‘Get Away’ Review: A Wild and Bloody Folk-Horror Comedy
Familiar and amusing, Get Away preys on viewer’s expectations.
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What is Get Away About?
Get Away evokes the feeling of Nordic folk horror in the style of a twisty comedy-horror film.
The story follows a family of four as they travel to an isolated Swedish island for a vacation. Once on the island, the family is met with hostility. The locals have an important cultural event coming up in a couple of days, and they don’t want strangers interfering with their yearly traditions. The parents of the family, Richard and Susan, insist on staying. Over the next few days, the vacationers endure bizarre warnings and sinister actions as the local population prepares for their big, bloody day.
Get Away was directed by Steffen Haars, and it was written by Nick Frost. Nick Frost and Aisling Bea star as Richard and Susan, and their kids are played by Maisie Ayers and Sebastian Croft. Appearing as prominent members of the island community are Anitta Suikkari and Eero Milonoff.
Get Away Review
As a comedy, Get Away is amusing. Nick Frost and Aisling Bea are great as clueless tourists trying to make the best of a bad situation. The best comedy in the film comes from their interactions with each other, and reactions towards the hostility they encounter on the island. Overall though, Get Away never reaches terribly high levels of humor. Part of the reason for the muted laughs has to do with the structure of the plot which necessitates that a lot of the story feels overly familiar while keeping many things hidden from the viewer.
Not to spoil anything, but there’s a point in the movie where the tone shifts dramatically. It goes from a restrained comedic thriller in the beginning, to all-out mayhem by the final act. When secrets are revealed, the comedy becomes broad and wild, thanks to the fact that the movie is no longer trying to remind you of common tropes as a way to play with your expectations.
The first part of Get Away has very strong Midsommar or Wicker Man vibes. Or really, it has the vibes of just about any folk-horror movie about clueless people from a bigger city traveling to an isolated area steeped in centuries-old traditions. But that’s not what the movie is basing its entertainment value on. Get Away is a movie defined by its subversion of expectations, so your enjoyment is going to completely hinge on something that happens about two-thirds of the way through.
Frankly, even the twist feels very familiar, and it’s been done more effectively as recently as last year. Better characterizations could have made the entire movie more impactful, but that could have also lessened the effect of the twist. As it is, nearly all of the characters feel somewhat flat, leaving the over-the-top spectacle of the finale to be the film’s biggest selling point.
All of this is to say, the movie is pretty good. It’s amusing enough, and Nick Frost and Aisling Bea are wonderful every time they’re on screen. The finish of the film takes a wild swing that won’t work for everyone, but there are some deeply satisfying moments among the zaniness (I just can’t write about them without spoiling everything even more).
Get Away Rating and Recommendation
Star Rating: 3 out of 5
Fans of Nick Frost should watch, just don’t expect anything as laugh-out-loud funny as some of his previous comedies. Fans of folk horror with goofy twists might also want to give it a shot, as should anyone just looking for something light, fun, and extremely violent.
Further Reading
- Dagr Review: There’s a Lot to Like About this Found Footage Chiller
- All You Need is Death Review: Irish Folk Horror with a Lyrical Quality
- Hell Hole Review: Body Horror and Parasites from the Adams Family
- Folk Horror Movies
- Scary Movies About Travel
