Us is Jordan Peele’s second film and is raising the bar for horror movies while expanding high brow horror that fans of the genre have come to love.
The movie is insanely creepy and is more horror esque than Peele’s past film Get Out. This was something that I loved because he has the skill to really elevate the genre.
Lupita Nyong’o really steals the show and is given the role as Adeline the mother, and her double known as Red. This allows her to display the extensive range she has. Nyong’o executes this performance in top notch fashion and is deserving of Oscar recognition.
She’s able to give one of the best performances I have seen in the horror genre next to Toni Collette in Hereditary, and Nyong’o lands every line with bone chilling precision.
The entire cast knocks it out of the park and Winston Duke does a great job playing the father, holding his own while providing comedy, along with the struggle for survival all at the same time.
The two kids do a great job as well, embodying younger versions of their parents, while also providing convincing performances as their evil doppelgängers.
This family is being terrorized by an evil version of themselves and is truly a petrifying idea that provides a tense situation and lasts through the whole film.
Terror is a central plot point to the movie and keeps the audience on the edge of their seat throughout the film. There were many sequences that send shivers up your spine and are things that will stick with me for a long time.
The main characters had to not only play the regular versions of themselves but also their doppelgängers, and all of them do a great job with encapsulating the crazy minds of this second family.
I would say the first three quarters of the film is some of the best filmmaking and storytelling i’ve ever seen. The opening scene is absolutely captivating and so well done.
The opening scene alone is enough to go see the movie because the scene is so dark and Shahadi Wright Joseph does a great job as the young girl drawing you in to the plot line.
The scene has such a tense feel to it because you’re just waiting to see how it plays out and truly sets up the film in a horrifying way.
Jordan Peele has created two films that are completely unique, and stories that we haven’t seen before. That’s so refreshing in the thriller/horror genre that can get so repetitive.
Us has the ability to give the audience little tidbits of information that allow everyone to interpret situations and the meaning of things in their own way.
It doesn’t make you feel angry or unsatisfied, but instead leaves you curious. I’m still thinking about elements of the film since I saw it and that to me shows strong filmmaking.
Peele is always able to wrap in social commentary into his movies and this one provides an in depth look into duality. He also brings up the fact that no one is able to look at themselves in the mirror and actually confront problems not only in our country but in ourselves.
Some people saw the twist coming but I actually didn’t, so the final act came as a surprise to me and I was really pleased with how it was all put together.
I can see how some audience members didn’t get the same feel as me from the third act, but I think even if you knew what was going on that the final moments would still have that terrifying feeling that it did if you didn’t know what was coming.
Lupita Nyong’o does a masterful job at performing the final “battle” and Peele’s editing makes the altercation that much more powerful.
The idea that Peele puts forward that we as Americans are creating our own problems within each other which creates a problematic world is something that is truly terrifying.
Us is a terrifying commentary on how Americans are unwilling to actually fix problems in our current state. The doppelgängers perfectly encapsulate that self consciousness and how if we just let it keep brewing up we will start to see the destruction of humankind.
The ability for Jordan Peele to consistently deliver terrifying, relevant, funny, and tense horror/thriller movies is truly the work of a genius.
Us has some of the best filmmaking, original storylines, and performances I have seen and is truly worth your time. Trust me, you’ll walk out of theater wondering if another version of yourself is waiting in the shadows.
I give Us an A+
