US: Jordan Peele's Horror Masterpiece

Genre: Horror, Thriller

Produced by: Jason Blum, Ian Cooper, Sean Mckittrick, Jordan Peele

Directed by: Jordan Peele

Written by: Jordan Peele

Production Company: Universal Pictures, Monkeypaw Productions, Blumhouse Productions

Starring: Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, Elisabeth Moss, Tim Heidecker, Anna Diop, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Cali Sheldon, Noelle Sheldon, Shahadi Wright Joseph, Evan Alex  

Runtime: 116 minutes                                               

SYNOPSIS: 

Husband and wife Gabe (Winston Duke) and Adelaide (Lupita Nyong’o) Wilson take their children Zora (Shahadi Wright Joseph) and Jason (Evan Alex) out on the family’s beach house for vacation. But soon, fun family time turns into a struggle between life and death when a group of doppelgangers show up at their front door, threatening to make their lives a living hell. 

REVIEW: 

There are not many actors/filmmakers out there who can cross over from one genre to another as smoothly as Jordan Peele. In the public’s eye, Peele is mainly known as the one half of the comedic duo Key & Peele. Not many would question his ability to make people laugh. But there are certainly more people who would question his ability to scare people.  

It was a question that had to be asked since Peele made the decision to start off his directorial career with Get Out (2017), a horror movie. Furthermore, he has never been involved in any horror-related project whatsoever. But, fueled solely by his fandom knowledge of the genre, Get Out proved everyone wrong. Game-changing is such a sensationalist term to describe a movie’s success, but Get Out’s impact to the genre was truly game-changing. It recontextualized the way people and filmmakers perceive horror movie storytelling in general, particularly with its subject matter. 

Besides that, it achieved the rare feat of making the Academy Awards pay attention to the horror genre. Get Out managed to break the status quo by landing four nominations (all four of which are big categories), culminating with Peele winning for the Best Original Screenplay category in last year’s edition. And just from that one film, Peele now becomes the poster boy of the genre, with his name being attached to several horror classic revivals like the upcoming Twilight Zone television series as host and the Candyman remake as producer. 

But those two projects are still further into the future. The closest out now is his second screenwriting/directorial effort Us. Like Get Out, Us is a completely original story, yet, in correlation to Peele’s rising popularity, it’s got the kind of hype that’s equivalent to a billion dollar worth existing intellectual property. At the same time, such hype also brings added pressure. After all, how can a filmmaker write something that’s better than a film that won the Academy Awards? So, Peele still has to prove himself to filmgoers all over again. It’s clearly a genre that he’s very passionate about, and Us comes with the intention of proving that Get Out was no fluke. It could just be the make-or-break for Peele in his quest to stake a claim as this generation’s master of horror. 

If the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) had a difficulty trying to figure out whether Get Out was a horror movie or a comedy in last year’s Golden Globes, thanks to Us, should it be nominated for next year’s Golden Globes (to which it should), then Jordan Peele has just made their job much easier. Us is without a doubt a full-on horror movie, relying more on the old-fashioned scares rather than the social commentary. Clichéd, true, but then again, people will fall for the same tricks if the scares are well-executed. And the same applies for Us. This film sees the personal growth of Jordan Peele as a horror movie filmmaker, from one who can do only one kind of horror to one who can do just about any kind. If Peele’s debut effort was considered topical horror at its finest, then his sophomore effort is traditional horror at its finest. 

Peele’s perspective about comedy aligns with his perspective about horror. It’s all about the timing. And Us is filled with a series of perfectly-timed scares. He understands when it is the right time to keep the tension brewing and when it is the right time to release the tension. 

Look no further than this film’s opening sequence, which revolves around the Wilson’s matriarch Adelaide’s (Madison Curry) troubled childhood. And yes, as all horror movies do, it’s got the mandatory horror movie scene of a child walking around dark hallways, one that usually ends with a jump scare involving the villain showing up and scaring the child. With other directors, they would probably go right away to the latter moment (or worst, throw a boatload of it onscreen). Not Jordan Peele though. He is the kind of horror movie director who doesn’t like to take the easy way out. Look at Get Out, and now look at Us, and it’s apparent that jump scare-driven horror has never been his style. 

Peele is more of the suspense guy, one who places bigger emphasis on the atmosphere than the quick jolts, which makes Us’ thrills much more effective. What comes before the scares are already creepy as hell that when it’s time to unleash the jump scares, they most often hit with maximum impact. Also, like all the best suspense-driven horror, it doesn’t give the audience that much time to breathe. The conclusion of one jump scare serves only as a temporary release as it transitions right back to creepy territory with the atmosphere-building leading up towards the next big, similarly effective jump scare. As a result, Us manages to keep its audience on edge consistently rather than in spurts, which is a positive thing for a horror movie. 

