Hi, I’m Michael.
This is Lessons from the Screenplay.
When we go to see a horror film, we usually have some idea of what to expect.
The common tropes and cliches have been so well-documented
they’re even referenced in horror films themselves.
“You should never say ‘who’s there?’”
“Don’t you watch scary movies? It’s a death wish.”
But the horror films that stick with us
are often the ones that provide a unique twist
on the characters’ perspective of the horror.
Like a slasher film told through the eyes of teenagers on the night of Halloween.
Or a monster film following “truck drivers in space,”
where escape is nearly impossible and no one can hear you scream.
Or a found footage film, told through the point of view of documentary filmmakers.
And with each of these different perspectives comes new ways of telling the story.
Get Out follows in this tradition, providing an unfamiliar perspective on the horror.
But in this case, it’s not some exotic setting or a filmmaking gimmick.
It’s simply that the protagonist is black.
Taking inspiration from the 1967 classic, “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”—
in which a white woman takes her black fiancé to meet her parents—Jordan Peele said:
“...one of the reasons that film, I think was so effective
in its discussion with race is that it started with a situation that was universal.
Take the race out of it,
everybody can relate to the fear of meeting your potential in-laws for the first time.
So, at some point I had a revelation that that was also the way to get into this film.”
Beginning with a situation that is universal
ensures that an audience comes into a story
with a certain amount of personal experience and empathy.
But, it’s the specifics of the characters put into a situation
that make a story interesting.
And what impresses me most about “Get Out”
is how Jordan Peele uses the specifics of the protagonist
to unlock new storytelling techniques.
So today I want to look at the film’s unique method of building tension…
To see how it takes advantage of its premise to set-up a surprising twist...
And examine the way it creates a feeling of isolation while subverting a horror trope.
Let’s take a look at “Get Out.”
Most horror films are built on tension.
The characters are put into a situation where they’re in harm’s way,
and we know it’s only a matter of time before the danger gets to them.
But in “Get Out,” the dangerous situation isn’t some alien planet or a spooky house...
it’s a weekend in the country with rich white people.
CHRIS: “You said I’m the first black guy you’d ever dated.”
ROSE: “Yeah, so what?”
CHRIS: “Yeah, so this is uncharted territory for them.”
CHRIS: “I don’t want to get chased off the lawn with a shotgun.”
There have been plenty of films where a suburban neighborhood is the victim of horror,
but rarely is it ever the source.
So as Chris and Rose arrive at her parents place,
the audience is already unsure of what to expect.
Our biggest worry is that Chris might actually get chased off the lawn with a shotgun.
But we quickly see that won’t be the case—
“You call me Dean and you hug me, my man!”
—as rather than make Rose’s parents obviously disapproving of Chris,
Jordan Peele decides to build tension in a more subtle way.
“By the way, I would have voted for Obama for a third term if I could.”
“Best president in my lifetime, hands down.”
While they’re clearly trying to be welcoming,
the parents do have moments that are a bit—as Jordan Peele says—“racially clumsy.”
“So how long has been going on?”
“This thang.”
Nothing major and with no clear malice intended, but enough to provide some basic tension.
“Cause with your frame and your genetic makeup,
if you really pushed your body, you’d be a beast.”
However, as we see more moments of the family and their friends reacting to Chris’s blackness—
“Oh.”
Woman: “Not bad!”
—tension continues to build.
“Jeremy.”
In this way, real-life racial tensions are used to help build the suspense,
making the unease we feel more layered and complex.
“There he is!”
But in many ways, the more overtly disturbing characters
are the few black people Chris does encounter.
When he reaches out to try to make a connection with them,
the interactions are off-putting.
“She is lovely isn’t she?”
“Rose?”
“Yeah, she is.”
“One of a kind; top of the line.
A real doggone keeper.”
“Right.”
Some are particularly unsettling.
“Oh, no, no, no, no no no no no no.”
“Aren’t you something?”
This method of building tension is effective partially because
we’ve never seen it used in a horror film this way.
“Get out.”
And it’s unlocked simply because of the specifics of the protagonist and his situation.
But this is not the only technique made available because of the specifics of the protagonist.
Throughout the script, Jordan Peele utilizes a unique way of establishing trust.
Chris’s fear going into the weekend
is that Rose’s parents will react negatively to their relationship,
operating from a place of ignorance.
But once he gets there,
he instead sees there are moments where they’re actually aware of the potential concerns
he may have.
“Come on, I get it.”
“White family; black servants.
It’s a total cliche.”
“I wasn’t going to take it there.”
“Well, you didn’t have to, believe me.”
This awareness assuages some of Chris’s fears,
and makes us feel like maybe we can trust them.
The same technique is used during the party scene.
After interacting with a number of guests who seem obsessed with Chris’s blackness—
“I do know Tiger.”
—he encounters Jim, the art dealer—
JIM: “Ignorance…”
—who seems to actually be aware of people’s behavior and the dynamics at play.
“They mean well but they have no idea what real people go through.”
Once again, this makes us feel like we can trust him.
As Jordan Peele says…
“He is an apparent ally to Chris.”
“He understands that people focusing on race and color…”
“there’s an ignorance to them.”
And when we see that this trust has been misplaced,
it makes the reveal during auction scene that much more compelling.
But the best example of using awareness to establish trust
is with the Rose character.
