Trailer was better than the movie. To me this movie just never takes off. It's a shame because there is some fantastic imagery and a wonderful theme lying underneath but in the end it can not overcome its plot holes and failed delivery of the message its trying to speak. It truly believes it's deeper than it is, but left me unfulfilled. Kind of lazy/rushed writing in my opinion. Kind of just throws a bunch of mediocre stuff at you without any real substance and expects the audience to give it purpose and deeper meaning in there own heads. Which is fine to do but to me this movie wasn't worthy of that merit of thought. You keep waiting for it to evolve but it just never does. Honestly can't believe critics are putting this on such a pedestal giving it such rave reviews.
3,577 Reviews
Did I watch the same movie as the people that are giving this a 10/10???
Lancaster1621 March 2019
Was excited to watch this movie with all the hype surrounding it. The first 20 mins or so was on par with my expectations and then it just fell flat on its face. Not nearly as good as Get Out. Way to many plot holes and un answered questions. Acting was decent and writing was average. Some funny parts and the soundtrack are the only thing that really saves this movie from being a 3 or a 4.
Great idea, questionable execution...
The_Film_Auditor23 March 2019
I am torn on whether or not I like the story of Us. Part of me really likes the originality of the idea and the subtle social commentary the film delivers; however, I felt that despite Us having an interesting idea, the execution led to a disjointed story that felt a bit scatterbrained. There were definitely parts of the film that were suspenseful and horrifying, but at the same time, other parts felt too over-explained or tropey. This leads to me having many unanswered questions about certain aspects and feeling like other aspects shouldn't have been explained at all to keep the mystery. I think the story is hard to talk about without spoiling it, but overall, I expected more from Jordan Peele's writing but did enjoy some of it.
Despite my indecisive feelings of the film's story, many pieces of the film were exceptionally well done. One aspect that stood out in Us was the soundtrack and the usage of music. I think the original soundtrack was memorable and used appropriately to accentuate the feeling of horror at some points in the film. On the flip side, the soundtrack was used to perfectly contrast what was going on onscreen. This led to some great sequences (the Beach Boys scene) that utilized the soundtrack in an interesting way. Another part of the film that I really enjoyed was Lupita Nyong'o and the child actors' performances. Nyong'o in particular is the most terrifying part of the film. She plays both a horrific monster and a badass mother, making it easy to forget that the same actor plays them.
As a whole, I think Us is an enjoyable horror film that has some missteps with its story elements and structure. I would recommend this film to horror fans, but don't go into the film expecting anything like Get Out.
Despite my indecisive feelings of the film's story, many pieces of the film were exceptionally well done. One aspect that stood out in Us was the soundtrack and the usage of music. I think the original soundtrack was memorable and used appropriately to accentuate the feeling of horror at some points in the film. On the flip side, the soundtrack was used to perfectly contrast what was going on onscreen. This led to some great sequences (the Beach Boys scene) that utilized the soundtrack in an interesting way. Another part of the film that I really enjoyed was Lupita Nyong'o and the child actors' performances. Nyong'o in particular is the most terrifying part of the film. She plays both a horrific monster and a badass mother, making it easy to forget that the same actor plays them.
As a whole, I think Us is an enjoyable horror film that has some missteps with its story elements and structure. I would recommend this film to horror fans, but don't go into the film expecting anything like Get Out.
So much potential...so much confusion.
thejilliebean1621 March 2019
Warning: Spoilers
I liked the movie a lot. I thought it was very well shot and very well acted, and I can appreciate Peele's subtle homages to previous horror films throughout. However, the story itself is very weak and a bit of a mess.
A big concern for the main characters, as well as for the viewers, is why these doppelgängers (known in the movie as The Tethered) are attacking. So we are lead from almost the beginning, to want those answers, and when they're actually delivered, it's pretty unsatisfying.
The logic (or lackthereof) of The Tethered's existence and motivation is very messy and ultimately ruins the final conclusion of the film, because it leaves too many holes in the story that need to be answered.
If Peele had removed the explanation element as to the Tethered's existence, functionality etc. it would have made it a better story in my opinion. It becomes then a survival horror film, and leaves more to the viewer's imagination and thoughts as to the how and why, and that could even leave some good opportunities for symbolism etc. which Peele is known for. Not to mention it would have made the final conclusion even more shocking, compelling and thought provoking, and viewers would be talking about it for a long time, in all the best ways. Instead we're left talking about the many plot holes in the explanation.
All in all, as a standalone movie, it's really good and I can appreciate it for what it is, despite some of it's plot points I'd like further explanation on.
Also, I don't really think it can or should be compared to Get Out in any way because they're two completely different films, in genre and the overall tone. Us is a horror film and Get Out is a social thriller. So it's unfair to pit them against each other, or put them in the same league, even though they share the same director. I feel like people looking to do that are going to end up disappointed with this movie no matter what.
A big concern for the main characters, as well as for the viewers, is why these doppelgängers (known in the movie as The Tethered) are attacking. So we are lead from almost the beginning, to want those answers, and when they're actually delivered, it's pretty unsatisfying.
The logic (or lackthereof) of The Tethered's existence and motivation is very messy and ultimately ruins the final conclusion of the film, because it leaves too many holes in the story that need to be answered.
If Peele had removed the explanation element as to the Tethered's existence, functionality etc. it would have made it a better story in my opinion. It becomes then a survival horror film, and leaves more to the viewer's imagination and thoughts as to the how and why, and that could even leave some good opportunities for symbolism etc. which Peele is known for. Not to mention it would have made the final conclusion even more shocking, compelling and thought provoking, and viewers would be talking about it for a long time, in all the best ways. Instead we're left talking about the many plot holes in the explanation.
All in all, as a standalone movie, it's really good and I can appreciate it for what it is, despite some of it's plot points I'd like further explanation on.
Also, I don't really think it can or should be compared to Get Out in any way because they're two completely different films, in genre and the overall tone. Us is a horror film and Get Out is a social thriller. So it's unfair to pit them against each other, or put them in the same league, even though they share the same director. I feel like people looking to do that are going to end up disappointed with this movie no matter what.
A lot of hype, but not fully satisfying.
ksmart7321 March 2019
I hate saying this, but this film is the product of when you've got incredible everything and an underdeveloped script. The concepts are great, but lose their value and appreciation because there is so much with so little explanation, leaving me with the impression that they were not completely thought-out.
Acting was incredible, cinematography, lighting, set design, and sound track were wonderful too! It's just that the script and story does not fully deliver. It's so conceptual that it loses horror, yet so rushed in execution that it loses coherence.
Just because you want it to be good, doesn't make it good.
Finfrosk8621 March 2019
Jordan Peele is at it again!
