In a time when studios believe the only safe investment is in Intellectual Property, film fans gravitate towards the handful of filmmaker names who have become their own IP. People go to a Chris Nolan film because it’s a Chris Nolan film. Even Spielberg doesn’t have that much pull on an audience today, but Jordan Peele does, and he’s only released three features so far. How fortunate for someone like me that he’s only interested in making Horror/Thrillers, where he can then smuggle in biting social satire.
It would be easy to turn this post into a recap of the direct social commentary prevalent within the film, and many reviewers and scholars have written such articles with greater understanding, research, knowledge, wit and prose. I don’t want to avoid it entirely. The racial commentary here is uncomfortable, just as Jordan Peele intends, but it’s also quite accurate. As a white male, I’m in no position to comment on the black experience, but the kind of comments made by some of the white characters in order to recuse themselves of being a racist are laughable. They’re seen and heard all too often, making their presence cutting and effective. Horror movie or not, Peele has crafted a film which is a very pointed critique of race relations.
But this is also a horror movie, and a very effective one at that. There are jump scares and great use of negative space to create tension. There is a structure here where Peele flexes his ability to create suspense, to create thrills, to create stakes. I don’t know that any of the Horror territory is revolutionary, but its marriage to the racial commentary is pitch perfect, making it a tense watch throughout, even during some of the otherwise menial scenes. There are cringeworthy moments throughout, but they are by design. The awkward interactions between Chris and the white characters, or even the moments where it becomes easy to wonder why the hell Chris is doing what he’s doing all work towards the larger message.
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