Certain images and sequences are going to stay with me for a bit, which is more than I can say about Peele’s last effort. And even though Get Out is probably still his best film, there are chunks of this film that are so gnarly: guttural screams inside the esophagus (?) of a UFO, stomach-churning dread in the black of the night as blood rains down on a home, the Gordy sequence, etc. The creepiest moment in the film being a fake-out is also a nice flex

Many appropriately lauding both lead performances, but not many people mentioning exactly how dynamic Kaluuya is here. Morose, surly expressions. Not even sure I could parse out half of his dialogue, all barely audible and under-spoken. Wish the sibling dynamic was more fleshed out given where the film ends up, but it’s kind of all there in the brief snapshots we get of the family’s history and every barely discernible line delivery. Palmer is the bratty live wire to Kaluuya’s wet blanket. On Michael Wincott’s character’s attire: was that a loose-fitting cloak he was wearing? Tremendous fits in this movie. Funny how the tech guy’s look was basically Riz Ahmed in Sound of Metal.

Peele’s messiest in terms of build-up and pacing, though I have to admit sitting there thinking “where the hell is this going?” at the forty five minute mark of a summer blockbuster was a new, alien (har har) feeling. Remains pretty singular given its many references and call-backs, though not sure if Peele will ever transcend being a pretty damn good showman with uneasy hands on the wheel at times, but this one made me re-think if that even matters, a double-sided indictment of the current industry and Peele himself. Fun, tense, weird movie.