Hard to say too much about this one without spoiling, but here goes. The acting is good, especially considering many of the actors plays two roles. They all do a bang up job in that regard. So no trouble so far. The movie looks good. I have no complains here either. It's technically very well made. We always see what's going on, no shaky cam or anything like that. Some nice shots too. The humor works pretty well, the dialogue comes off as natural. I like the beginning of the movie, the family is pretty likable. The movie is sort of a mystery, and when the mystery unravels is when we get to some slight problems. The scrips seems to be based on a pretty good idea, that was never thoroughly worked out. It just isn't thought all the way through. I am left with several questions, and not in a good way. This is spoiler terriroty, so I won't go into detail, but it didn't sit well with me. Doesn't seem to make sense. The plot has more holes than a swizz cheese. (that almost no critics talk about this is very strange)
Now, in the movies defence, the sub-genre it turne out to be is very far from my favorite, so others might like it better. I've seen a lot of horror movies, and this is just not one of the best ones. It is mediocre. Not a weak movie, but definitely no classic. Will not be watching it again.
Hard to say too much about this one without spoiling, but here goes. The acting is good, especially considering many of the actors plays two roles. They all do a bang up job in that regard. So no trouble so far. The movie looks good. I have no complains here either. It's technically very well made. We always see what's going on, no shaky cam or anything like that. Some nice shots too. The humor works pretty well, the dialogue comes off as natural. I like the beginning of the movie, the family is pretty likable. The movie is sort of a mystery, and when the mystery unravels is when we get to some slight problems. The scrips seems to be based on a pretty good idea, that was never thoroughly worked out. It just isn't thought all the way through. I am left with several questions, and not in a good way. This is spoiler terriroty, so I won't go into detail, but it didn't sit well with me. Doesn't seem to make sense. The plot has more holes than a swizz cheese. (that almost no critics talk about this is very strange)
Now, in the movies defence, the sub-genre it turne out to be is very far from my favorite, so others might like it better. I've seen a lot of horror movies, and this is just not one of the best ones. It is mediocre. Not a weak movie, but definitely no classic. Will not be watching it again.
BRILLIANT SYMBOLISM!
Tariqinto22 November 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Capitalism, Materialism and the duality of the American dream: the American dream isn't a destination it's just constantly trying to get more than what you already have and constantly being dissatisfied by what you do have.
Symbolism: * Hands across America: a grand gesture that looks great from the outside but actually meaningless and empty. Aka capitalism.
* Gabe: Gabe represents the someone who comes from a background of oppression and now he bought into the American dream, hence his obsession with material things, plus he's becoming this regular American that's not aware of what or where danger is: 1. His constant arguments with his white friend about their possessions. 2. He kept trying to offer more money to the tethereds even though it was obvious that they don't care about that. 3. When he was trying to scare the red family in the driveway the first time he talked in a regular way but the second time when he came out with the bat he tapped into that "intimidating black man" persona)
* The tethereds in the white family house trying on clothes and stuff, the thetherd wife trying on make up and seems happy for a second before her face changes and she takes a pair of scissors and tries to give herself a plastic surgery (just like her original), because the American consumer is never satisfied.
* The Black Flag tshirt the twin wears: (Black Flag was a punk rock band that founded the counter-culture and anti-conformity revolution) the carnival worker in 86 was wearing one too in the beginning of the movie. This detail matters because the carnival worker was wearing it when Black Flag was at their peak, and because of the cold war and the capitalism vs. communism atmosphere nobody would just pretend to be that extreme because it's "cool" like nowadays. And that leads us to 2019, one of the twins from the white family was wearing a Black Flag tshirt, not because she's really hardcore or anti-anything or going counter to anything, she's a typical blond teenager doing gymnastics in the beach and bullying others in packs like hyenas; she's actually the epitome of the American cultural conformity, and her wearing the Black Flag tshirt shows how capitalism turns and appropriates the realist of things into sellable pop culture. The most brilliant part is that she's wearing something that stands for individualism and the lack of conformity, and she's a TWIN, she's literally a copy of someone else. BRILLIANT SYMBOLISM!
* The main twist of Adelaide turning out to be the tethered Adelaide: it's not my favorite twist but it still complements my theory, that an entire person got replaced by a soulless copy and the shallow surface level society couldn't tell the difference. As long as it looks the same from the outside it does not matter.
Usually we tend to ignore injustice and inequality when it's forced on someone else, someone who's removed from us, an other. But Jordan Peele doesn't allow us to look away, the idea that this could be you, you could be the other, will you be able to look away from your own tragedy? The difference between the originals and the tethereds is completely circumstantial, directly a result of having vs not having.
"We are Americans" Red (tethered but really the real Adelaide) said that but I think she really meant "we are Americans too" Because there are two Americas, like I already mentioned: a direct result of having and not having. A good example of that is the Alexa like device in the white family house that changed the songs from The Beach Boys' Good Vibrations, a feel good song sung by a group of white party boys, to N.W.A's F tha Police, a rage filled song against the harassment of the black community by the police and the entire system.
The brilliance of the ending is that it leaves you not knowing how to feel, who did win? The good guys? Who were the good guys? Was I rooting for the victim or the villain? The movie makes us ask an uncomfortable question: if we relate or root for Adelaide family in this scenario, does that make us the bad guys? Does that mean we are rooting for preserving an unequal and unjust system just because we benefit from it?
Symbolism: * Hands across America: a grand gesture that looks great from the outside but actually meaningless and empty. Aka capitalism.
* Gabe: Gabe represents the someone who comes from a background of oppression and now he bought into the American dream, hence his obsession with material things, plus he's becoming this regular American that's not aware of what or where danger is: 1. His constant arguments with his white friend about their possessions. 2. He kept trying to offer more money to the tethereds even though it was obvious that they don't care about that. 3. When he was trying to scare the red family in the driveway the first time he talked in a regular way but the second time when he came out with the bat he tapped into that "intimidating black man" persona)
* The tethereds in the white family house trying on clothes and stuff, the thetherd wife trying on make up and seems happy for a second before her face changes and she takes a pair of scissors and tries to give herself a plastic surgery (just like her original), because the American consumer is never satisfied.
* The Black Flag tshirt the twin wears: (Black Flag was a punk rock band that founded the counter-culture and anti-conformity revolution) the carnival worker in 86 was wearing one too in the beginning of the movie. This detail matters because the carnival worker was wearing it when Black Flag was at their peak, and because of the cold war and the capitalism vs. communism atmosphere nobody would just pretend to be that extreme because it's "cool" like nowadays. And that leads us to 2019, one of the twins from the white family was wearing a Black Flag tshirt, not because she's really hardcore or anti-anything or going counter to anything, she's a typical blond teenager doing gymnastics in the beach and bullying others in packs like hyenas; she's actually the epitome of the American cultural conformity, and her wearing the Black Flag tshirt shows how capitalism turns and appropriates the realist of things into sellable pop culture. The most brilliant part is that she's wearing something that stands for individualism and the lack of conformity, and she's a TWIN, she's literally a copy of someone else. BRILLIANT SYMBOLISM!
