Us Review
R: Violence/terror and language
Universal Pictures, Blumhouse Productions, QC Entertainment, Monkeypaw Productions
1 Hr and 56 Minutes
Writer/Dir: Jordan Peele
Cast: Lupita Nyong'o, Winston Duke, Elisabeth Moss, Tim Heidecker, Evan Alex, Shahadi Wright Joseph, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Anna Diop
A mother (Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o from Black Panther, Star Wars: The Last Jedi and 12 Years a Slave) and a father (Winston Duke from Black Panther) take their kids to their beach house expecting to unplug and unwind with friends (including Emmy winner Elizabeth Moss from TV series The Handmaid’s Tale). But as night descends, their serenity turns to tension and chaos when some shocking visitors arrive uninvited.
Straight after the release and universal success of Get Out we were all itching for a new Jordan Peele nightmare. Now we have Us, the sophomore feature by Peele, and it’s official: he is the new master of horror.
By integrating a notable narrative, visual techniques, and homages to other auteurs such as Hitchcock and Kubrick, Peele creates his own aura that keeps you tense at the edge of your seat. With cinematography by Mike Gioulakis (It Follows, Glass, Split) who knows how to deliver a sense of dread, fear, and terror through his framework, Peele expertly knows how to put his audience in the front seat alongside his characters and the narrative. From the strong prologue through the first act, Peele plants nothing but seeds using the various settings, items, and characters. By the second act, he waters them and all you can do is witness those elements sprout. There is a pattern in composition within the many set pieces, in which Peele uses tracking shots outlying the situation and fear the Wilson family is facing. At one point, the film feels like you’re watching someone play a VR game.
The incredible usage of lighting and a dark palette forces you to feel all of the dread. Like in Get Out, he integrates color and a consistent palette to the various settings within the film.
One of the most notable things that I love about Us is the Wilson family. Unlike other horror films involving families during a home invasion, they’re smart. Through the foreshadowing of their abilities in the script, each character uses their attributes to their advantage whenever they’re being pursued by their doubles, aka The Tethered. To see this dark African American family exhibit relatable characteristics, good spirit, and display the love they have towards each other, you both resonate and root for them. So, when terror occurs, your attachment to the characters has you tense with hope that they will all make it out alive.
The cast provides such incredible performances that you barely see the actors, but more of the characters. The film sets more on Nyong'o's Adelaide and her trauma returning back to the beach where she had a terrifying encounter during her childhood years. Throughout, you witness her vulnerability, the intricate emotions of fear intertwining with her PTSD to the extent where she uncontrollably tears up just reminiscing. Even as Red (Adelaide’s Tethered), she is absolutely downright terrifying as she displays so much range in both roles. Would it be considered cheating if award season comes around and this ends up on everybody’s ballot? Seriously, this is Lupita Nyong’o’s year and we’re all just living in it. I’ve been saying that a lot in relation to actors with a double bill of exceptional performances this year (that not many readers have gotten around to see just yet), such as Shia LaBouf, Elisabeth Moss, and Jillian Bell... but this Nyong'o's year as well. There is nothing this woman can’t pull off and she proves how versatile she is as a performer. Seriously, if you love this role, seek out an upcoming horror comedy she stars in called Little Monsters, for her performance in that will blow you away.
Winston Duke is so good as the modern day corny American dad who is charming and funny. But, once again, friggin’ Elisabeth Moss manages to be perfectly psychotic. Several months back when I reviewed Her Smell (which releases on April 12th. Go see it), I went on a tangent in which I expressed how Moss needs to be the Joker ASAP, with a hashtag.
#ShesMyJoker (seriously, make it a thing)
Us furthers that case, for there is a scene where Elisabeth Moss’ Tethered looks from a window in horror and inaudibly screams, but that expression slowly transitions into maniacal laughter. I need Elisabeth Moss to be The Joker today. She can do it. I know she can. DC is already in a reboot transition, they can do it. She depicts insanity so perfectly.
Another great aspect of the film is the tone. The film may be dark, gory, and hella violent, but it never gets way too serious that it deviates from the humor. The humor adds levity and is balanced with the story. Unlike the upcoming Pet Sematary which focused more on comedy than horror, Us is well-balanced.
Finally, we have Michael Abels’ score. Holy crap. Those chimes and cello beats matching with the anxiousness of the characters in their situation. His score adds a layer of tension to the movie that not only it benefits your immersiveness, but it also stands out on its own. Just by listening to the score itself, I’m able to pinpoint a certain scene from the film and no other movie has made me feel that in a while. And by “a while” I mean a month, because John Powell’s HTTYD3 score reigns supreme, but this is in good company.
At this point, it’s proper to call Jordan Peele an auteur. One of the many things which makes a filmmaker an auteur is their attention to detail in their visuals. Focusing more on horror this time around, the entire film is filled with such incredible detail in its imagery and representation in his visuals. While you may call Us a simple horror film with subtext, there are so many story elements integrated in its visuals throughout that you will need to see this twice to catch all of the significance of the imagery. Most of the film’s shots have meaning and significance, whether it is the story, the subtext, or homages to films that Peele loves. He hits every nail on the head and it’ll take multiple viewings just to absorb every layer.
Speaking of layers --
Honestly, who needs another Purge movie when Peele perfectly incorporates political subtext without having to go the obvious route. But at the same time… I kind of wish he got a bit more obvious. While Get Out was very straightforward and easy to comprehend, you’re really going to have to head to Jordan Peele’s front door for this one.
*Shrek voice* Us is like an onion, for it has layers and layers. You may not comprehend some of the layers, for it may take repeat viewings to fully understand. That said, there are one too many themes in both story and subtext to unfold that you’re bound to be overwhelmed on the first viewing. With the many layers within the film’s story elements, you’re forced to just figure them out as Peele pretty much says:
But, believe me, the morning after you’re going to be making notes on your string theory board to try to understand all the layers. Even as I type up this review, I’m still trying to deconstruct all of the significant visual motifs. AND I SWEAR TO GOD CHROMOSOMES ARE INVOLVED, but that’s just me and my very incomplete hypothesis.
Us is not a successor to Get Out, but instead a solidification. It’s a solidification that Peele is not only a master of horror, but a genius auteur who wears his ambitions on his sleeve and achieves nothing but great cinema. He is a very versatile worker with so much range that I’m glad there is nobody else who can compare to him. Say Peele is the next *insert obvious horror director here* but following his career since the days of MADtv to Key & Peele and watching him succeed as this visionary is inspiring. There is only one Jordan Peele, and after these film journalist days of mine conclude one day, I hope to be my own Rendy Jones. This man is one of the reasons why I love cinema and I’m always in awe of what he does next. Now I’m convinced I need a CBS All Access subscription just so I can watch that Twilight Zone reboot.
Dark, bold, haunting, detailed in story, and powerful in visual, Us is another extraordinary horror tale from Peele, who keeps proving that he is one of the spearheads of the new wave of filmmakers changing Hollywood today.
Rating: 4/5 | 89%
