Managing to strike the right balance of comedy-tinged horror is no easy feat, particularly in such an overcrowded landscape. Screenwriter Nick Frost and director Steffen Haars reteam for the second time, perhaps to atone for this year’s awful Krazy House. For their new feature, a play on words cleverly titled Get Away, Frost and Haars follow a dysfunctional family trapped on a creepy island populated by equally creepy townsfolk. If the premise sounds familiar, it is certainly by design—Frost’s script lampoons these kooky travel-horror tropes with ease. A tightly-knit ensemble of character actors breathe vibrant life to the absurd scenarios. Get Away seamlessly combines black comedy and nail-biting suspense, making it a hilariously bizarre wild ride for fans of offbeat horror.
One twisted summer holiday turns into a unexpected blood-soaked nightmare on a remote Swedish island. The family heads there to celebrate “Karantan”, or “quarantine,” wherein the town holds an eight-hour play that encompass the importance of the festival, and the loss of hundreds of its citizens to a plague. As expected, there is quite the catch. The next ferry back will not arrive for three days, leaving the group veritably stranded. In the first bit of chilling imagery, the brother and sister stumble upon the corpse of a seagull with its head chopped off. Once it becomes clear that the islanders do not take kindly to strangers, the party of four still try their best to be casual observers of the area’s strange customs.
The two siblings could not be more different—Sam (Sebastian Croft, Heartstopper, How to Date Billy Walsh) constantly brings up his vegetarianism whilst Jessie (newcomer Maisie Ayres) seems more playful and curious about where they have ended up. Mother and father have an interesting dynamic as well. Susan (Aisling Bea, Home Sweet Home Alone, Trollied) and Richard (Nick Frost, Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) opt to stay put even as the townspeople and their unwelcome attitudes try to force them out. The couple attempt to make light of their predicament in the only way they know. The question remains: are the folks just trying to scare them away because they don’t want intruders during Karantan, or is there an actual threat?
Frost plays up many tropes, from the ominous imagery of death that creeps out well before the group arrive at the island. Taking a page from Crazy Ralph of Friday the 13th, a local restaurant owner warns not to go during festive times. Is anyone surprised that they do not listen? By checking off typical horror tourism boxes, Frost makes sure the third act’s surprising pivot hits hard. On a dialogue level, from discussions about “moist waffles” to ironic cannibalism jokes, the morose humor adds an unsettling, campy layer to the proceedings. After finally embracing the full-tilt maniacal performances of its cast, Get Away evolves into a distinctly singular bit of filmmaking that will stick in viewers’ minds long after the credits have rolled. A refreshing, deeply varied take on a traditional destination, the chaotic family dynamic and clever comedy keep it feeling fresh and mysterious alongside the familiar.
Prepare to book your next Get Away, setting course for theaters on Friday, December 6th, from IFC Films.