But Us’ creepy atmosphere extends beyond just Peele’s direction. Filmmaking is essentially a collective effort, and so, he needs all the help he can get. Luckily, he is stuck with a group of the most talented people behind the camera. His trust is eventually rewarded with all these people at their A-game. Unquestionably, the technical highlights in this film come from the cinematography and the musical score. 

In the hands of cinematographer Michael Gioulakis, every shot in Us aesthetically looks so breathtaking. Gioulakis plays a lot with shadows, silhouettes, lighting and perspective to give the film a unique look that distinguishes this horror feature from others, even Get Out. And most of the time, the director’s creepy intentions are well-realized thanks to the cinematographer’s creative choices. 

But the true power in Us’ imagery lies in how it speaks more than just a series of moving pictures. It’s only Gioulakis’ first time working with Jordan Peele, but right off the bat, he develops a clear understanding of what the latter wants. Visually, Peele’s movies are small clues towards a deeper, larger metaphor. In the end, the cinematography doesn’t just make people go wow in terms of its aesthetics, but also in terms of the meaning behind them. Each image engages the audience to think and interpret what they mean. What’s with the rabbits? What’s with the use of shadows and overhead angle during that iconic scene where the Wilson family is walking down the beach?  Us’ visual ability to be both breathtaking and thought-provoking allows the audience to get easily sucked into Peele’s weird fantasy. 

And in the hands of composer Michael Abels, Us’ musical score is up there with John Carpenter’s Halloween and John Williams’ Jaws as one of the horror genre’s finest musical scores. Us is only the second film that Abels has ever scored, as well as his second collaboration with Jordan Peele after Get Out. Based on the two films alone, he’s shown that he’s got a bright future in film scoring. And it’s more likely that he’s going to compose Peele’s next project. 

It’s really wise of Peele to recall him for Us. His music here steals the show. For a start, Abels does the unimaginable in turning a 90’s rap song into a proper horror theme. People already get a glimpse of how scary Luniz’s song “I Got 5 On It” can be when remixed as a horror theme through its trailer. Still, it’s hard to imagine that a song about someone taking weed has the potential to haunt people in their sleep. How does such a chill song relate to a film about people who’s being chased down by their murderous evil twins? In Us’ case, the odd chemistry works. In a way, the bizarreness in the Wilson’s predicament is similar to the LSD-like experience of someone taking weed, where they can’t tell what is real. Thankfully, the remix isn’t just there for promotional purposes. It’s used brilliantly in the film’s most pivotal moment. That aside, in general, Abels’ score here is bone chillingly terrifying throughout, making terrific use of the string sections to further boost the atmospheric horror.  

But most importantly, what helps it all flourish in the first place is Peele’s script. He makes most of the premise with some tight writing. There’s not a single minute wasted here. Even in the so-called downtime moments designed to give the character some depth, they flow rather than drag. 

Us strikes the middle ground between fast-paced horror and a character-driven story. It is the sort of horror film that manages to move like a bullet train, yet still has enough time to stop and focus on the characters. Not every character here is well-rounded, but at least, the core characters that the audience follows from beginning to end are. The care Peele’s shown with the lead characters is plain to see. Each member of the Wilson family just comes off as a real person, so real that people often forget that what they’re watching are movie characters. It is easy to buy into the genuineness in the familial chemistry, whether it’s the comedic banter or the heart-to-heart moments. Even the film’s lead heroine Adelaide is, as written, the everyday wife/mother of two. Her neurotic display of fear and anxiety that there’s someone coming after her and her family is believable. She’s the right mixture between strength and vulnerability, not so strong that she seems like a superhero yet not so vulnerable that she seems like a damsel-in-distress. 

And in between the horror, Us does have a few slice of comedy, which can be dangerous for such genre. Misplaced, then it can take people out of the experience. Not here though, as they’re inserted in all the right places. As a result, the humor feels natural. Sure, what they’re dealing with is serious, but it would be odd for these characters to react so self-seriously. They’re the kind who would comment on how ridiculous their predicament is. In that aspect, it works. 

Reviewing a Jordan Peele horror film would not be complete without mentioning the social commentary. Social commentary horror doesn’t exactly belong to Peele, but it has been his signature style. Like Get Out, Us sees Peele once again weave real world issues into the standard horror movie narrative. It has got plenty to say about the many real world issues it happens to touch on, even more than Get Out to a certain extent. Its message isn’t as clear and in-your-face as Get Out, yet it’s the potential mixed interpretations of what Peele is trying to say that puts Us slightly above Get Out. It has got the traits of a future modern classic: one that warrants multiple viewings and, with each viewing, people will always learn new things about it. On first viewing, Us can be interpreted as A, and on second viewing, it can be interpreted as B. It is the kind of film that’s going to linger in its audience’s mind, not just minutes or hours after, even days or weeks after they’ve left the theaters, which makes it much more special than the average horror film. 