* The main twist of Adelaide turning out to be the tethered Adelaide: it's not my favorite twist but it still complements my theory, that an entire person got replaced by a soulless copy and the shallow surface level society couldn't tell the difference. As long as it looks the same from the outside it does not matter.
Usually we tend to ignore injustice and inequality when it's forced on someone else, someone who's removed from us, an other. But Jordan Peele doesn't allow us to look away, the idea that this could be you, you could be the other, will you be able to look away from your own tragedy? The difference between the originals and the tethereds is completely circumstantial, directly a result of having vs not having.
"We are Americans" Red (tethered but really the real Adelaide) said that but I think she really meant "we are Americans too" Because there are two Americas, like I already mentioned: a direct result of having and not having. A good example of that is the Alexa like device in the white family house that changed the songs from The Beach Boys' Good Vibrations, a feel good song sung by a group of white party boys, to N.W.A's F tha Police, a rage filled song against the harassment of the black community by the police and the entire system.
The brilliance of the ending is that it leaves you not knowing how to feel, who did win? The good guys? Who were the good guys? Was I rooting for the victim or the villain? The movie makes us ask an uncomfortable question: if we relate or root for Adelaide family in this scenario, does that make us the bad guys? Does that mean we are rooting for preserving an unequal and unjust system just because we benefit from it?
A really interesting Horror movie with a great premise but big problems
ThatSlackerOnSci-Fi24 March 2019
Whilst not just as good as Get Out, Us is a film I really can't stop thinking about. I kind of liked it, I kind of didn't and honestly, I'm a bit conflicted. I think the cinematography and concept are absolutely fantastic. The acting is pretty good and the score is great. The editing is probably the weaker parts of a really damn good film and really lets down the script and a lot of the execution.
I think some of the script is half-baked with plot-holes but what it does with the concept itself feels like something out of a great short story. The main actress is fantastic honestly, she does a great job and what happens at the end really turns the plot on its head and I'll definitely be having a different experience in the next watch which is great.
I really love how bizarre this film is, I love the ambiguity and the direction. I love the style and execution. It's a sort of creepy style which I've loved in other short films which hasn't really been explored until now. There are some great unlaying themes in there as well but it still definitely has its problems especially in the sound editing (the soundtrack is great but it is overused in parts where it didn't need to be) and the editing itself especially in several cuts between the past and the present.
In the end, though, I see myself really coming to love it on a second watch, I honestly can't stop thinking about it even though there were some things that could be better but this film really shows that Jordan Peele is a force to be reckoned with especially in Horror. I would love to see him tackle other genres or Horror sub-genres. If you liked Get Out, you'll probably like this film too, it's a really interesting film and it will be talked about for years to come. I give this movie a Not Perfect but Very Interesting/10.
I think some of the script is half-baked with plot-holes but what it does with the concept itself feels like something out of a great short story. The main actress is fantastic honestly, she does a great job and what happens at the end really turns the plot on its head and I'll definitely be having a different experience in the next watch which is great.
I really love how bizarre this film is, I love the ambiguity and the direction. I love the style and execution. It's a sort of creepy style which I've loved in other short films which hasn't really been explored until now. There are some great unlaying themes in there as well but it still definitely has its problems especially in the sound editing (the soundtrack is great but it is overused in parts where it didn't need to be) and the editing itself especially in several cuts between the past and the present.
In the end, though, I see myself really coming to love it on a second watch, I honestly can't stop thinking about it even though there were some things that could be better but this film really shows that Jordan Peele is a force to be reckoned with especially in Horror. I would love to see him tackle other genres or Horror sub-genres. If you liked Get Out, you'll probably like this film too, it's a really interesting film and it will be talked about for years to come. I give this movie a Not Perfect but Very Interesting/10.
Filled with ideas and inspiration
BandSAboutMovies23 March 2019
Warning: Spoilers
I was concerned that after Get Out that there would be no way that this movie could live up to that work of art, nor could it equal the hype. That's been the problem with so many elevated horror films of the past few years, movies that were so hyped that they couldn't help but be vaporware on celluloid, ciphers of films that barely hold interest much less devotion.
Writer/director/producer Jordan Peele has stated that he was dismayed by the genre confusion of Get Out, so he opted to make a full-on horror film as his follow-up. Unlike nearly every horror movie I've seen in a theater for the past two years, I'm happy to report he's succeeded. The packed house we saw the film in was only too happy to scream out loud, yell things at the scream and react to every story beat as a horror movie audience should.
Unlike a movie like last year's Halloween, Us is all about the terror of someone coming after you. There are numerous instances of stalking here that add up to true tension - as a horror movie should. It's also a testament to Peele's growing skills as a storyteller that there's so much humanity under what's also a pretty darn great popcorn movie.
The film starts with a TV showing us commercials for the beachfront at Santa Cruz and Hands Across America, the May 25, 1985 benefit and PR stunt where 6.5 million people held hands for fifteen minutes, creating a human chain across the United States. If you look closely, several VHS movies are on the shelf: The Right Stuff, The Man with Two Brains (a nod to Get Out), The Goonies (one of the evil twins yells, "It's our time now!" a Corey Feldman quote from this film) and C.H.U.D.
Between the quote that opens the film about tunnels under America and this VHS box, what happens next shouldn't be a total surprise. Those Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers were all the rage in the mid-80's, as that film and whether or not it could be true were hotly debated topics in my teen years. It's also a movie directed by Douglas Cheek - the father of Peele's first girlfriend.
We then discover the film's heroine, Adelaide Thomas, on a beach vacation with her parents. The film even cleverly references another film that deals with the terrors of the boardwalk, The Lost Boys, by having Adelaide's mother say, "You know, they're shooting a movie over there by the carousel."
Wandering off on her own, the young girl enters a hall of mirrors where she meets her doppelganger, a moment that we only see in small bursts until the end of the film. She becomes traumatized by the experience and it's only through becoming a dancer that she is able to express her emotions and move on.
In the here and now, Adelaide (Lupita Nyong'o, Black Panther), her husband Gabe (Winston Duke, also of Black Panther and someone who feels like the voice of one of Peele's comedy characters at numerous points in the film) and their children, Zora and Jason are on their way to that very same beach. Adelaide is content to stay in the beach house and never go to the boardwalk, but her husband begs them to go to the boardwalk to hang out with another family, the Tylers (which is made up of Mad Men's Elisabeth Moss as the mother, Tim Heidecker from Tim and Eric as the dad, and their twin daughters).
Adelaide has been on edge all day. The man she saw as a child carrying a Jeremiah 11:11 sign is now a dead body being loaded onto an ambulance. And that Bible passage - "Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them." - doesn't seem like a portent of anything good happening. That quote - and the 11:11 duality - is also referenced in the digital clock shown before the power goes out later in the film. A trivia note here: the doppelganger that replaces the man with the sign even has 11:11 scratched into his forehead.
