Us
(Universal Pictures)
By Lucas Allen
Back in 2017, funnyman Jordan Peele took the horror genre to the next level with his Oscar-winning hit “Get Out.” For his sophomore effort “Us,” he brings more intensity and laughs to this thriller with a supposed supernatural twist.
If his previous film was a Hitchcockian film, this one is more of a Kubrickian film within a classic episode of “The Twilight Zone.”
The Wilson family is spending a summer weekend at Santa Cruz Beach and Carnival. The mother, Adelaide (Lupita Nyong’o), has reservations about going back there after a traumatic experience back in the ’80s. But the father, Gabe (Winston Duke), is still excited about having a fun weekend, with her, son Jason (Evan Alex), and daughter Zora (Shahadi Wright Joseph). During the beach day with their friends, the Tylers (Elisabeth Moss and Tim Heidecker), Adelaide starts to have that unfeeling sense of terror she hadn’t felt in years. She reveals to her husband that she was alone in the funhouse when she saw someone who looked exactly like her.
Then, the family gets unexpected visitors — a family breaks into their beach home. Turns out, the mysterious family happen to be doppelganger versions of the Wilsons, including the one Adelaide saw that very night. Soon enough, the night becomes a fight for survival as the battle between the real family and the murderous clan becomes a violent nightmare.
With this film, Peele proves to be no one-trick pony. This time much more inspired by films like “The Shining” and “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” he’s able to pinpoint our deepest fears in a strange but brilliant story. It’s also much more violent than his previous film with pools of blood and deadly blows to the body that adds to the intensity. In some way, his direction and writing proved more successful the second time around.
Everything ties together with the main characters, who are relatable enough that you feel scared alongside them during their tense situation. The mysterious aspect of the doppelgangers feels very present throughout much of the movie, though having their existence being explained in a confusing matter almost ruins it. However, it’s more interesting if you come out of this film adding your own interpretation and theories in the same manner as “The Shining.” In fact, it’s one of those movies that you can go back time and time again and discover something different about it no matter how silly your theories may sound. No matter how you look at this film, you may never look at your own shadow the same way again.
Many of the actors pull double duty as their real characters and their evil doppelgangers, and they managed to succeed spectacularly. Nyong’o in particular brings out a lot out of herself brilliantly balancing herself between good and evil. Her performance as Adelaide’s doppelganger could be one of the best horror villains in recent memory.
Jordan Peele does it again with Us, and he did an amazing job creating a superior horror experience than “Get Out.” He seems to be on the verge of a memorable career in horror movies especially co-producing and co-writing next year’s “Candyman.” Let’s hope he keeps up that momentum without losing any steam.
THE MOVIE’S RATING: R (for violence/terror and language)
THE CRITIC’S RATING: 3.5 Stars (Out of Four)
