Jordan Peele’s debut feature film Get Out was a film that I originally wasn’t going to review. I liked the movie well enough, but it wasn’t one that I totally felt comfortable writing about. I only do so now because it will likely be nominated for Best Picture and could get as many as 10 nominations. This is kind of crazy for a movie released in February. It certainly isn’t unheard of, but it is rare. Its Academy Award nominations, 99% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and $175+ million in box office revenue off a $5 million budget confirm that this is one of the most surprising and successful movies of all time. It may be THE most successful horror movie of all time if you measure it by those four factors alone. It’s a movie that keeps you engaged and entertained from its very first scene (think a toned and shorter version of the first scene in Scream), powers its way through a unique plot that you’ve never seen on film before, and keeps you on the edge of your seat through its bold and unpredictable final act. It’s not only a great time at the movies that will keep you guessing until the very end. It takes on some underlying racial tones and tensions of the day that makes it seem like comedian Peele (Key and Peele) has been doing this his whole life. But this is is his first real dabble with anything outside of comedy, his first attempt at writing something for the big screen, and his first attempt at directing. He nailed each of these with pure precession. He will undoubtedly receive an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay. There will be other nominations too, and it appears that Best Picture will be one of those. It will be much deserved in a year that will be forgotten about for the most part when it comes to movies. That is outside of little, unsuspecting movies such as this.
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