Over the past 10 years or so, the horror film genre has stagnated with poor plots, cheap jumpscares and endless sequels that seem peripheral at best. It was almost as if the entire genre decided to make no effort to improve the movie industry as movie after movie came out. It was this stagnation that made Jordan Peele’s directorial debut, Get Out, a major surprise. Not only was the film well-paced and well-told, but the major threat throughout the movie was something very real in the modern world: racism.

At first, the premise seems a bit silly in the context of a movie. A black man named Chris, played by Daniel Kaluuya, visits his white girlfriend’s slightly racist parents, from where it becomes more and more deranged. As a horror movie, that is a rather unique premise that could have gone wrong in a plethora of ways, but the movie keeps its focus. It never feels like it is giving the message of “all white people are racist,” but rather “racism exists in many different ways,” which is far more realistic to the real world than the former argument. This distinction helps the movie greatly, as it uses the horrible concept of racism as a plot device, and there are plenty of small details throughout the film that give the dark atmosphere a real boost.

Another aspect worth mentioning is the pacing. While there are thriller elements throughout the movie, it does not fully come into effect until the last 20 minutes. To many, that may seem to be an excessive amount of build-up, but the way the movie is paced keeps the audience’s attention for the entire duration. There are slow moments, but there are no boring moments, and that really defines the movie well.

Every actor in the film gave a good performance, and while there was nothing mind-blowing from any specific actor, the movie as a whole was widely entertaining. The racism felt real – not “I hate the blacks” real, but the subtle, passive-aggressive racism that often goes unnoticed real. The white family did a fantastic job of portraying the passive racist role, and Kaluuya accurately portrayed how someone in that situation would react. The entire movie worked really well.

All in all, Get Out was a surprisingly good film. To come into a market that has become so saturated with chaff and make a name for itself is always a good thing. Through both social commentary and good filmmaking, Get Out could prove to be monumental in both categories, and that is the sign of a good movie. This film is certainly worth a watch.