Festivals Reviews Taiwanese Reviews

Film Review: Get the Hell Out (2020) by I-fan Wang

An entertaining blend of horror and comedy.

The feature debut by Taiwanese director tells a story whose sociopolitical commentary becomes obvious right from the very first image. “If you choose the wrong movie, you only have to wait 90 minutes; if you choose the wrong legislator, you have to wait four years” is the opening text to “”, a wild mixture of horror film and comedy, which is now screening at genre festivals such as Fantasy Filmfest 2020. Similar to his previous short features like “Temple of the Devilbuster” I-fan Wang inserts a portrayal of his home country's politics and society, this time within a satirical context, highlighting the phrase that in the end matters becomes so bad, you need to “get the hell out”.

“Get the Hell Out” is screening at Chinese Visual Festival

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Chinese-Visual-Festival-2021.jpg

Yu-wei () has been working as a guard at the Taiwanese Parliament for many years, but recently, he has become the center of attention and involved in a heated debate about the construction of a chemical plant. After meeting with the opposition, legislator Ying-ying (), whose father lives in the small village which will be demolished if the construction of the plant is approved, becomes quite annoyed at the nosy question of a journalist as she is about to leave the parliament. To protect the man from her attacks, Yu-wei tries to mediate between the two, but eventually becomes the target for her quite vicious attacks, which ultimately make the front page and are broadcast on live television, damaging Ying-ying's reputation and whatever chance she could have had to prevent the construction of the chemical plant.

While the opposition, led by gangster-turned-MP Li (), celebrates their victory, Yu-wei is praised by the media for his integrity and bravery, which results in him being “promoted” as a member of parliament. However, before the ultimate decision regarding the plant, Ying-ying tries to convince the former guard to speak on her behalf against the plant's construction, but as soon as the president enters the speaker's desk in the parliament, his body is shaken by violent convulsions, and he turns into a rabid beast attacking others. As the virus is rapidly spreading and the parliament is shut down to prevent a wider outbreak, Yu-wei and Ying-ying must work together to make their way out of there.

Similar to features like Edgar Wright's “Shaun of the Dead” or Ruben Fleischer's “Zombieland”, I-fan Wang's film follows the tradition of the horror-comedy sub-genre. Besides a rich (and rather confusing) network of pop-cultural references, ranging from social media celebrities to pop stars, the story mostly focuses on the problematic interpretation of politics as reality show, which in “Get the Hell Out” becomes a blood-stained, gory farce. The fight for the future of Taiwan turns into a literal massacre with the political elite tearing itself to pieces and turning into rabid creatures, hunting for the blood of the generation that could have brought the necessary change before it was too late. Wang Chung-huang, in a wonderfully over-the-top performance, portrays Li as a representative of the old order, a crazed version of thug and reality TV-star whose way of persuading others and bullying his opponents are a hilarious reflection of the kind of politician someone like Donald Trump stands for.

In order to further emphasize the over-the-top quality of the story, the movie also features various comic-like effects. With each encounter or fight filled with various visual gags and cartoonish sound effects, along with a frantic editing job, the hysterical and satirical nature of the story is underlined to a degree that at times becomes quite tiring to watch. With a running time of 110 minutes “Get the Hell Out“ with its accumulation of effects, references and overacting feels rather cluttered, especially since these features seem to disguise a rather mediocre story.

In the end, “Get the Hell Out” is an entertaining, if somewhat tiring blend of horror and comedy. While the basic idea of I-fan Wang's feature is quite interesting and has much potential, you cannot help but wish for a bit more restraint, especially with regard to the effects, as well as a more concise editing job.

About the author

Rouven Linnarz

Ever since I watched Takeshi Kitano's "Hana-Bi" for the first time (and many times after that) I have been a cinephile. While much can be said about the technical aspects of film, coming from a small town in Germany, I cherish the notion of art showing its audience something which one does normally avoid, neglect or is unable to see for many different reasons. Often the stories told in films have helped me understand, discover and connect to something new which is a concept I would like to convey in the way I talk and write about films. Thus, I try to include some info on the background of each film as well as a short analysis (without spoilers, of course), an approach which should reflect the context of a work of art no matter what genre, director or cast. In the end, I hope to pass on my joy of watching film and talking about it.

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

>