Us

For the first three quarters, the second film of Jordan Peele gave me a “fuller” horror experience than his début Get Out. It has first-rate craftsmanship, a brilliant premise, excellent performances led by Lupita Nyongo, and the humour is better incorporated and not intruding. Us was about to get an enthusiastic five-star rating, especially with the social overlap about some kind of uprising of those less fortunate than us being very topical, but unfortunately, it derails by the end. The closing mythological explanation either shouldn’t have been there (so that the doubles worked on a purely allegorical level), or it should have been more bulletproof, because the way it’s presented makes you poke into several practical details of the working of the world of the doubles, which is a road to hell. And the very last twist is even more confusing. Immediately after the screening, I’m not sure whether it didn’t unintendedly make the film lose its meaning. At the same time, I’m looking forward to watching it again in the future and, already knowing the twists, see if it makes sense or not. In any case, Us does provide plenty of material for an “autopsy” and I’m sure it’ll remain in my head for awhile, which is appreciated. (26/03/2019)

For however much Jordan Peele is following the overrated Get Out with a film that divides the audience and for which I could easily understand any choice on the rating scale, this is a surprise that caught me quite unprepared. And that I more than anyone else would be the one praising this film the most? I would never believe it. But Us is a true example of a combination of nerve-wracking situations, goosebump-inducing moments, and humor that doesn't play it safe and instead complements the mood excellently, in most cases, in a completely unforced way. The social issues are present this time are just right, and also subtle, so you need to (voluntarily?) dig into them in your own way and not get slapped in the face with them every few minutes, as was the case with Get Out. The first reveal pleasantly surprised me in how it doesn't hold back in terms of genre, the second, which some found excessive and degrading, actually spun the ideological whirlwind at double speed for me. I might even leave the fifth star for a hypothetical second viewing due to the occasional brutality and overall despair. Although I felt very claustrophobic almost the entire two hours while watching, the battle in the background with the pas de deux composition is an unprecedented example of harmony between music and image that I will want to see again. A sculpted toy that can't be faulted. (27/03/2019)

Is it possible that this was made by the creator of the brilliant Get Out?! Us does not work on any level as an attempt at horror with certain (perhaps philosophical?!) overtones. Though it is a technically flawless Hollywood movie, it is laughable and unbelievable in terms of its content. Scenes that are supposed to be scary are instead embarrassing to the point of being ridiculous; the dialogue, which is supposed to be wittily cool, is unnatural and silly. There is seemingly an attempt at an interesting existential element in the uncovering of the story’s mystery, but it turns out to be WTF nonsense. It’s as if the sophisticated violin of Shyamalan’s early originality and Stephen King’s thematic distinctiveness were supposed to be employed here, but there was only enough talent for a child’s ukulele with half of its strings missing. (16/10/2020)

Jordan Peele is undoubtedly a huge talent, which he has shown not only in his comedy sketches, but also with his hit Get Out, and high hopes were pinned on Us, based on the amazing trailer and positive reactions from critics. In the end feelings are slightly mixed, the film will definitely once again divide audiences into two camps, similar to Mother or Hereditary. Mainstream viewers and teens can stay home, this is a much more challenging spectacle than it first appears and those expecting a classic home invasion, slasher or horror will be sorely disappointed. The biggest trump cards are definitely the actors, with Lupita Nyong'o giving an extraordinary double performance, the superb craftsmanship, the details, the camera shots, the visuals and the intense music (“I Got 5 on It” is played three times and is quite goosebump-inducing during the final scene), and the very disarming and effective twists and turns, which you may not understand right away, but the creativity cannot be denied. Us also works in terms of horror. The home invasion is filmed in a decently atmospheric manner and the slasher rampage is quite brutal, though unfortunately, there is no explicit gore. In places the film is underpinned by comedy interludes, which work for the most part. It's slightly disappointing that the film isn't downright creepy and there's a distinct lack of a memorable scene to talk about in the future. Many may also be bothered by the fact that some issues aren't put squarely on the table, and whether the whole thing even makes sense is also debatable. I will definitely give this a re-watch and even though I was expecting grittier and more dense stuff, I still have to admit that there hasn't been a horror film this original and creative in years. 80%. (22/03/2019)

After the fame-fair, the sanctimony, the back-slapping, the accolades, and the paternalistic labeling as "Black Hitchcock" (or later, more appropriately, "the first Peele"), one might have expected that this filmmaker's next script would simply be overdeveloped. There's a very strong sense of the thorough research into the horror genre that Peele had clearly done before. This is noticeable here not only in the references and quotations, which are thankfully sparse, but especially in the structure and formal elements. The immobilization of the head of the family right at the beginning is borrowed from Funny Games (here, however, via a baseball bat instead of a golf club, which does make a mess later in the film), the threat of tailor's scissors from the French Inside, work with a second plan ala It Follows, evil sealed in underground tunnels, see for example, Barker's The Midnight Meat Train, and the home invasion genre that climbs from the surface of a single house to somewhere beyond the metaphysical framework brings to mind, again, the French Martyrs. These reminders of the New French Extreme period specifically are what do Us the greatest disservice, because like in Get Out, there is a reluctance to work with violence, which is, however, one of the essential ingredients of the HI thriller. Imagining how the blood would have flowed off the screen during the scene of the families being slaughtered in the second house if it had been filmed in France sometime around 2009 unfortunately leaves a sense of reservation. This is actually linked to the second problem, namely that despite the relatively radical twists and turns the script offers in its concept, the film contains no downright radical genre scenes. Something like the opening shotgun entrance in Martyrs, the circular saw scene in Frontier(s), or the motorcycle finale in the Evil Dead remake. These problems are then what keep Us from five stars, because otherwise, like Get Out, it's really a breath of life into a moribund horror genre whose work with gradation, a dose of twists, and working with pop culture (using the Hands Across America initiative to make a point? FTW!) is something to be cherished. The last shot, with Minnie Riperton's "Les Fleurs", almost won that fifth star. (25/06/2019)