I really, really, really enjoyed this film. But as I left the theatre, I had so many more questions than I entered with, and the more I talked about it with a friend the more I realized that it is a complete inverse of the structure in Get Out (which tightens to a conclusion, as opposed to unraveling as you get more answers) which set me up to be disappointed. My fault!

I’m confused by so much of what happened in this movie and what it means and how certain ideas seemingly conflict with the rules of the world, but I still think I loved it. The only review I saw before watching this movie was K. Austin Collins’ Letterboxd post saying to “not overthink it,” and I think that’s the best advice for how to watch this movie. It’s a fun one for reading piece after piece when it’s over, but without trying to extract depth or “solve” every element of it, it’s just a wonderful horror movie.

Also, it was not lost on me for the entire runtime how truly wonderful it was to see a story with a black family where their blackness was not at all critical to the plot. Especially in a horror film. I was so fucking delighted by it. I want more of this from film– diversity that feels like it’s a choice from the filmmakers for no reason other than to tell a story with different kinds of people. Shouldn’t be revolutionary, and yet.

Michael Abels’ score is wonderful. Lupita is giving an OUTSTANDING performance here. Jordan Peele has already cemented his own sense of style in two films and I can’t wait to see anything and everything he ever makes.