Come Out To The Murder Island And Have A Few Laughs With “GET AWAY” (REVIEW)
Two hundred years ago, the Swedish island of Svälta descended into starvation and cannibalism. Today, the islanders hold the annual festival of Karantän as a memorial, and oddly, a celebration. They even put on a play featuring historical reenactments along with giant, scary masks and bloodshed. So, naturally, the bumbling Richard (Nick Frost) decides to vacation there with his family. Such is the setup of “Get Away,” a new horror comedy from IFC Films.
Richard and his wife Susan (comedian Aisling Bea) got an Airbnb for the festival along with teenage son Sam (Sebastian Croft) and daughter Jessie (Maisie Ayres). They’ve never been there and they’re not exactly “Karantän-heads,” but Susan’s ancestor died on Svälta back in the day, so why not take the kids to learn about their history? Several very good reasons, actually. For starters, to say they’re unwelcome would be an understatement. The family gets cold looks from every other passenger on the ferry to the island, as well as its current inhabitants, who meet them at the shore with stares that say “We have a Wicker Man and we know how to use it.” Jessie gets the sense she’s being watched, and Sam is too cool to bother. Will the outsiders get butchered by the natives? The answer seems obvious, but the film’s saving grace is that it’s anything but.
Should’ve gone to Euro Disney.
The script, written by Frost, gets a good amount of laughs out of the fact that everyone and everything practically screams at the family to go home. Even when the townsfolk show up outside their Airbnb with torches and the aforementioned masks, Richard and co. don’t leave. After a while, you start to wonder why they’re not taking the hint. Frost and director Steffen Haars aim for laughs over realism, which borders on parody. It’s a difficult balance to strike, especially when the audience appears to be ahead of the characters at every turn. The danger feels very real, and an air of mystery hangs around the island and its inhabitants, but “Get Away” is a comedy first and foremost with some frightening moments.
The first two-thirds, while funny, can feel a bit like waiting for the inevitable. We’ve seen many films about boorish foreigners who rile up a local populace Frost, known mostly for his roles alongside Simon Pegg in Edgar Wright’s Cornetto Trilogy, could skate by playing a hapless patriarch in the vein of Clark Griswold. He’s always managed to put his own stamp on his roles, and this time it’s no different. He and Haars have something else in mind, as evidenced by a third-act swing that changes everything. Just when you think there are enormous plot holes, a twist that was hiding in plain sight, causes me to giggle through one of the funniest needle drops of the year.
“Have you heard of our lord and savior, Jeremiah Sand?”
Casting Director Melissa Kostenbauder (“Winning Time,” “The Purge” TV series, and Frist other upcoming horror comedy “Krazy House”) deserves a mention for stacking the deck with actors who get the assignment. The beady-eyed residents of Svälta look like rejects from “Mandy’s” Children of the New Dawn and Bea’s Susan mines laughs at every turn. Croft and Ayres make good foils for each other, who just get funnier as the bloodshed ensues. Ultimately, the blend of folk horror and comedy is a good mix for a film like “Get Away.” Just one note about the trailer: it luckily doesn’t ruin the twist, but one of the funniest bits is shown just before the end. But it’s still hilarious.
“Get Away” is in theaters nationwide.
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