Get Out 2016 ****

Jordan Peele’s breakout horror hit looks even better in the wake of his sprawling, inferior follow-up Us; where Us strains for effect and runs way overlong, Get Out is short, concise and makes its points with considerable wit. Daniel Kaluuya plays Chris, a young black man who enjoys his relationship with Rose (Allison Williams), but a visit to her parents (Catherine Keener and Bradley Whitford) reveals something else going on, and Chris is forced to fight for his life as various predators circle. Get Out reworks some familiar Stepford Wives tropes about what might be going on behind the mask of WASP privilege, and Keener has a ball as a woman with hypnotic powers. The last third of a horror film usually consists of some dull physical obstacles to overcome; Get Out sees Chris use many symbolic items of white-privilege to fight back in what can be seen as both a race and class war. Even if seen as an expanded Twilight Zone episode, Get Out has enough gags and scares to justify a cinematic outing, and launches the talented Peele as a top-rank director.