Horrible Thoughts Reviews: Us
Writer/director Jordan Peele had been on my radar for a while, as half of comedy skit duo Key and Peele, when he released his first film, Get Out, back in 2017, but I don't think anyone was really prepared for the impact that film would make. Get Out felt like a true zeitgeist moment: a witty, terrifying, biting satire of American liberal race relations and the appropriation of black culture through the lens of a Stepford Wives-esque horror thriller, and released just after the election when tensions in the States couldn't have been higher. I vividly remember watching it for the first time in the cinema, a late mid-week showing in a tiny upstairs screen with a small audience of other white people whose laughter at became increasingly awkward as the film went on. It was exciting and refreshing to see a genre film not only from the perspective of a black character but also take on the implicit prejudices and casual racism of white liberals. Having rewatched it several times since, I think Get Out is going to be remembered and studied for years to come, not just for its unusual place in the horror genre but for film as a whole as a snapshot of a very specific moment in the public consciousness.
Naturally I was excited to hear that for his second film, Peele would be returning to horror with Us, the story of a black family harried by sinister doppelgangers in Santa Cruz beach. Now obviously the first question most people will be asking is: is it as good as Get Out? My quick answer would be, yes but it's a very different film. Where Get Out had a very direct and relatively easy to follow metaphor, Us is broader, vaguer and a little more insidious. There's a lot more surreal imagery and unanswered questions, which might not be to everyone's taste, but the themes it unravels are just as unsettling.
Like Get Out, Us is as funny as it is scary, but this time the scares and the jokes are more closely interwoven. There's no one character reserved purely for gags, although Winston Duke consistently gets laughs as Gabe, the charmingly dorky father, meaning the characters feel more believable and fleshed out which in turn makes the more bizarre moments of the plot easier to stomach. The cast has dual roles, as both the "normal" citizens of Santa Cruz and their doppelgangers, or "the tethered" as they call themselves in the film. I always enjoy watching actors play creepy versions of their characters, but Lupita Nyong'o truly shines as both the lead character Adelaide, a young mother hiding childhood trauma from her family, and Red, her "tethered" double. Red is the only double that seems to be capable of speech, delivering some powerful and immensely quotable monologues in a ghastly guttural gasp that can't have been kind on the actress's vocal chords. Her first speech which explains the central conceit, that the "tethered" are forced to enact the same life events in their underground bunker as the people they are created from, is one of the most chilling sequences of the film. There's a twisted poetry to her language as she recounts being forced to marry a man she doesn't know and have children she doesn't love, that is probably the most horrific thing I've seen in a film since last year's Hereditary, and there's a glorious moment when asked who the doppelgangers are and she simply responds: "We are Americans" that was deliciously shudder-inducing. I was surprised by how fast-paced the film was. Where Get Out was a slow build, Us threw a curve ball, starting with a spooky prologue and a quiet first act, setting up a home invasion scenario and then running off in another direction entirely. It never stays pinned down, meaning even a genre veterans will be kept on their toes. I'm not entirely sure that the final twist quite works, however. Without giving too much away, there's a final reveal that is hinted at throughout the film that seems at odds with some of the plot points earlier on, but I think I need to see the film again to truly comment on that.
Us is, honestly, exactly what I had hoped for, another chance for Peele to show off his unique vision, witty but believable writing, and uncanny ability to tap into the subconscious angst of America. A bigger budget allows for some fun gags involving licensed music and some genuinely beautiful cinematography. I was particularly struck by one overhead shot of the family walking across the beach where the use of light, shadow and colour was almost painterly, not only aesthetically pleasing but thematically appropriate too: the shadows of the figures dominate the frame while the figures themselves are reduced to dots. There's plenty more for film nerds like me to get excited over, from repeating themes of shadows and reflections, to cryptic Bible references, to striking use of primary colours (blue and yellow in lighting and setting, and the red jumpsuits worn by the doppelgangers), so if you're a fan of puzzling out metaphors you'll have a field day with this one.
All in all, Us is a worthy successor to Get Out, with darker themes contrasted with bright cinematography and excellent performances, even if a few twists seem strained. Expect to see a lot of Halloween costumes involving red jumpsuits, brown golfing gloves, and golden scissors this year.
Five blood-splattered scissors out or five, a must see.