Whilst the film has a lot of positives it has a couple of minor problems holding it back for me. With regards to the positives the acting is superb across the board, with Lupita Nyong'o putting in a very compelling performance. Jordan Peele's direction and Mike Gioulakis' cinematography were great, as like everything else in the technical department, it was clean and effective. What also impressed me was the musical score, with Michael Abels doing great work, much like he did with Get Out.
Speaking of Get Out, comparisons are undoubtedly going to be made to Peele's directorial debut, but Us doesn't hold up anywhere near as well as that. One excellent attribute that does carry over though is the clever writing that delivers subtle yet sublime set ups and pay offs which work brilliantly. Nearly every line of dialogue in the opening act pays off him some way later down the line which for me is very satisfying.
However, the mixing of horror and comedy doesn't work out that well, as it shows too much of a tonal shift in moments that are meant to be quite chilling at points.
Finally, with regards to the ending twist I'm not sure I like it. Whilst it works well on a thematic level, as it explores the theme of othering and being our own worst enemy, it just ends up raising more questions about how that situation worked out the way it did. Why didn't Adelaide go back up to the surface when she got out of the handcuffs? How did she manage to co-ordinate 'the Tethered' to all emerge from the tunnels at the same time? Where did they get all the red uniforms and scissors from? It's just frustrating that it doesn't hold up to scrutiny.
Overall, I very much enjoyed Us and will look forward to what Jordan Peele does next, as the guy clearly has some interesting ideas and concepts to explore in his work.
Speaking of Get Out, comparisons are undoubtedly going to be made to Peele's directorial debut, but Us doesn't hold up anywhere near as well as that. One excellent attribute that does carry over though is the clever writing that delivers subtle yet sublime set ups and pay offs which work brilliantly. Nearly every line of dialogue in the opening act pays off him some way later down the line which for me is very satisfying.
However, the mixing of horror and comedy doesn't work out that well, as it shows too much of a tonal shift in moments that are meant to be quite chilling at points.
Finally, with regards to the ending twist I'm not sure I like it. Whilst it works well on a thematic level, as it explores the theme of othering and being our own worst enemy, it just ends up raising more questions about how that situation worked out the way it did. Why didn't Adelaide go back up to the surface when she got out of the handcuffs? How did she manage to co-ordinate 'the Tethered' to all emerge from the tunnels at the same time? Where did they get all the red uniforms and scissors from? It's just frustrating that it doesn't hold up to scrutiny.
Overall, I very much enjoyed Us and will look forward to what Jordan Peele does next, as the guy clearly has some interesting ideas and concepts to explore in his work.