Released: 22nd March 2019 (UK and US)
Length: 116 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Director: Jordan Peele
Starring: Lupita Nyong'o, Winston Duke, Shahadi Wright Joseph, Evan Alex, Elizabeth Moss and Tim Heidecker
After the massive success of Get Out in 2017, many film-goers have been eagerly awaiting Jordan Peele’s next entry in the horror genre. “Us” has a hard act to follow but it’s still a haunting piece of entertainment.
The standalone tale of “Us” follows the Wilson family on holiday at the beaches of Santa Cruz. The group includes the timid but brave Adelaide (Lupita Nyong’o), light-hearted and brazen Gabe (Winston Duke), typical phone-dwelling millennial Zora (Shahadi Wright Joseph) and the rambunctious Jason (Evan Alex). Things get off to a reasonable start, when the family suddenly finds a mysterious family on the driveway. Dressed in red and mirroring the family’s personalities, these dark doppelgangers start to run amok throughout the town and the Wilsons struggle to escape while encountering the secrets behind the violent group. Relying more on suspense much more than jump-scares, we’re given plenty of time to get to know each of the Wilsons and their unique characteristics, which all factor into the evil clones. This is where the unpredictability comes in, as you have not just one family but an entire holiday location’s worth of psychotic murderers wielding large pair of scissors and a merciless desire to torment. As the family moves from place to place to get away, you’ll notice some subtle hints of the doppelganger’s true nature. It’s very tightly focused for the most part, the scares rising and falling with the right frequency, mixed in with some light comic relief that never becomes overbearing. In terms of thematic undertones, “Us” is much less direct than its predecessor, mostly relying on the fear of the other to portray the character’s darker counterparts.
The cast of Us has a lot of work to do in that they need to portray two very different personas. Luckily, every actor is on top form; Lupita Nyong’o sits at the heart of the film, her inner trauma driving the story forwards. You really feel the attachment Adelaide has to her family. Winston Duke is given some of the best laughs with a combination of physical and spoken jokes. Both Shahadi Wright Joseph and Evan Alex perform brilliantly; the kids really come into their own as things go on and you root for them to succeed. Then you have the opposite side of the coin; despite the doppelgangers having spookier, monster-like characteristics, there’s still enough differences to set them apart. The use of mime, disembodied voices, physical stunt-work and sinister facial expressions all combine to create some very unnerving encounters. The only issue I had was how it sustains the characters; the Winstons have great chemistry, but this isn’t upheld through the entire film; the ending puts Gabe and Zora aside as they mostly wait around and bandage up their injuries. While there is some reincorporation from the plot, I would have liked to have seen the entire family and their different personalities come together at the end to make things more climatic.
“Us” certainly creates undertones of dread with its presentation; the cinematography is foreboding and sticks to what works, slowly panning around the environment to gradually build the tension. As capable as the camerawork is, the audio is far better. A choir chants out the main theme of the production, sounding appropriately sinister as the copies go about their bloody business. Peele’s dose of humour is again on display and this time, the horror elements are undercut with a set of modern music numbers; when placed against the vicious attacks, it makes for some wacky juxtaposition. A brief stint into the eighties to open the film has good authenticity and the costume design, as simple as it is, also sets the characters and their evil twins apart.
While it may not reach the bursting ingenuity of its predecessor, Us is still an effective and creepy horror film; one sure to keep guessing throughout its runtime. The cast all do an excellent job and the presentation is strong; it just needed a bit more cohesion to make a full impact.
Rating: 4/5 Stars (Great)
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