This is a film based on duality and the scene that follows repeats the same journey that Adelaide made as a child, now with her son Jason wandering off, as he finds a stranger dripping blood. She instantly freaks out and gives chase, finding him and forcing her family to leave the beach.
That night, she demands that the family cut their vacation short. But then, the power is cut and the movie does what horror does best: drop the bottom out. Reality is no longer what you expect and now, a family that looks exactly like the Wilsons are on the front doorstep of their home. The police are fourteen minutes away, but that may as well be a lifetime.
This cracked mirror version of our heroes goes after the family with a vengeance. Adelaide is handcuffed to the living room table by Red, the leader. Zora, who wanted to quit track, is now chased on foot by Umbrae (the name literally means inner darkness or an eclipse). Gabe is dragged across broken glass and taken outside by Abraham. And Jason is pulled into a closet by the burned and scarred Pluto (the smallest of the planets, but also the name for the god of the underworld).
Each member of the family must deal with their duplicates on their own. Gabe, who has been a comedy figure and obsessed with his barely operating boat, uses said nautical craft to effectively murder his twin. Jason is able to realize that he can use his duality with Pluto to trap him in the closet, which gives his family time to escape to the boat.
Here's where this movie gets even better: when the family makes their way to the home of the Tylers, we soon realize that the shadow versions aren't unique to our hero family. No, everyone has one of these twins and they've all started to rise from the underworld with murderous intentions. Now, the creatures known as the Tethered are killing their surface world sides and forming a human chain.
Umbrae attacks the family as they drive off, but Zora uses the car - and not her human running ability - to kill her. But as they get to the boardwalk, the road is blocked by Pluto who has set fire to numerous cars and traps the family. Jason realizes that he's still tied to the boy, so he makes him walk into the flames before Red kidnaps him.
Adelaide follows her twin through the hall of mirrors and then deeper and deeper into the earth, passing the cages of rabbits which we saw in the title sequence. Now, we learn that the Tethered were a government creation, made to control people before being abandoned. Now, they are forced to remain in the shadows, stuck replicating the motions of their free twins above ground. Once Adelaide and Red met in 1986, their connection was a message from God that Red must lead the Tethered into the light.
Again, any other movie would stop here. The ideas are big enough. But like the best in horror, reality can be further destroyed by the real duality of the film: the heroine that we've been behind the entire film is actually the doppelganger. The real Adelaide is the one who has led the uprising, with the 1986 Hands Across America action as her childhood vision of what adults do to make a statement. Only Jason realizes this, as he slides his monster mask down on his face (I love how he constantly wears this, much like Frankie wearing the Dracula mask throughout The Lady in White).
The final thing we see is the family driving an ambulance into a burning city, surrounded by helicopters and the human chain of the Tethered stretching out into the horizon.
For all the talk of movies appearing to be John Carpenter influenced, this is the most Carpenter film I've seen that he didn't direct. It has all the elements - a group under attack by forces they don't understand, evil that wants to destroy you for no reason other than it wants you dead and an ending that appears as positive as it does negative. There's an underlying menace in Us that Carpenter's films have and few others can achieve.
Peele gave the cast ten horror films to watch so they would have a shared language when filming this movie: Dead Again, The Shining, The Babadook, It Follows, A Tale of Two Sisters, The Birds, Funny Games, Martyrs, Let the Right One In and The Sixth Sense. I believed this allowed them to easily create a language of their own. Peele has also called out a direct inspiration for this movie came from The Twilight Zone episode "Mirror Image," in which a woman sees her twin at a train station and becomes obsessed with the fact that her evil side is trying to replace her.
Some may decry this movie for how it leaves so much unexplained: how could there be an entire world under ours, where people do the same actions as us, trapped to live in our shadow? Why do we need an explanation spelled out to us? Why can't we accept this premise and enjoy where it takes us?
Me, I'm wondering what the symbolism of having two Black Flag shirts - the logo shirt and the My War shirt, an album that divided the band's fanbase due to it being more Black Sabbath than fast punk rock - means. I was probably the only person in the theater concerned with such things. In fact, clothing is a big part of this movie, with the Michael Jackson Thriller shirt symbolizing the strange duality of the childlike Michael and his horrific red-clad zombie twin in the music video. In fact, Peele has referred to Jackson as "the patron saint of duality." Hell, the Tethered wear the same red as Jackson and also have one glove on their hands.
My favorite part of this movie is that it explores the dark side of the neon hue of the 80's. Even Hands Across America - an effort to bring people together and raise money for charity - always seemed creepy to me. I wasn't alone. As Peele told the L.A. Times, "There was this kind of almost Stepford-creepy sense of American hope that we can do anything as long as we just hold our hands together."
Obviously, I've put plenty of throught into this film. What I've come out with is that Peele is no one trick pony. I'm pleased to report that Us only confirms what Get Out hinted at.
Writer/director/producer Jordan Peele has stated that he was dismayed by the genre confusion of Get Out, so he opted to make a full-on horror film as his follow-up. Unlike nearly every horror movie I've seen in a theater for the past two years, I'm happy to report he's succeeded. The packed house we saw the film in was only too happy to scream out loud, yell things at the scream and react to every story beat as a horror movie audience should.
Unlike a movie like last year's Halloween, Us is all about the terror of someone coming after you. There are numerous instances of stalking here that add up to true tension - as a horror movie should. It's also a testament to Peele's growing skills as a storyteller that there's so much humanity under what's also a pretty darn great popcorn movie.
The film starts with a TV showing us commercials for the beachfront at Santa Cruz and Hands Across America, the May 25, 1985 benefit and PR stunt where 6.5 million people held hands for fifteen minutes, creating a human chain across the United States. If you look closely, several VHS movies are on the shelf: The Right Stuff, The Man with Two Brains (a nod to Get Out), The Goonies (one of the evil twins yells, "It's our time now!" a Corey Feldman quote from this film) and C.H.U.D.
Between the quote that opens the film about tunnels under America and this VHS box, what happens next shouldn't be a total surprise. Those Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers were all the rage in the mid-80's, as that film and whether or not it could be true were hotly debated topics in my teen years. It's also a movie directed by Douglas Cheek - the father of Peele's first girlfriend.
We then discover the film's heroine, Adelaide Thomas, on a beach vacation with her parents. The film even cleverly references another film that deals with the terrors of the boardwalk, The Lost Boys, by having Adelaide's mother say, "You know, they're shooting a movie over there by the carousel."
Wandering off on her own, the young girl enters a hall of mirrors where she meets her doppelganger, a moment that we only see in small bursts until the end of the film. She becomes traumatized by the experience and it's only through becoming a dancer that she is able to express her emotions and move on.
In the here and now, Adelaide (Lupita Nyong'o, Black Panther), her husband Gabe (Winston Duke, also of Black Panther and someone who feels like the voice of one of Peele's comedy characters at numerous points in the film) and their children, Zora and Jason are on their way to that very same beach. Adelaide is content to stay in the beach house and never go to the boardwalk, but her husband begs them to go to the boardwalk to hang out with another family, the Tylers (which is made up of Mad Men's Elisabeth Moss as the mother, Tim Heidecker from Tim and Eric as the dad, and their twin daughters).
