anything autobiographical."
Peele was introduced to producer Sean McKittrick by comedian Keegan-Michael Key in 2013. "I was shooting a movie with Keegan-Michael Key. He said, 'You gotta meet Jordan, he's a horror fanatic and he has all these ideas.' Jordan and I met for coffee in New Orleans. He said, 'Here’s one you’ll never want to make,' and he pitched me the whole story. I'd never seen that movie before. It fascinated me. So I said right at the table, 'Okay, I’m going to buy this pitch and pay you to write it.' I think he was a little shocked." Peele wrote the first draft of the script in two months.
Casting[]
Allison Williams was cast to disorient audiences into trusting her. The lead actors, Daniel Kaluuya and Allison Williams, were cast in November 2015, with other roles cast between December 2015 and February 2016. Kaluuya was cast based on the strength of his performance in Black Mirror episode "Fifteen Million Merits". "That party sequence is why I really wanted to do this film, because I've been to that party," Kaluuya told The Los Angeles Times. "He [Chris] feels like an everyman. He's kind of like J. Cole. Chris is that guy that everyone knows, who has been in everyone's class at school. That good guy from around the area."
Williams said she was cast by Peele as a sneaky gambit to disorient audiences. "Jordan told me that he had always pictured me as Rose because Peter Panor Marnie would make it easier for people to trust me," Williams noted. "I was looking for a role that would weaponize everything that people take for granted about me. So I instantly signed on to it." Williams observed that white audiences frequently misinterpret the motivations of her character Rose. "They'd 'say she was hypnotized, right?' And I'm like, no! She's just evil! How hard is that to accept? She's bad! We gave you so many ways to know that she’s bad! She has photos of people whose lives she ended behind her! The minute she can, she hangs them back up on the wall behind her. That’s so crazy! And they’re still like, 'but maybe she's also a victim?' And I’m like, NO! No! And I will say, that is one hundred percent white people who say that to me." The scene where Rose drinks milk while looking at potential future victims was conceived shortly before shooting to add an additional creepy element to her character. The music used in the scene, "(I've Had) The Time of My Life," was intended to reflect Rose's emotional detachment. "There's something kind of horrific about milk," Peele said. "Think about it! Think about what we're doing. Milk is kind of gross."
Filming[]
Principal photography began on February 16, 2016. Shooting took place in Fairhope, Alabama, for three weeks, followed by Barton Academy and in the Ashland Place Historic District in midtown Mobile, Alabama. Principal photography ended in 23 days. The film was partially shot at Barton Academy, a historic Greek Revivalschool building in Mobile, Alabama.
Lil Rel Howery says the allegorical symbolism in the film is strongly entrenched in the fear historically experienced by African Americans. "It goes back to the way I grew up; I’m just being honest," Howery explained. "Segregation created this. Stories about people like Emmett Till. It's history; crazy things have happened, so people are going to embellish and pass that onto their kids as a warning. Jordan was so smart to hit on all these stories that could be considered myths, but a lot of it is rooted in truth."
Peele was worried about the film's chances of success, telling the Los Angeles Times, "What if white people don't want to come see the movie because they're afraid of being villainized with black people in the crowd? What if black people don't want to see the movie because they don't want to sit next to a white person while a black person is being victimized on-screen?”
