Jordan Peele's Creepy Horror/Thriller "Us" is a Masterful Piece of Art

I’ve been debating whether or not to post a review for Jordan Peele’s new horror/thriller Us, mainly because I’m still trying to process it. A second viewing would offer a greater sense of perspective, which isn’t necessarily a knock against the movie. Also, it will be tough to explore my thoughts about this movie without diving into spoiler territory. So, I will do my best to keep this a spoiler-free, surface-level review—and at surface-level, the movie is fantastic. I’ve had enough time to at least come to that conclusion. The more I think about it, though, the more I can’t shake how insanely memorable and layered the movie actually is. After having such a phenomenal break-out success with Get Out, it’s hard not to expect something similar from Oscar winner Jordan Peele. Get Out was clear with its message; the connections it was making between its imagery, storytelling, and social commentary was concise and played a major part in its overall success. I think a lot of people will do what I did going into Us, and that’s enter the movie with the mentality that Peele will do that same, that instead of getting lost in the story, you sit and ask yourself “what is he really trying to say?” I’m not saying this is wrong to do; art is subjective and should be seen through as many perspectives as possible. My fear, though, is that Us will be seen through this lens that was created by Get Out and it simply shouldn’t. Granted, there are metaphorical layers to Us that are intricately woven into the narrative, but they are nowhere near as blatant as in Get Out. These are two different films, and Us deserves to be seen on its own merits, and on its own merits—the more I think and ponder on it—Us is as close to a masterpiece in filmmaking as you can get.

Us tells the story of a family who, while on vacation at their summer home in Santa Cruz, are suddenly terrorized by a group of sinister, creepy doppelgängers. Lupita Nyong'o plays Adelaide, who is a troubled character for reasons you will see in the film. She struggles to overcome specific fears, and in the height of this struggle, the doppelgängers appear. Winston Duke plays her husband, the fun-loving, dad-joke-making Gabe, and a lot of the comedy comes from his almost cringy dad humor. Their children, played by Shahadi Wright Joseph and Evan Alex, round out this talented principle cast, and both deliver outstanding performances alongside their parent cast members. All four of these actors have to play two characters, and these characters are as distant from each other as one can get. I was amazed to see how fully-formed these characters were, and the physicality of playing their doppelgängers is breathtaking. The acting all around is absolutely astounding, coupled with clever writing, perfect pacing, and an overall production that is top notch, you can’t help but get lost in this world that Jordan Peele has created.

I don’t want to spend too much time talking about the overall story because I’m afraid it would be too broad without spoilers. What I will say is that the story is engaging, thrilling, scary, creepy, disturbing, tense, and a complete ride from start to finish. There are twists and turns that will leave you breathless, and an ending that will sock you in the gut. I think Peele is commenting on a lot of different themes throughout the film, that of duality, identity; similar themes that he explored with Get Out but not nearly as in-your-face. There seems to be this larger commentary on American culture that I’m not a hundred percent ready to explicate at the moment, but I would imagine after a second viewing I might. Therein lies what I think is the greatest—or what will be the greatest—lasting aspect of this movie. I feel like this is a film that will change and shift over time. Perspective is another major theme in the movie, and from a viewer’s standpoint, as your perspective changes, I would imagine the resonance and connections to this movie will change as well. This bodes well, for in this intricate characteristic, Us is liable to stand the test of time. 

As for Mr. Jordan Peele, I can’t think of another filmmaker currently working today that is more exciting to watch, and I'm excited to see where his career continues to take him. The man made a name for himself doing comedy sketches for MTV and grew in popularity with his Key and Peele sketches. To see him move from that to becoming this horror auteur is astonishing and just really stinking cool. The level of craft behind the making of Us is clearly seen on screen. Peele does things with the camera that is so subtle, but powerful at the same time. Having written, produced, and directed this piece, every frame is fraught with purposeful intent. There are so many little nuggets of connectivity throughout that it’s impossible to catch them all on a first viewing. I love that. Oh, and the score! My goodness! I can’t seem to think of a film or filmmaker of recent memory who has used music as instinctively and connectively with the story they are telling as Peele has done with this movie. Michael Ables, a relatively new film composer and who also did the score for Get Out, created a beautifully haunting score that works so brilliantly with the narrative. In fact, as I write this review, his score is playing in the background. From start to finish, I don’t think there was an aspect of the film that didn’t work for me.

I think the greatest aspect above all is that Us plays both as a surface-level horror/thriller as well as a deeply-layered narrative. If you’re not one who particularly enjoys pulling movies apart and only go in wanting to see a good story, this will suit you just fine. It completely works as a singular narrative, with a menacing force in these doppelgängers that I could see making their way into the ranks of some of horror’s greatest monsters like Halloween’s Michael Myers. However, if you’re like me and enjoy diving into the deep end, to explore the larger, psychological themes, there’s enough here to keep you busy for quite a while. This movie has left a profound sense of wonder on me, and this is after letting it sink in for a bit. As I left the theater last night I immediately wanted to dissect the thing, but in doing so I failed to really let the movie wash over me. Now that I’ve done that, I can’t shake off this feeling that Us is simply, and truly, a profound and masterfully-crafted film, and I cannot wait to see it again. So, if it’s not too apparent, I highly recommend this film for everyone.