The vital horror movie Spike Lee called a masterwork: “Two different reactions”
Despite the brilliance of horror, the genre is not without its flaws, like the portrayal of women in certain scary movies, the villainisation of various mental illnesses, and so on. Then there’s the problem of race, which has been a widely discussed topic of conversation in horror for years. The most popular mainstream horror movies predominantly feature white characters and are directed by white filmmakers, and when there are black characters, they are often less developed or important.
Over the years, the depiction of race in horror movies has started to change, however, with scholars and audiences calling into question the visibility of Black characters in the genre. While there have been various notable examples of horror movies featuring important and fleshed-out Black characters, like Candyman, The Night of the Living Dead and Blacula, it’s only in recent years that representation and diversity has become more widespread.
Jordan Peele’s Get Out reinvigorated the genre in many ways, using specific horror tropes to explore racism, white supremacy, and police brutality. For filmmaker Spike Lee, watching the movie was a terrific experience, calling Peele’s directorial debut a “masterwork”. The film brought pertinent themes to a widespread audience through an entertaining and thrilling lens, opening many viewers’ eyes to the deep-rooted nature of oppression and the innate belief that many white Americans harness regarding a supreme and ‘better’ race.
Daniel Kaluuya plays the main character, Chris, a young photographer who goes to visit his white girlfriend’s family for the first time. Once he’s there, he soon gets a suspicious feeling, discovering that nothing is as it seems, especially in regard to the Black servants who work for Rose’s family. Everyone acts strangely, and before he knows it, he is trapped and hypnotised, with events going from bizarre to terrifying as the narrative unfolds.
Lee found that, depending on the race of the audience he was surrounded by, reactions to the film differed. Talking to The Hollywood Reporter, Lee revealed, “I saw it with a Black audience and a white audience; two different reactions. A lot of people don’t understand what the title Get Out means. I’m not speaking on behalf of all Black people, but historically, when there’s one Black person in a horror film, he’s always the first motherfucker to get killed.”
He continued: “So when we see that Black person about to open the door, we say, ‘Don’t open that door! Get the fuck out!’ White audiences, I think, came for the horror genre but got much more. It’s like those misdirection plays in football when you fake handoff the ball to one guy, and while the defence is following him, the other guy’s high-stepping to the end zone. Get Out was a masterwork.”
Like Lee, many people resonated with the film, which has since been regarded as one of the greatest horror movies of all time. Peele has since made Us and Nope, both of which also featured predominantly Black casts, bringing Black-led horror further into the mainstream. Lee also teamed up with Peele (in a producer role) for his film BlacKkKlansman, and in the same interview, the Get Out director admitted that Lee is “one of the all-time great directors,” adding, “I just soak up knowledge every time we talk”.