Adelaide has been on edge all day. The man she saw as a child carrying a Jeremiah 11:11 sign is now a dead body being loaded onto an ambulance. And that Bible passage - "Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them." - doesn't seem like a portent of anything good happening. That quote - and the 11:11 duality - is also referenced in the digital clock shown before the power goes out later in the film. A trivia note here: the doppelganger that replaces the man with the sign even has 11:11 scratched into his forehead.
This is a film based on duality and the scene that follows repeats the same journey that Adelaide made as a child, now with her son Jason wandering off, as he finds a stranger dripping blood. She instantly freaks out and gives chase, finding him and forcing her family to leave the beach.
That night, she demands that the family cut their vacation short. But then, the power is cut and the movie does what horror does best: drop the bottom out. Reality is no longer what you expect and now, a family that looks exactly like the Wilsons are on the front doorstep of their home. The police are fourteen minutes away, but that may as well be a lifetime.
This cracked mirror version of our heroes goes after the family with a vengeance. Adelaide is handcuffed to the living room table by Red, the leader. Zora, who wanted to quit track, is now chased on foot by Umbrae (the name literally means inner darkness or an eclipse). Gabe is dragged across broken glass and taken outside by Abraham. And Jason is pulled into a closet by the burned and scarred Pluto (the smallest of the planets, but also the name for the god of the underworld).
Each member of the family must deal with their duplicates on their own. Gabe, who has been a comedy figure and obsessed with his barely operating boat, uses said nautical craft to effectively murder his twin. Jason is able to realize that he can use his duality with Pluto to trap him in the closet, which gives his family time to escape to the boat.
Here's where this movie gets even better: when the family makes their way to the home of the Tylers, we soon realize that the shadow versions aren't unique to our hero family. No, everyone has one of these twins and they've all started to rise from the underworld with murderous intentions. Now, the creatures known as the Tethered are killing their surface world sides and forming a human chain.
Umbrae attacks the family as they drive off, but Zora uses the car - and not her human running ability - to kill her. But as they get to the boardwalk, the road is blocked by Pluto who has set fire to numerous cars and traps the family. Jason realizes that he's still tied to the boy, so he makes him walk into the flames before Red kidnaps him.
Adelaide follows her twin through the hall of mirrors and then deeper and deeper into the earth, passing the cages of rabbits which we saw in the title sequence. Now, we learn that the Tethered were a government creation, made to control people before being abandoned. Now, they are forced to remain in the shadows, stuck replicating the motions of their free twins above ground. Once Adelaide and Red met in 1986, their connection was a message from God that Red must lead the Tethered into the light.
Again, any other movie would stop here. The ideas are big enough. But like the best in horror, reality can be further destroyed by the real duality of the film: the heroine that we've been behind the entire film is actually the doppelganger. The real Adelaide is the one who has led the uprising, with the 1986 Hands Across America action as her childhood vision of what adults do to make a statement. Only Jason realizes this, as he slides his monster mask down on his face (I love how he constantly wears this, much like Frankie wearing the Dracula mask throughout The Lady in White).
The final thing we see is the family driving an ambulance into a burning city, surrounded by helicopters and the human chain of the Tethered stretching out into the horizon.
For all the talk of movies appearing to be John Carpenter influenced, this is the most Carpenter film I've seen that he didn't direct. It has all the elements - a group under attack by forces they don't understand, evil that wants to destroy you for no reason other than it wants you dead and an ending that appears as positive as it does negative. There's an underlying menace in Us that Carpenter's films have and few others can achieve.
Peele gave the cast ten horror films to watch so they would have a shared language when filming this movie: Dead Again, The Shining, The Babadook, It Follows, A Tale of Two Sisters, The Birds, Funny Games, Martyrs, Let the Right One In and The Sixth Sense. I believed this allowed them to easily create a language of their own. Peele has also called out a direct inspiration for this movie came from The Twilight Zone episode "Mirror Image," in which a woman sees her twin at a train station and becomes obsessed with the fact that her evil side is trying to replace her.
Some may decry this movie for how it leaves so much unexplained: how could there be an entire world under ours, where people do the same actions as us, trapped to live in our shadow? Why do we need an explanation spelled out to us? Why can't we accept this premise and enjoy where it takes us?
Me, I'm wondering what the symbolism of having two Black Flag shirts - the logo shirt and the My War shirt, an album that divided the band's fanbase due to it being more Black Sabbath than fast punk rock - means. I was probably the only person in the theater concerned with such things. In fact, clothing is a big part of this movie, with the Michael Jackson Thriller shirt symbolizing the strange duality of the childlike Michael and his horrific red-clad zombie twin in the music video. In fact, Peele has referred to Jackson as "the patron saint of duality." Hell, the Tethered wear the same red as Jackson and also have one glove on their hands.
My favorite part of this movie is that it explores the dark side of the neon hue of the 80's. Even Hands Across America - an effort to bring people together and raise money for charity - always seemed creepy to me. I wasn't alone. As Peele told the L.A. Times, "There was this kind of almost Stepford-creepy sense of American hope that we can do anything as long as we just hold our hands together."
Obviously, I've put plenty of throught into this film. What I've come out with is that Peele is no one trick pony. I'm pleased to report that Us only confirms what Get Out hinted at.
"Get Out" of the mindset that this is a straight-forward horror film
pere-2536622 March 2019
People thinking this will be a straight-forward horror film will be disappointed; Us (2019) is a complex, mind bending experience that tests the limitations of what a horror film can be. What's great about the film is how differently people will interpret what they've witnessed. I left the theater tonight to the sounds of people passionately discussing theories, different explanations and thoughts on it all - and that, to me, is one of the great joys in leaving a great film.
Disappointed
Goonie_BR18 April 2019
I wanted to like this movie, I was so excited about the trailer and I like the idea behind it, it's very original... but it simply didn't happed. Although we can say that Jordan Peele is a filmmaker who thinks outside the box and brings important and strong subjects, I thought the movie was poorly developed. I need to believe in what I'm watching, but there are so many plot holes and inconsistencies that the whole experience was damaged. The metaphors are confusing, the explanations are flat and forced, the writing felt really lazy to me.
And to add, I thought the mix of comedy and horror, that can be made in very harmonic ways, was unbalanced. All the time the comedic moments came up to break the tension, so I was not able to get scared at all and I wanted to be.
Nevertheless, I'd like to point out the amazing acting of Lupyta. Her delivery is always intense and strong, no matter which character she is playing. And I hope Peele keeps his originality, but learns to develop better narratives in the future.
