A unique Oscar contender

NEW YORK — The movie year seems destined to conclude the way it essentially began: With everybody talking about “Get Out.”

Jordan Peele’s horror sensation is again the subject of debate after it was reported that Universal Pictures submitted the film for Golden Globe Awards consideration as a comedy, rather than a drama. The film’s classification will ultimately reside with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, but whatever the outcome, the controversy shows how “Get Out” is already challenging the conventions of Hollywood's prestige movie season.

Peele, himself, has showed no desire to quell the backlash, only to slyly prod it.

“The movie is truth. The thing that resonated with people is truth,” said Peele, before seguing into a joke. “For me, it’s more of a historical biopic. The original title was ‘Get Out: The Kanye West Story’ but I had to lop off the end.”

Most experts believe “Get Out,” which made $253.4 million worldwide on a $4.5 million budget, is a favourite for a best picture nomination at the Academy Awards. Universal has mailed for-your-consideration screeners, and an awards campaign has been mounted.

If “Get Out” were to be nominated, it would be unusual on many counts. Seldom are directorial debuts, February releases or horror films nominated for best picture. (Among the few horror films that have been are “The Exorcist, “The Silence of the Lambs” and “The Sixth Sense.”)

The hard-to-define “Get Out” is poised to be an Oscar contender unlike any seen before, but not just for those traits. Peele’s acclaimed film is an uncommonly sharp big-screen commentary on the real horrors of black existence and the hollowness of liberal progressiveness. It's a monster movie where society, as seen through African-American eyes, is terrifying.