★★☆☆☆
A series of interesting ideas fired willy-nilly at the screen does not a movie make. This debut horror feature from the writer-director Mariama Diallo is certainly stuffed with strong ideas: mainly that a snooty fictional Ivy League college in Boston called Ancaster is home to a self-promoting cabal of racists, an actual witch and a demonic force that torments young black students into attempting suicide.
Taken on their own, each concept could’ve driven a full movie. There are notable strains of Get Out in the most intriguing narrative line, about a black faculty “master” called Gail Bishop (Regina Hall) who feels slowly ostracised by the liberal bigots around her. But Gail’s story flops about aimlessly while idealistic new student Jasmine (Zoe Renee) is hounded by genre clichés (flickering corridor lights, things going bump in the dark) and a hooded figure striding spookily across the campus. The satirical targets often hit home and some of the writing is smart. Just not smart enough.
15, 98min. In cinemas and on Amazon