This story contains mild spoilers for Us.
Writer-director Jordan Peele’s first movie, Get Out, was a word-of-mouth hit, gradually gaining momentum as it went from the cinema to home entertainment release to Oscars glory. As a result, expectations are instantly high for Peele’s follow-up, Us, which is in cinemas Thu., Mar. 28. (Watch the trailer below.)
And with the horror film already released overseas and winning rave reviews, the buzz surrounding Us is through the roof. Question is: does it live up to the hype?
In short: yes. Like Get Out, Us is a thought-provoking movie that, as well as scaring the living daylights out of you on more than one occasion, has something to say. It’s not thrills and gore and nothing more.
Without giving too much away about the plot, Us follows Adelaide Wilson (Lupita Nyong’o), who, as a child, had a traumatic experience after she wandered off from her parents and entered a house of mirrors at a fun fare in Santa Cruz.
In the present, Adelaide is now a mother-of-two herself, holidaying in Santa Cruz with her family when she begins to feel apprehensive. She has good reason to – one night, a family of four dressed in red jumpsuits hold hands at the end of the Wilsons’ driveway. And they look just like the Wilsons. Well, freakish versions of them.
Who or what these doppelgängers (known as the Tethered) are, and why they have come to the Wilsons’ house is what drives Us. We will say this much – there is plenty of violence. But there is a point to all the fighting and bloodshed, unlike in films about some homocidal maniac on a killing spree.
Us is also the type of movie that will have you jumping online as soon as possible to check out fan theories and read dissections of all the hidden clues and Easter eggs throughout. And it will have you thinking about what the film has to say about mirrors, duality and America’s class structure. You can’t say that about Halloween 27.
And then there is the twist. Of course, there’s a twist. Even your average A Nightmare on Elm Street or The Conjuring has a twist, and the ending of Us will make you rethink everything you’ve just seen. Yes, there are potential plot holes and more questions than answers, but that’s what sequels and spin-offs are for. Until then, enjoy the thrill ride-meets-intellectual exercise that is Us.
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