Us
There are a few frustrating things about this film that is holding me back from giving it glowing praise and a highly recommended rating. Those issues fall under the illogical nature of Peele trying to explain things towards the end. This movie is so expertly crafted that it hurts to be so divisive over it. I'll go into as much detail as I can as to why this film is just short of being really great and how frustrating that is.
Adelaide, her husband Gabe and their two children vacation at their beach house in Santa Cruze. Gabe wants to take the family down to the beach, but Adelaide is apprehensive about it due to a traumatic childhood event that took place there. He convinces her either way and they go. Later that night when they get back home the power goes out and a weird family dressed in red jumpsuits stand in their driveway. Soon they find themselves face to face with themselves, literally. Now they try to fight for survival and discover the shocking truth behind who these people are and why they are here.
Peele has etched himself a place in the horror genre after two solid films. Get Out was my favourite film of 2017 because it was a well crafted and detailed horror film with excellent social commentary on our world. I'm not alone in that sentiment as Peele won an Oscar for his writing. So despite Us being his second film, the expectations seem to be high. So it is interesting to see this film be a huge hit with critics and have the audience be the ones who are so divisive about it.
There isn't any wasted space here. Peele writes very specifically and shows us what we need to see when we need see it. Everything has a meaning, so when the film opens with something as innocent as an ad for Hands Across America, you have to expect it to come back into the story in some weird way. In Get Out there are so many little bits and pieces that 'click' into place when the film is over that you want to watch it again to see it in a different perspective. There are plenty of moments in that film that I'm sure people are still discovering them. Peele does that again here and it just shows how skilled of a screenwriter he is.
WARNING: "Us" spoilers below
When we first see the doubles, only the lead can speak and she can only speak in a raspy soreness that is immediately off-putting. No one else is able to, they can only grunt to communicate. Why? Well, it makes sense when we discover the twist is that Red is actually the little girl on the beach at the beginning. The double swapped places, so it makes sense that she is the only one who can speak. But why the weird voice? The double crushed her larynx when they met and she has no one to talk to down the rabbit hole. This could be the first time she has spoken in years for all we know. The biblical number we see, 11:11 is about Judgement Day, we see this sign multiple times on the clocks, ambulance and televisions.
Why is the little boy's face burned? Because his tethered duo above keeps playing with that magic lighter. So it makes sense that the kid had to copy the move and ended up with burns. The handcuffs that Adelaide has on almost the entire film? Those are the same cuffs that she used to trap her tethered to the bed down below. While on the beach hanging out with Elizabeth Moss she isn't chatty and says to her "I'm not good at...talking". Things that we don't really question in the moment make total sense after the fact.
When we first see the doubles, only the lead can speak and she can only speak in a raspy soreness that is immediately off-putting. No one else is able to, they can only grunt to communicate. Why? Well, it makes sense when we discover the twist is that Red is actually the little girl on the beach at the beginning. The double swapped places, so it makes sense that she is the only one who can speak. But why the weird voice? The double crushed her larynx when they met and she has no one to talk to down the rabbit hole. This could be the first time she has spoken in years for all we know. The biblical number we see, 11:11 is about Judgement Day, we see this sign multiple times on the clocks, ambulance and televisions.
Why is the little boy's face burned? Because his tethered duo above keeps playing with that magic lighter. So it makes sense that the kid had to copy the move and ended up with burns. The handcuffs that Adelaide has on almost the entire film? Those are the same cuffs that she used to trap her tethered to the bed down below. While on the beach hanging out with Elizabeth Moss she isn't chatty and says to her "I'm not good at...talking". Things that we don't really question in the moment make total sense after the fact.
Excellent use of music and the score works well here. The slow haunting piece of "I Got 5 On It" works brilliantly here. Peele is a horror fan and that shows in his work. He has the entire picture mapped out in his head and is able to transfer it clear enough to the screen in writing, direction and small choices in music that the entire thing just works. He likes to place little nods to other horror films and Us has a ton of them. From the overhead driving Shining shot to referencing a movie being shot on the boardwalk (That movie would be The Lost Boys)
Lupita Nyong'o shines here with her double duty. Her movements of Red are creepy and specific. Her voice is eerie, but my theatre actually laughed when she spoke. Despite that, she nails the roles and is the clear highlight from the cast. Another solid performance comes from Elizabeth Moss. She has a small role, but one scene in particular where she is screaming in agony which turns into some weird maniacal laughter is spine tingling. Congrats to the kids as well, for not being annoying. I'm glad that we didn't get too much of the "phone addicted teenager" or "kid does something stupid and costs someone something" because those are cliches that are tired and Peele seems too smart to fall for those.
