This is another of those movies that flummoxes me; it boasts real power and ingenuity, yet it’s also silly, derivative and not very believable.  It is rather successful as a provocative experiment but not so much as enduring entertainment.  And with the state of our Union so divided these days, I wonder if it is wise to present a tale which is bound to stir racial mistrust — even while recognizing that its primary conflict is not racial at all, but scientific (or, rather, science-fictional).

Jordan Peele’s film imagines a predictably awkward scenario wherein a white girl, Rose (Allison Williams), takes her black boyfriend Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) home to meet her parents.  Relations are indeed awkward, but then they take unexpected, drastic turns as Chris begins to suspect something nefarious.  The film veers rather effectively into horror, and then rather ineffectively into science-fiction, as Chris finally divines that his impending addition to the family is much personal than he could ever imagine.

It’s an odd mix that reminded me, ultimately, of The Stepford Wives.  When matters first begin to go haywire the story is exciting and compelling, yet when its plot comes fully into light it just falls apart.  In this way it reminded me of Poltergeist, which stops being scary as soon as the explanation is provided.  It’s tough to work a truly science-fictional element into contemporary stories with any degree of believability, and this movie fails utterly within that ambition.

But as social provocation, and dark comedy, it has some value.  It certainly provides awkward moments by the boatload.  But having written the story to a fever pitch, Peele cannot provide a satisfactory way out of it without an absurd plot device, an overabundance of blood and more melodrama than the material can stand.  It also runs the risk of alienating viewers by switching its perceived focus to something else, although that hasn’t seem to have bothered people other than me — and me not so much.  ☆ ☆.  23 March 2017.