An Ambitious Horror For The Grownups
varun-2507199719 March 2019
Warning: Spoilers
A directorial debut like Get Out is a dream for many directors but the pressure for your next film after a debut like that is always quite high. This time Peele ignores the race issue even if the lead characters are all African Americans. Us is like the series Counterpart with a tinge of Mother!.
The plot of the story is about a family confronting their look alikes who want to hurt them very badly. Though it's a pure horror unlike Get Out there are a lot of jokes in this film which really tickles you. The film falls short of Get Out in creating an atmosphere of mystery and confusion but the tension in this is very high. Lupita Nyong'o shines once again and definitely has a shot at the Oscars, Elizabeth Moss with the little screen time till impresses.
The score is very haunting and in the car scene towards the end of the movie you really cannot think of the scene without the score. A nice follow up after Get Out for Peele but definitely not as good. In this era of horror movies, the battle between Peele and Ari Aster whose Midsommar is releasing later this year is a dream like scenario.
The plot of the story is about a family confronting their look alikes who want to hurt them very badly. Though it's a pure horror unlike Get Out there are a lot of jokes in this film which really tickles you. The film falls short of Get Out in creating an atmosphere of mystery and confusion but the tension in this is very high. Lupita Nyong'o shines once again and definitely has a shot at the Oscars, Elizabeth Moss with the little screen time till impresses.
The score is very haunting and in the car scene towards the end of the movie you really cannot think of the scene without the score. A nice follow up after Get Out for Peele but definitely not as good. In this era of horror movies, the battle between Peele and Ari Aster whose Midsommar is releasing later this year is a dream like scenario.
Yeah, no. Not that good
segesta6523 June 2019
Warning: Spoilers
After Get Out I thought Jordan Peele might be the new Hitchcock. Now I think he is merely the new M Night Shyamalan. And that's not a compliment.
Slow moving, clever, full of holes, great acting, and frustrating.
Why did the Tethered seek revenge on their twins and not the unnamed people who did the cloning? Why did she marry that stupid oaf in the first place?
The plot ruins this film
edwardjsmith-0209022 March 2019
Warning: Spoilers
I understand what was trying to be achieved but it fell flat.
This movie reminded me of movies like the mist or cloverfield. There is this underlying plot of "sci-fi experiment gone wrong" that doesn't get explained. However in this film we get a small but lazy explanation. This came in the form of a text card at the beginning of the film that basically reads "There thousands of tunnels in the world. Who knows what's in them". This was the movies only explanation and setup for a civilization of 6 million clones of people living in an underground tunnel. When the movie ended and it pieced together to be this it made for an overarching plot that was just stupid.
Now these clones did refer to themselves as shadows because they were sometimes forced to mimic the movements of the person they are cloned after. It was weird how selective that was and is very inconsistent in a way that hurt a couple scenes in the movie.
The rest of the movie is just those 6 million clones coming out of the tunnel and killing the person they are cloned after. Once they accomplish that they hold hands and form a line stretching across the United States. And no I'm not kidding, this is exactly how the movie ends.
The only redeeming qualities was good acting, good music, and decent humor. However, none of that can fix a terrible plot that ended with an nonsensical twist. Like a sour cherry ontop.
This movie reminded me of movies like the mist or cloverfield. There is this underlying plot of "sci-fi experiment gone wrong" that doesn't get explained. However in this film we get a small but lazy explanation. This came in the form of a text card at the beginning of the film that basically reads "There thousands of tunnels in the world. Who knows what's in them". This was the movies only explanation and setup for a civilization of 6 million clones of people living in an underground tunnel. When the movie ended and it pieced together to be this it made for an overarching plot that was just stupid.
Now these clones did refer to themselves as shadows because they were sometimes forced to mimic the movements of the person they are cloned after. It was weird how selective that was and is very inconsistent in a way that hurt a couple scenes in the movie.
The rest of the movie is just those 6 million clones coming out of the tunnel and killing the person they are cloned after. Once they accomplish that they hold hands and form a line stretching across the United States. And no I'm not kidding, this is exactly how the movie ends.
The only redeeming qualities was good acting, good music, and decent humor. However, none of that can fix a terrible plot that ended with an nonsensical twist. Like a sour cherry ontop.
Feels empty
duongconghuy1 April 2019
To be honest, I don't even feel like I was watching anything because everything seems really out of place and the characters didn't really have a backstory. Except for the main character, of course! I was hoping for some exciting things to happen but it wasn't really there. The film didn't have any climaxes, it felt really rushed and unfinished. It was not up to my expectations, if they had more time and better plot then I bet they could have lived up to it and to it's true potential. I didn't feel much like a horror movie because it wasn't really scary at all, also a bit of comedy which seems kinda out of place. Overall, it was not like 'Get Out' but it sure has many hidden meanings. But meanings that require researches on the Internet. Also it didn't make me think much about what was happening and it was a mess.
Good, not great
chase-9679223 March 2019
It's got some originality but it lacks the hook you want. The trailer is worth watching more than the movie in my opinion. I give it a 7 for the acting and comedy throughout. The main character is wonderful and her husband is the comedic relief in tense situations, even the kids played their roles well. The movie however, was all over the place. I don't think anyone in the theater really understood the premise until it was over and even then you're left shrugging. It's like the reverse of an early M. Night Shyamalan twist.
Trading Symbolism for Logic
cjc020122 March 2019
I was excited for "Us." Following Jordan Peele's "Get out" and a phenomenal first trailer; I was pretty excited to see where this movie was going.
After watching the movie in full I was confused. I was confused whether I thought this was an entertaining/eh movie or if it was a spectacular movie. After deliberating in my mind I believe this movie is pretty great! There are admittedly some logical issues that don't really add up in my own head, however, I think Peele wanted this to be a talking point. He instead focuses a lot on symbolism and honestly it's beautiful and a bit scary.
The character dynamics are really cool to watch. Especially Adelaide/Red. I was kind of obsessed with the creepy-like leadership motions of Red. I can only imagine this was a fun role for Lupita to play!
The character dynamics are really cool to watch. Especially Adelaide/Red. I was kind of obsessed with the creepy-like leadership motions of Red. I can only imagine this was a fun role for Lupita to play!
Funny Games
Prismark1012 August 2019
Us is a puzzling film that slowly reveals its layers but then becomes more illogical and confusing.
It is better to not think about too deeply and just enjoy the ride. It means you lose any subtext the filmmaker had about a society of us and the others.
The film opens at the funfair in the boardwalk of Santa Cruz in 1986. A small girl, Adelaide is on holiday and wanders off while her father is playing whack-a-mole. As she enters a funhouse she sees a doppelgänger of herself in the hall of mirrors. This encounter left her unable to communicate for some time and still affects her in the present day.
We then cut to the present day when Adelaide Wilson (Lupita Nyong'o) is vacationing at their summer home in Santa Cruz with her husband Gabe (Winston Duke) and two children Zora and Jason.