Originally, Jordan Peele was going to tell the audience early on
that she was involved in the family’s plot.
But then, as he says:
“And at some I realized, wait a second—
If you could pull some Keyser Söze shit,
why would you not pull some Keyser Söze shit?
So at that point it’s like—okay!
We’re going to take this up one notch,
if I can do the impossible and I can hide the fact that this woman who is
literally bringing him into harm’s way—if I can hide the fact that she’s in on it,
then I’ll have a really great revelation.”
When we meet Chris and Rose, it’s immediately clear they’re in love.
But the thing that really helps us trust—or at least want to trust Rose—
is how much she empathizes with Chris’s experience.
Throughout the film Rose is acutely aware of how people,
including her family, are treating Chris differently.
The scene where this is conveyed most explicitly
is after the awkward dinner their first night at her parents’ place.
“What is his problem?”
“He has never treated any of my boyfriends that way.”
“Ever, ever, ever.”
“Mmm hmm.”
“Oh my god, and them my dad with the ‘my man’ stuff.”
“‘My man! My man!’”
“I don’t think he’s ever heard that, or said it, and now it’s just all he says.”
Jordan Peele says of this scene:
“I was sort of adding this idea of Rose’s continued wokeness because...
the fact that she’s more turnt-up about this than he is...
The audience I think subconsciously presumes that if she was in on it,
she wouldn’t be whilin out like this.
Chris has to bring her back down to earth.
So I think she wins our trust in this scene as well as his.
Once again, this is a storytelling mechanism that is only unlocked
because of the specificity of the protagonist and the situation he’s in.
But taking it a step further, because this story is so unfamiliar—
a black protagonist in a horror film who ends up trapped by a white family
set on stealing the bodies of African Americans—
there are even meta-level elements at play that aid in hiding Rose’s true intentions.
“I knew in my heart that anybody who is seeing a movie in a wide release in America
would have to think:
‘there’s no way Universal Studios would
allow the one good white person in this film to also be evil.
There’s no way they would do that!’”
But they did.
“You know I can’t give you the keys, right babe?”
And the result is a twisted reveal about the true nature of Rose
that underscores her psychopathic nature.
“You were one of my favorites.”
In this final act of the film, when it seems like all hope is lost,
we might find ourselves wishing there was someone—anyone—
to come save our protagonist.
But here Jordan Peele subverts a horror trope by reversing our desire for help to arrive.
A cabin in the woods, outer space, a secluded house in the country—
all great ways to make sure your characters can’t run away easily.
“The nearest house is across the lake.”
“It’s total privacy.”
But part of what makes a character feel isolated
is knowing that there is no one around to save them.
Such is the case for Chris, as there is no one nearby he can call for help...
not even the last hope of most characters in horror films.
“I am two seconds away from calling the police!”
During the sequence toward the beginning of the film,
when Chris and Rose are driving to her parents place, they hit a deer—
They call the police, who respond to the situation.
But the focus soon changes from the deer to Chris.
Officer: “Sir, can I see your license please?”
Rose: “Wait, why?”
“Yeah, I have state I.D.”
“No, no, no. He wasn’t driving.”
“I didn’t ask who was driving, I asked to see his I.D.”
We see that the mere presence of Chris in this area makes this officer suspicious.
This suggests that if local law enforcement get involved at any point in the story,
it’s probably not going to go Chris’s way.
So as the story progresses and Chris’s situation gets worse,
instead of wanting the police to come help—
“I’m calling the police!”
(phone rings) “Ahh!”
—there are moments when we realize their arrival
would be the last thing we want to happen.
So of course it does, at the worst possible moment.
As Chris, covered in blood, kneels over a dying Rose...
“Siren lights flash on the side of their heads.”
“The scene doesn’t look good.”
“Chris turns towards them raising his hands.”
“Rose smiles again and pleads with the approaching officers.”
Rose: “Help me!”
Without a word being spoken, we know the implications of this situation.
Which is what makes the reveal of Rod so cathartic.
“Chris!”
Once again, the specificity of the protagonist and his situation are taken advantage of,
as the film subverts a horror trope and provides yet another fun surprise.
“I mean, I told you not to go into that house.”
Good films are able to find fresh ways of telling their stories;
surprising us, while simultaneously giving us exactly what we want.
And as old storytelling techniques become familiar and uninspiring,
the stories we tell and the ways we tell them have to evolve.
Over the last few years,
it’s become clear that audiences are eager for new perspectives.
Get Out brings a new perspective to a classic genre.
It demonstrates the value in mining the unique elements of a narrative
for new ways of telling a story.
And reveals that the struggles of a specific protagonist can resonate universally,
as we can all empathize with a situation where you simply need to get out.
When researching and writing these videos,
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Once again that’s Audible.com/lfts, or text “lfts” to 500-500.
Thanks to Audible for sponsoring this video.
Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed the video!
I just redid my Patreon page with a new video for you to check out.
So head over to my Patreon page to watch that,
and if you feel like supporting the channel that would be greatly appreciated!
I also want a take a moment to thank Jeff Goldsmith
for letting me use audio from his podcast,
The Q&A with Jeff Goldsmith.
He’s done a ton of great interviews with screenwriters,
and he has a digital magazine called backstory,
which you can check out at backstory.net.
Both of them are great resources for screenwriters,
and you should definitely check them out.
Thank you for watching, and I will see you next time.