Jordan Peele's second effort 'Us' lives up to the tagline that sometimes we are our own worst enemy. It's with this and many other strong elements and themes that shows he is a true talent in the industry and his sophomore film is far from a slump. The film stars Lupita N'yongo as a woman named Adelaide who is heading back to her childhood home of Santa Cruz with her husband (Winston Duke) and two children. From the very start, strange coincidences begin to happen until the family is suddenly attacked in the night by a gang of doppelgangers who have hatred and violence on their minds.
Peele's knowledge of how to create effective horror is on full display here, rarely relying on loud noises or jump scares and instead going for a strong sense of dread and tension which is complimented perfectly with Michael Abels second contribution to the score. Like his previous film 'Get Out', Abels conducts a haunting choir with heavy strings and I can imagine myself sitting alone listening to it and getting the chills from the very first note. This time around, he also incorporates a famous hip hop song 'I Got Five on It' by taking the instrumental elements and crafting an eerie theme that helps ramp up the film's climax. This film also sports some beautiful cinematography thanks to Mike Gioulakis, who has delved into the horror genre with 'It Follows' a film that also had nice visuals that complimented the horror elements.
The performances here are also top notch, with the obvious stand out being Lupita N'yongo whom I really feel deserves an award for this. Winston Duke may not be as much of a stand out here and more of a comic relief, he still does excellent with the part he is given playing a very believable father character that shows he's willing to sacrifice himself if it means protecting his family. Even the two kids get their time in the spotlight and are pretty even and thankfully don't add to the usual horror tropes that come with child characters. They're smartly written, can be funny without being annoying, they're likeable, and they feel like real kids and react like real kids would.
While I do think 'Us' is a solid horror film, I didn't quite enjoy it as much as 'Get Out' for a few reasons. First, while the main cast is solid our secondary characters are merely fodder and we barely get to know them outside of the opening and their ultimate demises. While I won't spoil these scenes I feel that for a movie that's so smart in every other aspect to have such a cliche sequence that many horror films have had before it feels out of place. I also must confess that I simply don't feel some elements (which I cannot reveal due to spoilers) all connect or make sense. I wish I could elaborate more on this but perhaps you'll understand if you saw it for yourself and maybe you won't feel the same way but to me a lot of the overall reveal once the curtain is pulled back just left me a bit confused and unsatisfied.
Jordan Peele's 'Us' may not be as good as his previous film, but it's one of the best movies you'll see this year and one of the best the horror genre has to offer. It contains that same wit and tension of 'Get Out' while adding some new elements and some real thought provoking themes of duality and what we perceive as our enemies. I encourage everyone to see this film this weekend and I promise you won't be disappointed.
9/10
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