“Be careful…”
Us tells the story of the Wilson family, that while on vacation in Santa Cruz, are visited by a mysterious family who looks just like them. As the family fights to survive the night, the true story of these creepy figures slowly begins to unfold. Writer and director, Jordan Peele, stunned us in 2017 with Get Out. Mr. Peele has a lot resting on this film. But once again, he shocks us as an inventive writer and unbelievable director, bringing the audience another bone chilling tale.
This is not your average “home invasion” type of movie. In fact, Us goes far beyond the claustrophobic telling of a family being trapped by mysterious figures in their home. Each of these mysterious figures – clothed in red — is a mirror image of the real family. Lupita Nyong’o, who plays our main protagonist, Adelaide, does a fantastic job playing duel characters. Her portrayal of both Adelaide and Red are more fleshed out than any other characters. I really don’t know where to begin with Nyong’o’s performance. There is no doubt in my mind that she is one of the best actresses of the modern age, but Us truly pushes her to her limits, showing the audience how talented she truly is. Even Winston Duke who also plays the dual characters of Gabe and Abraham, shows off his talents by adding the comedic moments to the film. He goes from fearful to moments of sarcastic one liners that really add something special to the film. Once again, the whole cast in the movie is beyond talented. Each character adds a certain something to this mysterious film.
In comparison to Peele’s Get Out, I would have to say that Us has a more Hitchcockian resemblance. Us delves deep into not only the psyche of a person, but more so the process of re-watching this film over and over again to fully appreciate the story. Peele once again puts his signature of adding comedic moments where there are times of chaos. The humor doesn’t feel forced in any way. As I watched the film, I would laugh during a horrific moment because of how the main characters handled a situation or coped with the fact that scary mysterious figures were trying to kill them. I felt a little guilty for laughing, but in the end it added to my enjoyment of watching the film. But let’s be frank here, this movie did scare me. As for the twist ending, it didn’t do much for me, mostly because the twist is revealed in some of the film’s marketing. I would have loved for Us to have been explained a little more. In a film full of ambiguity, I would have appreciated some of the plot points to have been better explained to clearly understand the ending.
I really enjoyed watching Us, and I can clearly say that I have enjoyed watching Peele get deep into the horror genre and give us something that is truly fascinating. I have much more to say about this film, but I will save it for the “spoiler talk” review that I will post a little later. I will say that this movie encapsulates everything I’ve loved in some of my favorite horror movies. Dare I say is Us a little better than Get Out? I may not go that far, but I can say that I will be watching for this film for years to come.
Us
Written and Directed by: Jordan Peele
Starring: Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, Elisabeth Moss, Shahadi Wright Joseph, and Evan Alex
Rating:
One thought on “REVIEW: US (2019)”
Comments are closed.