Get Away

by Mike McGranaghan

As the writers, Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg got the lion’s share of credit for Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, but Get Away serves as a reminder that co-star Nick Frost is equally gifted at skewering genre conventions. He penned and stars in this horror-comedy that takes pride in subverting genre expectations. Imagine Midsommar played for laughs and you’re on the right track.

Richard Smith (Frost) ventures to the Swedish island of Svalta for a vacation with his wife Susan (Aisling Bea) and their teenage children Jessie (Maisie Ayers) and Sam (Sebastian Croft). They’ve chosen this location due to a desire to witness a festival commemorating a tragic event from the island’s past – one that Susan’s family has a connection to. The Smiths are greeted with hostility by the locals, especially Klara (Anitta Suikkari), the highly influential town elder. Making matters worse is that there’s apparently a serial killer running loose.

That’s only half the story. Get Away starts off with a lot of cringe humor as the clan repeatedly irritates and clashes with the island’s inhabitants. The possibility perpetually looms that Richard and his kin could be murdered by either the psycho or just a ticked-off local. During the last half-hour, the plot makes a wild left turn that sends it into territory that becomes much bloodier, while also revealing an intent to wickedly satirize the subject of colonialism.

If this sounds like a weird mash-up of ideas…well, that’s basically what makes Get Away fun. The movie has huge laughs when it focuses on the Smiths’ awkward interactions with the islanders. When the shift occurs, the humor goes in a darker direction that’s impressive in its audacity. What could have been a routine horror spoof instead aims for something a bit weightier. Frost’s screenplay doesn’t hit the bullseye all the time, but it does hit more than it misses.

Deft performances go a long way toward selling the offbeat material. Everyone in the cast is funny, working collaboratively to build a tense dynamic between the locals and the interlopers. They beautifully deliver Frost’s witty dialogue. The key performance comes from Aisling Bea. Early on, we sense a quality about Susan that is “off.” She’s sort of hyper, for reasons we can’t quite pinpoint. How her arc pays off is one of the film’s highlights, thanks to the actress’s fearlessness.

As a horror-comedy with a viewpoint, Get Away isn’t quite on the same brilliant level as The Substance and The Menu. It’s still a satisfying, fast-paced bit of gory madness.

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