So if so much of this film works why am I going to complain about it? Why is it not a higher rating? Once Peele starts peeling back the layers of these people, the cracks actually begin to show.
WARNING: "Us" spoilers below
Peele leaves a lot unanswered or ambiguous. Cool, I'm down with that, but other parts not so much. So it's my understanding that these duos are clones from the government. They are using the abandoned and unused tunnels to experiment. They decide to abandon this experiment but leave these "people" down there. These clones are 'tethered' to their real life counter-parts on the surface (how they were all cloned? Who knows). So this means that they copy their movements exactly. If people are on a roller-coaster, then the tethered underground are moving around as if they are as well. If a couple is playing rock, paper, scissors then so are their tethered down below. This is key because the son uses the tethered to have one of the clones kill himself in a fire. But how this works is unanswered as Peele only uses it to his convenience within the plot.
When it is revealed at the end that our Adelaide was actually the clone from the basement and she had switched with her real life counter-part...why didn't the real Adelaide just walk up the escalator and escape? Is she 'tethered" down there? Why wait so many years for some weird insane revenge plot where every clone escapes, kills their real life above ground person and then form the hands across america symbolism? Is it because she has to be close to her double to be able to escape? Why now? Why not any other year they go to the beach house? We know that some clones have already gone to the top because the guy holding the biblical sign was killed by his double before they even reach the beach. How easy would it have been for her to run up, grab some police and show the hoards of people down below. Then have them take her home and surprise her double?
Where the hell did those red jumpsuits come from? Are they making these things down there? They have nothing there but rabbits to eat. Where did the scissors come from or the glove? Are they going to the top to steal these items in bulk? I get the themes behind the scissors, but the practicality of them are pretty terrible. There are plenty of things to question towards the end of the film.
Peele leaves a lot unanswered or ambiguous. Cool, I'm down with that, but other parts not so much. So it's my understanding that these duos are clones from the government. They are using the abandoned and unused tunnels to experiment. They decide to abandon this experiment but leave these "people" down there. These clones are 'tethered' to their real life counter-parts on the surface (how they were all cloned? Who knows). So this means that they copy their movements exactly. If people are on a roller-coaster, then the tethered underground are moving around as if they are as well. If a couple is playing rock, paper, scissors then so are their tethered down below. This is key because the son uses the tethered to have one of the clones kill himself in a fire. But how this works is unanswered as Peele only uses it to his convenience within the plot.
When it is revealed at the end that our Adelaide was actually the clone from the basement and she had switched with her real life counter-part...why didn't the real Adelaide just walk up the escalator and escape? Is she 'tethered" down there? Why wait so many years for some weird insane revenge plot where every clone escapes, kills their real life above ground person and then form the hands across america symbolism? Is it because she has to be close to her double to be able to escape? Why now? Why not any other year they go to the beach house? We know that some clones have already gone to the top because the guy holding the biblical sign was killed by his double before they even reach the beach. How easy would it have been for her to run up, grab some police and show the hoards of people down below. Then have them take her home and surprise her double?
Where the hell did those red jumpsuits come from? Are they making these things down there? They have nothing there but rabbits to eat. Where did the scissors come from or the glove? Are they going to the top to steal these items in bulk? I get the themes behind the scissors, but the practicality of them are pretty terrible. There are plenty of things to question towards the end of the film.
More frustration comes from the ending. Not that is was bad, it ended the way it had to end. From the fact that it is so telegraphed from the beginning that there is no real shock factor. I felt like I was waiting for Peele to catch up to me the entire time for the reveal. Had there been more of a shock moment, maybe my overall reaction would be different. I do like that he asks the viewer to question whether they are questioning their allegiance. Us still showcases the talents of the filmmaker and it is a welcome addition to the horror genre for me. Peele just doesn't want to scare people, he has thematic elements and brings some intelligence to his films. Bravo.