Get Away (2024) - Movie Review

What if I told you that Nick Frost penned a horror film that attempts to subvert the typical tropes from films like A24’s Ari Aster trilogy?

 Oh, and it features several of my favorite European character actors and a standout supporting performance from an actress I’d never seen before.

And yet, it still failed to hit the mark.  

Let’s discuss.

Get Away is a 2024 comedy-horror film from writer Nick Frost and director Stefan Haars. Nick Frost is a name you’d recognize from nearly every major British hit over the past twenty years, while Stefan Haars, though less known to some, is a prolific Dutch filmmaker who made a significant impression in Europe with his New Kids TV series and related films. His experience shines through in the film’s tight, Dutch style, which, when mixed with distinctly British dialogue and timing, delivers some genuine laughs.

The story centers on a British family setting off on their annual holiday, this time choosing a remote island off Sweden’s coast. While the island is a historic landmark, it’s more notorious for its dark past—a place where governmental corruption, religious fanaticism, and cannibalism once collided. The island’s residents aren’t exactly welcoming to outsiders and make their disdain known by terrorizing the family. However, there’s more at play than meets the eye. As bodies begin to accumulate and chaos erupts, the burning question becomes: will the family manage to Get Away in one piece?

It’s hard to pin down the movie because it jumps around so much—not in that Christopher Nolan Memento way, but with time jumps that feel disjointed, as if a longer story was chopped into bits in editing with a dull knife. I believe the film could have benefited from fewer jokes and a more deliberate set-up. Although the world-building is richly done and the Finnish ensemble of character actors creates an fun, eerie atmosphere, something is missing.

Too many of the twists are telegraphed or just fully revealed early on.

The movie shifts from a slow-burn horror comedy, reminiscent of Midsommar meets Hot Fuzz, to an all-out, over-the-top finale that leaves a gaping hole in its narrative. The twist is blatantly obvious about five minutes in and only becomes more so as the film progresses. Even my elderly father, half-listening, picked up on it within the first half-hour—there’s no suspense at all.

The film tries to be a high-brow, classy parody of movies like Midsommar or The Wicker Man, but it doesn’t offer a strong enough story to justify its existence.

It feels like a rough draft with a beginning and a twist, but very little thought was put into the stuff in between. That said, the acting is excellent—no surprise when the cast includes talents like Aisling Bea, Nick Frost, and Eero Milonoff. Yet the breakout star here is Maisie Ayres, a relative newcomer whose only other credits are recent shows for Apple+ and the BBC. On one hand, her character ends up undermining the film—though not because of her performance. The script forces her into obviously contrived situations where her actions are counterintuitive to even horror movie logic, killing any chance at the film had at building suspense and keeping me watching.

Still, Maisie Ayres is poised to become a star.

With her unique look, vibe, and fantastic voice, she’s bound to start appearing in more genre films soon. This movie might be a fun watch with a group—especially if there’s some booze or a bit of flower in the air—but overall, it’s a forgettable experience that is neither funny enough to be considered a comedy, nor does it have any scares to make it fit as a horror film.

Currently, you can stream it for free on Shudder