Us

Movie Review: Us 

Jordan Peele’s Get Out freaked my freak on so many levels it’s crazy.  Needless to say, I’ve been anxious/excited to check out his sophomore film release, Us. The trailers looked creepy as all get out, and being a big scaredy-cat, I waited until I had a weekend where I could see it and have plenty of time to still get a good night’s sleep.  This was that weekend.

Us starts off slow.  REAL slow.  Yeah, yeah, you gotta set up the whole backstory/average family scenario before the $#@! gets real, but the pacing of the first twenty minutes or so drags too much.  The edge of your seat anticipation quickly becomes an exercise is tedium.  Then, FINALLY, much to my relief, Evan Alex’s Jason Wilson utters the line, “there’s a family in our driveway”.  That’s when the film and the real “fun” starts.

First, Us, while a bit bloody and certainly violent, isn’t a standard “horror” film.  It’s definitely creepy/scary but more psychologically so. I categorize Us more towards the thriller end of the horror spectrum.  Something I greatly appreciate and find more disturbing than the standard slasher/monster horror movies.  Much more disquieting and impactful.  As such, definitely not a horror movie for everyone that simply wants blood, gore, and things springing out at you.

Second, as someone with a perverse sense of humor (runs in the family apparently), Us also contains quite a bit of laugh-out-loud humor.  There are some looks, lines, and visuals that had my family and I rolling (a Needful Things experience all over again), probably to the chagrin of the other audience members. 

The soundtrack is stellar.  Reminiscent of old school horror film usage to unsettle and escalate the heart thumping anxiety.  Great cinematography and editing.  The set dressings and costumes (clothing) are subtle to obvious keys to the story and play great homage to the 80s. The plot is a bit convoluted but falls well within the realm of better than most to exceptional. 

Third, there’s the cast.  Exceptional across the board!  Lupita Nyong’o continues her award winning/captivating ways and shows once again why she’s a star.  Winston Duke as the hapless Gabe is the perfect foil for Nyong’o and their chemistry truly grounds the film ramping up the tension/stress of events.  Then there’s the Wilson’s kids, Shahadi Wright Joseph (voice of young Nala in the upcoming The Lion King) and Evan Alex.  Fantastic young actors both and captivating in their duel rolls.  The kids from Dumbo need to take a master class from these youngsters.  I bought into every moment of their performances and loved what they brought to the screen.

Us isn’t perfect, but it’s a damn fine sophomore undertaking.  There are numerous ideas explored though not necessarily explained (your interpretation of what you’re seeing/experiencing is paramount), something that normally irks me as a complete cop out or just bad/lazy writing.  However, here, I feel it works exceptionally well.  Duality. Good v evil.  What’s good? What’s evil? Being your own worse enemy.  How do you escape your personal demons? Can you? Fight or flight?  Lots of questions and so many more.  

Jordan Peele has created a thinking man’s horror film wrapped in a shiny survivalist wrapper.  Us definitely worked for me, is one of those films I’ll be thinking about for some time and is certainly worth repeated viewings.  I’ve got to give this one an 8.