One evening the Wilsons see another family that looks exactly like them standing outside the house decked out in red overalls. They look like they mean to harm them and they are somehow tethered to the soul of the individual Wilson family members.
The doppelgängers all grunt except for Red, Adelaide's double who speaks with a raspy voice. Red tells Adelaide that both of them are tethered together and share a soul. These doubles live in a subterranean underground world.
As an home invasion horror it is very effective and chilling, we find out that other families are being slaughtered by their doubles. It leads to a problem. Why are the Wilsons being toyed with when other families are being brutally killed and the violence is spreading as the doubles attempt to enact their own Hands across America.
The moment the film broadens its premise it starts losing it logic. Even when the family try to get away from Santa Cruz and head down to Mexico, after driving all night they are somehow still in Santa Cruz. I've been to Santa Cruz it is not that big!
Jordan Peele tries to underpin his film with some kind of explanation and symbolism but it is half baked. He also wants to tie the film together by making it all about Adelaide. Unlike Get Out there is little humour in this film although Gabe is meant to be a dorky dad.
It is better to not think about too deeply and just enjoy the ride. It means you lose any subtext the filmmaker had about a society of us and the others.
The film opens at the funfair in the boardwalk of Santa Cruz in 1986. A small girl, Adelaide is on holiday and wanders off while her father is playing whack-a-mole. As she enters a funhouse she sees a doppelgänger of herself in the hall of mirrors. This encounter left her unable to communicate for some time and still affects her in the present day.
We then cut to the present day when Adelaide Wilson (Lupita Nyong'o) is vacationing at their summer home in Santa Cruz with her husband Gabe (Winston Duke) and two children Zora and Jason.
One evening the Wilsons see another family that looks exactly like them standing outside the house decked out in red overalls. They look like they mean to harm them and they are somehow tethered to the soul of the individual Wilson family members.
The doppelgängers all grunt except for Red, Adelaide's double who speaks with a raspy voice. Red tells Adelaide that both of them are tethered together and share a soul. These doubles live in a subterranean underground world.
As an home invasion horror it is very effective and chilling, we find out that other families are being slaughtered by their doubles. It leads to a problem. Why are the Wilsons being toyed with when other families are being brutally killed and the violence is spreading as the doubles attempt to enact their own Hands across America.
The moment the film broadens its premise it starts losing it logic. Even when the family try to get away from Santa Cruz and head down to Mexico, after driving all night they are somehow still in Santa Cruz. I've been to Santa Cruz it is not that big!
Jordan Peele tries to underpin his film with some kind of explanation and symbolism but it is half baked. He also wants to tie the film together by making it all about Adelaide. Unlike Get Out there is little humour in this film although Gabe is meant to be a dorky dad.
Horror mastermind Jordan Peele
nourhofman24 March 2019
This movie was amazing!
Disclaimer you should not comper this movie with get out just because it from the same director. Jordan Peele knows what it takes to create a original movie. While watching the movie you can see how much he loves the horror genre himself by al the reference and little Easter eggs he put into the film. This movie tricks with your mind and I love that because the movie doesn't end in the theater but it makes you think about what It al means.
And can be interpreted in alot of different ways. I feel like if you don't like this movie it's a taste thing. But If you look at it with a critical eye this movie is simply amazing! The comedy is also perfectly proccest into the film and it doesn't feel forced at all.The lead/main actress was amazing in here Dubbel role. (So is the rest of the cast)I'm looking forward what the future wil bring with this horror genius Jordan peele!
intriguing but flawed
SnoopyStyle31 August 2019
In 1986, a girl wanders away from her father in a carnival fair. She is shocked by a doppelganger. In the present day, the Wilson family is on vacation. They are shocked by their own doppelgangers wearing red overalls and armed with scissors.
I like the comedy when they happen. The horror isn't that horrific but it is intriguing. What I love most about the horror is its unknowable premise. That it is unknowable until the movie tries to let us know it. It's actually a lot more creepy when these unknown doppelgangers appear out of nowhere without explanations. The problem starts with the opening text. The knowledge of tunnels is unnecessary. It's a piece of a puzzle which is better left unsolved. The present day story should really end after the news report on the TV. It can then go back to 1986 for that surprise reveal but it's not necessary to try to explain the world beneath. I do like the final twist but it doesn't need more than that. Jordan Peele has a pretty good concept but it's not as clever as he thinks it is. That's why the harder he attempts to explain, the less interesting it is.
I like the comedy when they happen. The horror isn't that horrific but it is intriguing. What I love most about the horror is its unknowable premise. That it is unknowable until the movie tries to let us know it. It's actually a lot more creepy when these unknown doppelgangers appear out of nowhere without explanations. The problem starts with the opening text. The knowledge of tunnels is unnecessary. It's a piece of a puzzle which is better left unsolved. The present day story should really end after the news report on the TV. It can then go back to 1986 for that surprise reveal but it's not necessary to try to explain the world beneath. I do like the final twist but it doesn't need more than that. Jordan Peele has a pretty good concept but it's not as clever as he thinks it is. That's why the harder he attempts to explain, the less interesting it is.
Utter garbage!!
cclarktaylor-3404116 April 2019
Warning: Spoilers
My wife and I went to see this movie and I have to say that it was just a silly movie. The entire plot was unrealistic, and bland. We actually laughed out loud at some of the idiotic scenarios. The fact that Lupita was handcuffed to a coffee table and couldn't move an inch was ridiculous! How heavy was the coffee table? I looked at my coffee table when I got home and shook my head. A child could drag it all over the house! The father was just a soft black man. I'm black and I couldn't believe it when he dropped the bat in the hand of the clone. He limped around the entire movie! Just weak and feeble. Oh and when the family got into the land rover and the daughter actually argues with Lupita about who would drive the vehicle? So in the middle of being chased by crazy clones they actually argue about who would drive? The father had an injured left knee. He could have driven the vehicle but he instead, sets his weak self in the passenger seat. The daughter actually drives the vehicle! So in a desperately dangerous situation a 12 year old girl drives a very capable Land Rover? Utter nonsense. Get Out was far better. Mr. Peele, please go back to the drawing board.
Still don't know what I got five on it means
jadediamond24 March 2019
I really enjoyed this movie. The cast was great playing double roles. The pacing was great. The score of this movie was amazing and it fits perfectly in the scenes, especially when Adelaide and Red (Lupita's characters) face off against each other for the final time. The movie was a great mixture of horror and comedy. I didn't think I was going to be scared but some moments were very frightening. The cast was amazing and the story lingers in your mind long after you leave out of the theater. It was hours after viewing the movie did certain moments finally click with me. This is one of those movies that the more you view it, the more you find something different. The only thing some people may be a tad bit of a complaint about is the ending. Some like it ambiguous. Others liked it as is. At first, I was the former and thought the final twist was an unnecessary add on which told away from the movie. But later on, the final twist made moments from earlier on in the movie finally click with me. It's still a great movie, but it would have been stronger with an ambiguous ending that we'll be talking about for decades later like American Psycho or The Prestige. It's a refreshing horror movie to us horror movie fanatics who have grown tired of the myriads of mediocre movies in the dying genre which needs fresh blood every once in a while. US is that fresh blood. Finally, don't go in comparing this movie to Get Out. That's equivalent to comparing Prince to Michael Jackson, The Truman Show to Dumb and Dumber, Unbreakable to The Sixth Sense. If you're going to judge this movie, then judge it on it's own merit. I really had fun watching this movie and plan to see it many more times.
