Jordan Peele’s love of horror and sci-fi is apparent in his output. Films such as Candyman and Us seem to take classic tropes of the genres and subvert them into something different. Often laced and layered with comment and subtext, his films have received mixed reviews, but he is a filmmaker that has vision and commitment, making everything he produces worth a view.
In 2017, he presented cinema audiences with what many feel was his finest horror work to date. Get Out was filled with stark and shocking imagery, beautifully framed sequences, and of course, a more nuanced meaning behind the screenplay.
The film would launch him to a bigger audience than ever before, so we thought that we would have another look at the film and find you 10 movies like Get Out that you must watch.
10 Movies like Get Out you must watch
Us (2019)
We should start at an obvious point, with Peele’s follow-up to Get Out. Peele would use a lot of the tricks he had learned in his previous big screen release to put together another bewildering slice of horror, sprinkled with some shocking images, and with its tongue firmly placed in its cheek too. Similar to Get Out, a third-act reveal left some viewers bemused, making it a little more analogous to Get Out, but it seems fair to have it on our list.
Misery (1990)
Based on the 1987 novel by Stephen King, Misery has ex-mafia rollerball player James Caan trapped in a rural house by a crazed fan. Although the premise is far from similar to Get Out, the tone and themes can be compared. From the moment Caan finds himself in the home of insane super Chastity fan Kathy Bates, you know he needs to get out of there, but he can’t, leading to a suspense-filled shocker with one of the most horrific scenes in movie history involving a sledgehammer and a captured Caan.
The Invitation (2022)
Here is a movie that may have been inspired by Peele’s masterpiece. The story finds our protagonist Evie taking a DNA test and finding a long-lost cousin she has never met. She is invited to England to attend a fancy upmarket wedding in a gothic mansion, and the minute she arrives, we know it was a mistake. Cue all kinds of horrific silliness as Evie tries to survive her English holiday, and I don’t mean bad food and a cold hotel room. This film tries too hard to scare and leads to unintentional laughs as it collapses under its weight in the third act, but it still has its fans.
The Visit (2015)
For some film fans, The Visit was a return to form for twist-obsessed roller coaster director M. Night Shyamalan. The premise was tight and focused, and the twist was earned and not shoehorned into the script. Like Get Out, you spend a lot of time praying that the two young protagonists will make the decision to leave the house of their Grandparents while mom is away on a well-earned holiday. The behavior of the two elderly characters grows more and more bizarre, and the feeling of dread slowly grows as you realize that something here is wrong.
Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
Mia Farrow plays the Rosemary of the title in this tense and suspenseful slow burn of a horror movie. Like Get Out, we have a protagonist that seems unaware of the terrible situation they are slowly being trapped in, and as the film unfolds, we become more and more concerned for their ultimate fate. The cult in Rosemary’s Baby has a similar method of operation as the one in Get Out and is made up of what looks like ordinary people. Farrow is excellent here, mixing vulnerability with determination as she fights the horrific conspiracy that threatens to consume her. The final scene is a classic of horror and has often been imitated but never matched.
The Wicker Man (1973)
I can’t imagine anyone out there hasn’t watched this classic folk horror from director Robin Hardy. Ex-equalizer and national treasure Edward Woodward arrives at the island of Lord Summerisle to investigate the disappearance of a young girl; however, when he gets there, nobody wants to acknowledge the event, and he is met with obstacle after obstacle as he tries to get to the truth. The audience knows that sinister forces are at work, and we are rooting for Woodward to get away, but the final gut-wrenching scene seals his fate as the plot is revealed and all the clues fall into place. I imagine that Jordan Peele is a fan.
The Stepford Wives (1975)
Another seventies classic here, and it is worth noting that this offering was based on the book by Ira Levin, who also wrote Rosemary’s Baby. This film must have been on Jordan Peele’s watch list, as the setting of a perfect suburban environment, filled with ordinary-looking characters that have a sinister secret, is very comparable to Get Out. There are some great performances from Katherine Ross and Peter Masterson, and once again, this movie has a feeling of growing dread as we build toward the reveal. A great twist and, at the time, a genuinely original premise make this a must-have on our list.
Enemy (2013)
I feel sorry for Jake Gyllenhaal; he always turns in an excellent performance but never gets the accolades he deserves. In this underrated movie, he plays a professor who discovers he has a doppelganger. The strange concept leads to a movie that needs multiple viewings to decipher its meaning, so it has a similar feel to Get Out in that respect. Directed by Denis Villeneuve, this is a mind-bending complex thriller that may have gone under your radar but deserves a viewing.
Vertigo (1958)
It only seems fair to have a film from Alfred Hitchcock on our list. His work must have inspired Peele, and the slow build and suspense in Get Out are comparable to Hitchcock’s style. In Vertigo, Hitchcock uses all the tricks in his toolbox to provide a complex psychological thriller. Great performances, incredible visuals, and a fantastic score from Bernard Hermann make this an immersive and engaging movie, and the lead performance from Jimmy Stewart, playing against type, is superb.
Hereditary (2018)
Ari Aster’s shocking horror is another modern take on the horror genre that relishes in a slow build to shocking moments. Like Get Out, the film relies on mood and tone, showing the audience enough to know that something underneath what we are seeing is not right. Atmospheric, dark, and brooding, the film is similar to Get Out, with excellent direction, striking imagery, and a twist ending, and that was good enough for us to put it on our list.
Do you have any other recommendations for Movies like Get Out? Let us know in the comments below.
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