Get Out was one of the most talked-about films in recent years. The debut film from writer-director Jordan Peele, it told the story of a young black man visiting his girlfriend’s white, progressive parents for the weekend. What starts as an awkward situation, gradually turns more and more bizarre.
The film is probably unlike anything you’ve ever seen, with Peele creating a complex and brilliant story. However, with the themes, plot elements and feel of the film, there are some movies that feel in the same vein. So if you’re a fan of Get Out check out some of these great films.
Us
Jordan Peele’s follow-up film might feel like an obvious choice, but while it is very different to Get Out, Peele’s distinct styles can certainly be felt. The creepy thriller follows a family on vacation who are stalked by a group of people who look exactly like them.
Fitting into the same “social thriller” genre as Get Out, Us is a riveting and complex film loaded with mystery. It might not have been as explosive as his first feature, but it is still an incredibly interesting, funny and unsettling film.
Green Room
Get Out effectively uses modern racism as a tool to tell a horror story. Jeremy Saulnier’s Green Room similarly uses modern-day white supremacists as the terrifying villains in this brutal thriller. The film centers on a punk rock group that reluctantly takes a gig at a neo-Nazi camp only to stumble onto a deadly situation.
The movie has the claustrophobic feel of an early John Carpenter film and the violence is unnerving in its non-stylized presentation. The film gets extra points for turning Patrick Stewart into a truly scary leader of the neo-Nazis.
Misery
One of the most unsettling things about Get Out is how Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) starts out as a guest in the house but gradually starts to feel like leaving isn’t an option. The Stephen King adaptation, Misery has a similar, creepy feel.
The movie is about a writer who, after being injured in a car accident, is taken in by a strange woman to be cared for. As the woman reveals herself to be a big fan of his work, it becomes clear that he is being kept there against his will.
Being John Malkovich
Though Being John Malkovich is a comedy, the fact that it is written by the brilliant Charlie Kaufman should hint that it is as mind-bending as Get Out. Peele has said that certain aspects of his film were influenced by Being John Malkovich, and it’s not hard to see how.
The movie stars John Cusack as a struggling puppeteer who discovers a mysterious portal that leads into the mind of actor John Malkovich. As bizarre as the concept is, the movie is an extremely entertaining, somewhat creep and fascinating film.
Rosemary’s Baby
Cults seem to be an inherently creepy concept that has been used in countless horror and thriller movies. One of the most unsettling aspects of the cult seen in Get Out is that it seems to be made up of relatively normal and affluent people.
Rosemary’s Baby is a similar depiction of a cult, as the members are not mindless zealots, but people you might see in everyday life. The movie follows a young family who moves into a new apartment and discovers their neighbors may have dark intentions.
The World’s End
A comedy from Edgar Wright might seem like an odd choice to compare to Get Out, but they both effectively create a sense of paranoia in a seemingly peaceful atmosphere. The hilarious science-fiction comedy follows a group of friends who return to their hometown for a pub crawl but find something unusual going on.
Like Get Out, the movie has a foreboding sense that something sinister is going on right under our noses but it’s unclear what it is. Aside from being a great genre film, it features Wright’s trademark energetic direction and witty dialogue.
The Wicker Man
There is a certain sense of hopelessness in Get Out. Chris slowly begins to see how bizarre and potentially dangerous things are getting yet no one else acknowledges it. He feels alone, surrounded by people who seem to have lost their minds.
There is a similar feel in the excellent horror classic, The Wicker Man. The film follows a police officer who travels to a Scottish island to search for a missing girl. He finds himself in the midst of a community unwelcoming to outsiders.
Night Of The Living Dead
Get Out is certainly not the first horror film to use its premise to comment on modern issues. One of the most effective filmmakers to use this technique was George A. Romero whose zombie films often worked as allegories for real-life problems.
His first film, Night of the Living Dead, was a ground-breaking horror film that also dealt with racism in the 1960s. Peele has pointed to it as an inspiration for this film as well as his career in films in general.
The Stepford Wives
The seemingly idyllic suburban setting for Get Out is a unique but not necessarily new concept in the horror genre. There is something very creepy about an environment that seems perfect and welcoming on the outside but hides deep secrets below the surface.
The science-fiction thrillers, The Stepford Wives uses a similar setting and shares more than a few other similarities with Get Out. It follows a family who moves to a new suburban community where the wife finds the women all seem content to be perfect housewives.
The Invitation
Get Out does a great job of disarming the viewer about how real the threat is for Chris. We know that things aren’t what they seem, but the atmosphere is friendly yet excluding. It adds to the paranoid feel and makes the viewer question everything.
The underrated thriller The Invitation plays with this idea so well. It follows a couple who attend a dinner party at their friends’ home but find the night getting increasingly more threatening. Are they being paranoid or is there something else going on? The movie keeps you guessing until the shocking end.
