Lesson 1

[Deb Johnson]

“Get Out” Horror Conventions

What I learned doing this assignment is that the horror conventions are so interesting. I’m so glad I can go on this journey and learn how to build a professional quality horror script. It’s going to be fun.

Title: Get Out

Concept: A young black man visits his white girlfriend’s parents’ home for the weekend. He’s uneasy about their acceptance of him – but that’s nothing compared to what’s in store.

Terrorize The Characters:

Chris is hypnotized and at the mercy of a family that wants to take his brain and use his body as an avatar for another man.

Isolation:

The house is a long drive, remote, and the nearest neighbor is across a lake. They tamper with his phone, so his battery dies.

Death:

There are three other people who have already been lobotomized. Their behavior is strange/bizarre.

Monster/Villain:

A psychotic family. His girlfriend lures him in. The brother is menacing and aggressive. The mother who is a psychiatrist hypnotizes him. The father is a neurosurgeon who is going to steal his body. Also, the grandma and grandpa have taken over two other bodies.

High Tension:

Gradually we learn, with Chris, about these strange people. At first, it seems somewhat normal but there is always something a little off. When he’s hypnotized, our anxiety grows. Finally, when his girlfriend turns on him, we know he’s doomed. From then on, it’s high tension and anxiety till he finds a way to escape.

Departure from Reality:

There’s no way in the world that someone could transport a brain into another body and have that person’s consciousness go along with it. But that’s the “fun” of the movie – the suspension of disbelief that something like this could happen.

Moral Statement:

While it is about racism – I think it’s also about a black man giving up on his “blackness” and becoming “white.” This is the horror that the filmmaker is warning about.

3. Anything else you’d like to say about what made this movie a great horror film?

From the very beginning, I was on the “edge of my seat.” My heart rate was elevated, and I had a sense of dread throughout. I identified with Chris and I wanted him to “get out.”

There was a brilliant setup (the first scene) that paid off at the end… the abduction of the first black man who was lost and looking for someone in a suburban neighborhood… the white car – and the strange helmet/masked man. We find out at the very end – that this is the brother’s helmet/mask.

I also liked how we are led to believe that the girlfriend, for the most part, is on Chris’ side… and when she ‘can’t find the keys’ – it’s a horrible reveal that she’s in on it. (Even when we see her in pictures with other black men, we think that maybe she’s at the mercy of her mother’s hypnosis and doesn’t realize what’s going on.)

There isn’t a ton of gore (my kind of movie). But the horror of the situation carries the fear and dread throughout. The gradual understanding of the situation was very good.

Here is my fill-in with my Horror Concept/Conventions:

Monster/Villain: A cursed typewriter

The Interesting Terror: Fear of Not Being Remembered.

Isolated/Horrific environment: the basement of an abandoned church

People to be terrorized: people who distort the truth for shameful gain.

Title: Last Words

Concept: A cursed typewriter writes the last words of the living before they perish.

Terrorize The Characters:

An old-fashioned typewriter is discovered and mysteriously types words that are later spoken by the victim before their death. The people at first don’t believe it, usually, the words are obscure but are astounded when the prophesy comes true.

Isolation: An old church is excavated from the ruins of a remote small-town devastated by a tornado. Victims are lured into its basement and can’t get out till the typewriter has written their doom. No matter how far they go after that – the prophecy must come true.

Death: Their deaths are imminent but not immediate. They are all different – some seem as if they are an accident – others could be murders or in self-defense. They will all be different – but all victims will utter whatever words were predicted.

Monster/Villain: A mysterious spirit that inhabits the typewriter and doles out justice.

High Tension: Gradually we learn the truth about the deadly typewriter and the people who succumb to it… there is dread and suspense that follows the victims. We wonder how our “hero” will escape the inevitable.

Departure from Reality: There’s no way a typewriter can predict the last words of its victim – let alone type by itself… so there is a realm of the supernatural involved.

Moral Statement: A stand against gossip and twisting the truth for monetary gain. It’s shameful to lie – especially about others – to make yourself important or to gain wealth.