Us - A Creepy Opportunity Wasted.
The intense buzz for Jordan Peele's sophomore effort, Us (2019) brought movie fans into cinemas by the droves. Trailers for the film were rampant and visceral. Winning an Oscar for his first movie,Get Out (2017) (a masterpiece), it seemed Jordan Peele had only to sign his name to this project to have us all line up with money in hand at the box office. Unfortunately, most people learned belatedly that all that glitters is not gold: Us is far from perfect.
Starting with The Good: Casting Lupita Nyong'o as the adult Adelaide Wilson was a master stroke. Lupita is the perfect, warm mother who holds her family together at a time of incalculable crisis. Young Adelaide Wilson, played by Madison Curry, is a real treat. Zora Wilson, played by Shadai Wright Joseph, is especially convincing as Adelaide's fearless daughter. The family dynamic between the Wilsons is predictably complex but also familiar, and all of the actors do a great job of interacting as real family members would.
The set pieces are saturated in color and convincing in a horrific way; the carnival, beach, and summer home all share a duality between naturalistic and horrific, as the script demands. The film's horror, once it begins, is complete and shocking. Unfortunately, that immensely negative energy does not have a sufficient vehicle to channel it.
The Not-So-Good: Jordan Peele wrote himself into a rabbit-hole with this script. Sheer horror is never enough for the film connoisseur; eventually the audience wants to know why it is being led along a certain path. Once the killing starts, it either makes sense, or it doesn't.
Is it reasonable to assume that doppelgangers populate tunnels underneath us, mirroring our actions? Is it reasonable to assume that these twins want to kill us all and take our places as we pay taxes, stand in line to pay for groceries and schlep our children to Little League? Is it reasonable to assume that each of these shadows beneath us has been supplied with a perfectly fitted red jumpsuit and a pair of finely sharpened killing shears? If it is not reasonable to assume these things on our own, then the story-teller must give us a powerful story which convinces us. Unfortunately, this is where Jordan Peele, writer-director of Us, fails.
The Bad: Once the killing starts, we are transfixed with the sheer violence of it all. Unfortunately, by the time the movie is shifting into its third act, we no longer care. The main characters seem to be repeating their actions over and over, with no apparent resolution. Kill, run, and kill again. Once the film shifts into expository mode; all hope is lost. Shadow-mom gives a powerful speech which confuses us, the underground home of the shadow people looks a bit like an abandoned shopping mall, and the rabbits hop madly about without a turd in sight. Worst of all, Lupita Nyong'o is revealed to be something she isn't supposed to be.
Us is a fine film if you remove the impossible elements, like a million shadow people killing their counterparts in order to join hands while standing in the sunlight. Some scenes are just unimaginably horrific and frightening, but this is not a painting - it's a movie. When you sum up all the gory images and still end up with nothing, the movie is not a success - it's a tragedy.
ChipperX26 March 2019
Warning: Spoilers
- Chipper F. Xavier, Esq.
The intense buzz for Jordan Peele's sophomore effort, Us (2019) brought movie fans into cinemas by the droves. Trailers for the film were rampant and visceral. Winning an Oscar for his first movie,Get Out (2017) (a masterpiece), it seemed Jordan Peele had only to sign his name to this project to have us all line up with money in hand at the box office. Unfortunately, most people learned belatedly that all that glitters is not gold: Us is far from perfect.
Starting with The Good: Casting Lupita Nyong'o as the adult Adelaide Wilson was a master stroke. Lupita is the perfect, warm mother who holds her family together at a time of incalculable crisis. Young Adelaide Wilson, played by Madison Curry, is a real treat. Zora Wilson, played by Shadai Wright Joseph, is especially convincing as Adelaide's fearless daughter. The family dynamic between the Wilsons is predictably complex but also familiar, and all of the actors do a great job of interacting as real family members would.
The set pieces are saturated in color and convincing in a horrific way; the carnival, beach, and summer home all share a duality between naturalistic and horrific, as the script demands. The film's horror, once it begins, is complete and shocking. Unfortunately, that immensely negative energy does not have a sufficient vehicle to channel it.
The Not-So-Good: Jordan Peele wrote himself into a rabbit-hole with this script. Sheer horror is never enough for the film connoisseur; eventually the audience wants to know why it is being led along a certain path. Once the killing starts, it either makes sense, or it doesn't.
Is it reasonable to assume that doppelgangers populate tunnels underneath us, mirroring our actions? Is it reasonable to assume that these twins want to kill us all and take our places as we pay taxes, stand in line to pay for groceries and schlep our children to Little League? Is it reasonable to assume that each of these shadows beneath us has been supplied with a perfectly fitted red jumpsuit and a pair of finely sharpened killing shears? If it is not reasonable to assume these things on our own, then the story-teller must give us a powerful story which convinces us. Unfortunately, this is where Jordan Peele, writer-director of Us, fails.
The Bad: Once the killing starts, we are transfixed with the sheer violence of it all. Unfortunately, by the time the movie is shifting into its third act, we no longer care. The main characters seem to be repeating their actions over and over, with no apparent resolution. Kill, run, and kill again. Once the film shifts into expository mode; all hope is lost. Shadow-mom gives a powerful speech which confuses us, the underground home of the shadow people looks a bit like an abandoned shopping mall, and the rabbits hop madly about without a turd in sight. Worst of all, Lupita Nyong'o is revealed to be something she isn't supposed to be.
Us is a fine film if you remove the impossible elements, like a million shadow people killing their counterparts in order to join hands while standing in the sunlight. Some scenes are just unimaginably horrific and frightening, but this is not a painting - it's a movie. When you sum up all the gory images and still end up with nothing, the movie is not a success - it's a tragedy.
Totally 100% Illogical!
rogerdob20 April 2019
Warning: Spoilers
I know that we, as moviegoers, must often suspend belief in order to enjoy movies. However this film pushes the viewer completely over the limits. Let's count some of them...1) there are millions and millions of dopplegangers of us living in tunnels below us, 2) they were created by the US government, 3) their only source of food are rabbits!, 4) they are all dressed in red clothing (who made the clothing?), 5) no one, absolutely no one, thinks of or suggests getting a gun to protect themselves (such an action would have solved the problem and ended the film early). This film is an embarrasment to horror films...even some of the worst horror films attempt a reason that is somewhat believeable for their premise. Move this film into the discount bin of DVD's at Walmart.
See also
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