Jordan Peele knows no such thing as a sophomore slump and I really don't think anyone is surprised. The new master of horror's second film Us is an extraordinary look into how we as Americans view ourselves and the mistakes that we seem to be doomed to keep repeating. Peele has truly proven himself an expert when it comes to blending his social commentary with an engaging and nerve-wracking horror story. Despite this film pandering to general audiences a bit more than his directorial debut Get Out, Peele has managed to craft yet another racially-fueled horror narrative that will undoubtedly be discussed and dissected for years. Impressive performances and another eerie score definitely help to make this a frontrunner for one of my favorite films of the year so far.
Adelaide (Lupita Nyong'o) and Gabe (Winston Duke) are a seemingly normal couple heading to their beach house in California with their kids Zora (Shahadi Wright Joseph) and Jason (Evan Alex). After a traumatic childhood experience at the beach, Adelaide is hesitant to enjoy the summertime with her family but does so in the hopes that her PTSD will subside. Unfortunately, things only get worse when a strangely familiar family invades their home one night and truly threatens and tests all of their livelihoods. Peele's writing and directing in this film is absolutely incredible, as he has given audiences yet another fantastic horror film that just so happens to contain a frighteningly relevant social message. The writing in this movie is undoubtedly its greatest aspect, as Peele brings both his newfound mastery of horror and more grounded experience with comedy to the script. The way that this film balances horror and comedy is amazing. Not one moment of eerie suspense was ever taken away by a joke and the way that the humor is incorporated into the story serves such an elegant purpose, especially in Duke's character Gabe. This is due to the directing too, of course, as the story is paced so well without relying too much on cheap jump scares. Despite this movie still packing more punches rather than silently building on the audience such as in Get Out, there is no doubt that Jordan Peele can traverse these styles with ease.
Peele is, without a doubt, one of the best storytellers of our current generation and he does so with such expert craftsmanship and style. The message and deeper meaning behind this movie may not be as clear or concise as Get Out, but this relative ambiguity paves the way for boundless theories and conspiracies. I personally was able to predict the biggest twist of this film right off the bat, but I had high hopes that Peele would surprise me with something else. Even though this did not exactly happen, it did not detract from the heavy, lingering feeling that I was left with after leaving the theater. This film contains such a strong message of ignorance in the face of history and it was communicated beautifully. Adelaide and her tethered counterpart Red are the most wildly engaging pair of characters in this film and the way their relationship defines this message is fantastic. There are countless different theories or explanations as to what this film could signify, but I believe that Peele was communicating the fact that us as Americans often forget where our roots come from and our diverse, intertwining backgrounds. Despite lots of time having passed, we can not forget our rich history, similar to how Adelaide had almost forgotten her past with Red. Everything in this film comes full-circle, every detail has meaning, and every plot point was so well-written. My only issue with the story is the lack of explanation for where the tethered people came from. Not everyone is born a twin and this ambiguity in the story does not exactly work as well as it did in his previous directorial outing.
The glue that really binds these heavy themes together, however, are the performances from the whole cast and the incredible score. Lupita Nyong'o is unarguably one of the greatest working actresses today and this film just furthers that point. Her and practically this whole cast worked double duty for their roles and the fact that they were all able to embody such different personas was amazing. Nyong'o was especially haunting throughout this entire movie. Her minute mannerisms and delicate care of her characters is not only visible, but gleaming. It is often hard to even picture Nyong'o as Adelaide's "evil" doppelganger Red, as the two facially similar characters could not be further apart, cementing her performances as even more astounding. The score in this film, done by Michael Abels, definitely sets up the atmosphere very well. From the Psycho-esque violin of the "I Got 5 On It" remix to the anxiety-inducing music during some of the most intense scenes, there is not a single moment of rest once this amazing story gets going.
We truly are our own worst enemies. Us is as horrifying as it is surprisingly humorous, especially in terms of crawling under the audience's skin while putting up a mirror to their petrified faces. Jordan Peele is not only defining himself as the modern-day Hitchcock, but defining his style as one of the most original forms of storytelling in years. Even though I was still more personally affected by Get Out, this movie packs the terrifying punch that every horror classic needs.
My Rating: ★★★★½
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