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I saw Get Out for the second time and have one big lingering question - when Chris sees the opened door in the bedroom to the small "attic" space and decided to see what's inside, why would such damning evidence of Rose's previous boyfriends be laid out so obviously and right there for him to find?

Also why was the door open and not locked well, if the box of old photos was in there for anyone to see? If I recall, the sorry had been open and closed throughout the weekend...

Later, we do see that Rose frames the pictures, but if her parents took them down for the weekend when Chris was visiting, you'd think they would hide them better.

Currently, my thoughts (albeit with no evidence hinted at in the movie) are that Georgina or Walter opened it for him to see (after somehow "breaking through" the Grandma and Grandpa's control).

It seems that typically, the family just hypnotizes the guys into a trance and then put them in the basement, so I don't think it was done so Chris would realize what's going on before he's taken down there.

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  • Just occurred to me - they had the whole auction for Chris organized and set up before he ever met anyone or got there. If the other auctions were similar, maybe she sent photos ahead of time as advance product information for the events, and then got them back afterwards.
    – PoloHoleSet
    Commented Nov 16, 2017 at 16:55
  • @PoloHoleSet hmm good thought. But still doesn't really explain why those photos would be left right there in the open (well, in a closet that was left open, but even not really hidden in the closet).
    – BruceWayne
    Commented Nov 16, 2017 at 17:38
  • That wasn't meant to explain that. Just something that popped into my head. As to why... why does a cat play around with a mouse instead of just killing it? The mindset to set up this whole scheme comes from a place that is sick, twisted, entitled and superior-feeling. I haven't spent a ton of time trying to rationalize all the behaviors in terms that would make sense to more sane people.
    – PoloHoleSet
    Commented Nov 16, 2017 at 17:41

3 Answers 3

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It's a classic case of the bad guy (or bad guys in this case) going out of their way in the climax to share unnecessary information that just happens to help explain the plot.

But I thought the movie pulled it off pretty well: as a viewer, my impression was that the family wanted Chris to see the pictures and learn other details because -- true to their psychopathic nature -- they are having a little "fun" by terrorizing their victim at the end of their long con.

Also, another character mentions that the more Chris understands, the better the procedure will go..

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  • Hmm yeah I can agree with this generally. Just curious if you recall more when someone said the more he understands the better the procedure will go? Was it during the part where he was strapped to the chair watching the TV? I guess instead of looking at it from Chris's view it makes more sense that the family, and their psychopathic nature, just want to have more "fun" with Chris/their victims.
    – BruceWayne
    Commented Apr 16, 2017 at 21:08
  • It was the blind art-gallery guy who says the line, while he is on the television addressing Chris, who is tied to his chair facing the TV. The line explains why the blind guy is about to provide exposition, and could also be a reason why the Armitages would want Chris to know more about what was going on.
    – Shiz Z.
    Commented Apr 17, 2017 at 1:17
  • I remember now. I just thought he meant they're explaining the process while he's in the chair, not that they wanted him to find out and freak out before they had him subdued. I agree, I guess, that it's probably better for the victims to understand what's happening, but only after they're subdued in the chair. Consider too they may get athletic guys who could overpower the family or just make a run for it, so why would they want them to piece it together before they're totally subdued? I agree though that it is a better reflection of just how psychopathic they are
    – BruceWayne
    Commented Apr 17, 2017 at 2:29
  • >Consider too they may get athletic guys who could overpower the family or just make a run for it< but the victim had already been hypnotized at this point... one tap of the teaspoon and he is incapacitated, unable to fight back or run
    – Shiz Z.
    Commented May 4, 2017 at 16:08
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My interpretation was that Rose left the small attic door open, and the box in plain site, to intentionally get Chris to freak out. When Missy (Rose's mom) hypnotized him earlier, part of the process was to get him worked up, terrified, helpless, paralyzed. Rose intentionally got him to that emotional state as well (possibly as part of the Coagula process).

Downstairs by the door, when Rose was "looking for her keys", Chris was terribly worked up. The whole family has surrounded him in a surreal, menacing way. And Missy was able to put him into the sunken place very easily.

If they had been trying to keep him calm to avoid any danger to themselves, Missy would have just tapped the teacup when she first saw him. There would be no sense in letting him get scared and possibly endangering herself and her family.

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    From what I could tell, it only took the tapping of a teacup. Recall that Georgina was put into a slight spell when Missy tapped her iced tea glass near the beginning. I don't think they needed him to be in an excited state to put him in the Sunken Place. Also, assuming they had hypnotized and lobotomized other athletic and bigger guys, to require them to get riled up could be dangerous for Rose and her family.
    – BruceWayne
    Commented Mar 22, 2017 at 18:45
  • @BruceWayne Hmm. Good points.
    – BrettFromLA
    Commented Mar 22, 2017 at 18:46
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    But that's part of the issue that I'm asking about. It was so deliberately left open that you'd think they wanted him to find it. I just can't reason why the family would want him to know/find that out. That's why I'm thinking it was the "real" Georgina/Walter leaving it open for him. ...except, AFAIK, that wasn't even subtly hinted at.
    – BruceWayne
    Commented Mar 22, 2017 at 19:20
  • @BruceWayne I edited my answer. If they were trying to avoid danger to themselves, Missy would have put him into the Sunken Place when he first reached the bottom of the stairs. Instead, she and the family let him stand by the door and get all agitated and freaked out and dangerous for like half a minute.
    – BrettFromLA
    Commented Mar 23, 2017 at 16:03
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Just watched the movie yesterday and I was wondering the same thing. Unfortunately there is no further evidence given to us and I was also forced to go with the simplest explanation, which is the one you mentioned.

Georgina's "sunk" self leaves the door open - she has access to the room since she is the cleaning lady. As I recall the door was again open at some point during the first day but Chris did not investigate further.

Trying to solve this I was also wondering why were the photos in the box unframed, but it didn't help, just raised more questions. I believe this was just a director "trick" so Chris could browse through them more easily instead of going through framed photos..

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  • "As I recall the door was again open at some point during the first day but Chris did not investigate further." - Yeah, I think you're right. Did he close it? I don't think so...But I do believe later we see it's closed. ...only to be open again. I also wondered about why they'd take them out of the frames, only for her to re-frame and hang up. Although, that's not really as much of a plot point as to who is opening, and why, that little closet. I wonder if in the DVD commentary it'll be brought up. It's still the only real hangup I have with the film.
    – BruceWayne
    Commented Apr 9, 2017 at 15:54
  • It would make less sense if people who are officially considered missing were in photos that were framed for display, instead of just in a box, IMO. I have many boxes of photos I like to look at and reminisce over that I don't think are worth hanging on a wall.
    – PoloHoleSet
    Commented Nov 16, 2017 at 16:40

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