Us [Review by SpecialK]

I know what you were thinking. I was right there with you: “Please, please don’t let Jordan Peele fall prey to the curse of M. Night Shyamalan.” I simply couldn’t bear watching Get Out become the next one-hit-wonder—the next You Spin Me Round or Take on Me.  But when the trailer for Us debuted, we all breathed a collective sigh of relief—and although we didn’t quite know what was coming, by the power of Grayskull, we knew we were in for a wild ride.

Us kicks off with a delightfully indulgent 80s throwbackstory about Adelaide, our main character, when she was a child who gets lost at the fair while her dad is looking the other way. How rude! But little Adelaide grows up, marries, and has two kids. She is enjoying a happy, successful life, and to underscore that they are truly living the American dream, the family is heading to a lake house for a weekend away with friends.

However, now played by the stunning, dynamic, and talented Lupita Nyong’o, Adelaide seems to be bothered by something—something that happened that day back in the 80s when she got lost. And she’s worried that it’s after her and her whole family, too. So what’s going on, Adelaide? After all, don’t girls just wanna have fun?

But oh, sweet child of mine, this is just the beginning.  Four people show up to the lake house—and funnily enough, they are also a family. A family that looks a whole heck of a lot like Adelaide’s, with a few terrifying differences. They seem to be after something. What do they want? Where’s the beef? And why can’t they just beat it?

The story unfolds with all the fun wit, warmth, and comedic relief of Get Out, but the tension on this roller coaster of a film builds at a much faster pace and a much steeper angle. The scares also run deeper, darker, and bloodier than anything in Peele’s first film, however, I respectfully suggest that next time, Mr. Peele, you keep a few of your creepiest images and clips out of the trailer to help preserve their full “this is your brain on drugs” effect. Come on, I know you have it in you to truly mess with us in your next film.

Nevertheless, the artistic choices in Us are simple yet extremely effective—an oversized pair of golden scissors glinting in the firelight; fluffy, innocent bunnies in a lonely, empty space; wide eyes set against the dark of the night; mirrored images and twins moving in unison; and biblical verses about the unavoidable descent of evil—sweet dreams are made of this, amirite?

The acting in Us is also superb, especially recognizing the fact that most of the main characters end up playing two very different versions of themselves. Talk about a total eclipse of the heart. Nyong’o, the haunting young Madison Curry, and the dreamy Winston Duke especially shine, and Elizabeth Moss delivers an effectively obnoxious and deeply basic rich woman.

But it’s not until you take in the whole film that you realize how deeply Peele’s themes cut, forcing each of us to explore what we are willing to become—as individuals, as communities of people defined by race or class, and as a nation. Like a Spirograph spinning around the ballpoint of a pen, these themes run in graceful, practically mathematical parallel to one another, and when you ultimately step back at the end of the film, you see that together, they’ve created an even more stunning whole.

SpecialK Verdict: Ok so this is the final countdown: I’ve. Had. The time of my life watching Us. Scarier than Get Out and with even more meaningful layers, Peele has officially evaded the sophomore slump with a winner, and if he’s planning on another horror film in the near future, let’s just say, I’ll be back.

Us opens everywhere Friday, March 22.

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