Even from the title itself Us, it’s left open to so many interpretations. 

The “us” here can be taken at face value as meaning me and you, or in this film’s case, mankind and his/her doppelgangers. With this interpretation, the film functions as a metaphor on the duality of mankind, how in every man there’s both good and bad, lightness and darkness, two disparate elements that can’t seem to get along yet they can’t survive without the other. That mirrors the core characters’ relationship/conflict with the doppelgangers in Us. 

After all, there’s a reason why Peele refers to the doppelgangers as the Tethered. Yes, on a marketing standpoint, the Tethered sounds like a very cool name for a doppelganger. But Peele isn’t the kind of filmmaker that names things just for the sake of coolness. The doppelgangers here mean much deeper than that. The Tethered personifies this idea that we are our own worst enemy. Here, the true monster is this person who has our face, our body and basically our physical likeness in every way, yet acts so differently. The Tethered represents this other, less ideal idea of who we are that remains inherent to us, but at the same time, one that we’re so eager to suppress. In that way, the Tethered are, well, tethered to mankind.  And so, the struggle between mankind and the Tethered become a man’s internal struggle with himself/herself, this negative half that threatens to take control of mankind’s body.  

At the same time, the “us” here can also be taken on a more subliminal level as meaning the country the U.S. With this interpretation, the film functions as a metaphor on the divisiveness of modern-day United States of America. Forget the whole man versus evil doppelganger horror movie scenario for a second, just on a thematic perspective, the way Us depicts the contrasting fortunes between mankind and the Tethered poignantly reflects the class disparity in real-life America. It is as much a story about the privileged and the underprivileged as it is about mankind and his/her doppelgangers, a clash between a group who wants to keep all their riches to themselves and this other group who wants some share of it. 

If the characters in Us are real people, then mankind and the Tethered here symbolize the privileged and the underprivileged respectively. As described by Adelaide’s doppelganger Red (also played by Lupita Nyong’o), while mankind gets to eat the proper food, the Tethered can only eat live rabbits to survive. While mankind is granted free will, the Tethered are stuck being eternal slaves, stripped off of free will and forced to do as they’re told. Rarely found in other man versus evil twin horror movies, the audience gets a sense of understanding regarding each of their motivations, especially with the Tethered characters who aren’t just the generic evil twin. People understand where mankind is coming from and, at the same time, people understand where the Tethered are coming from. 

Eventually the class disparity conversation comes into play in the twist ending. A bit of a disclaimer though, Us has got the kind of twist ending that might not sit well for many, but once the audience takes a moment and think about the clues in the previous scenes, then it all makes sense. At the same time, the ending rings true in regards to what happens in the real world, particularly the privileged’s treatment of the underprivileged and vice versa. 

 

Last but not least, the well-written characters in Us would not be as well-realized without its talented cast. As actors, Us serves as both a fun and challenging opportunity for them. Almost everyone in this film, including actors with only walk-on roles, plays dual characters as their real self and their doppelgangers. As far as the lead actors go, they knock both their roles off the park. 

Lupita Nyong’o makes a compelling case for a second Oscar nod here with a couple of masterclass performances as the Wilson’s matriarch Adelaide and her doppelganger Red. Just as inhabiting one character is already hard, Nyong’o has to inhabit two in one project, both of which are so distinct that it really pushes her acting range to the limits, and she rises to the occasion at every turn. She manages to keep people’s heart pounding with concern as this anxiety-ridden mother who feels that someone is out to get her and the heart pounding with fear as her legitimately creepy doppelganger, whose creepy expression is equally matched by the creepily hoarse way she speaks. 

Winston Duke co-stars as Adelaide’s husband Gabe and his doppelganger Abraham, and he’s both an effective comedic and physical force in those two roles. Thanks to his warm, lovable charm, he really channels Gabe’s awkward dad persona. He gets all the film’s funniest lines and thanks to solid comic timing, they all land. At the same time, he seems equally comfortable as a straight-faced, Terminator-esque doppelganger. Let’s not forget Shahadi Wright Joseph and Evan Alex who can juggle the two roles of the Wilson’s kids Zora and Alex and their doppelgangers Umbrae and Pluto as brilliantly as their adult counterparts, transitioning from normal children to their sinister selves so seamlessly. 

CONCLUSION: 

Us solidifies Jordan Peele’s status as this generation’s brightest horror storyteller with a masterfully-acted, well-written and thrilling exercise on restraint and creepy horror that moves briskly without neglecting its unique characters and social commentary on the human condition. 

Score: 10/10