Jordan Peele knocks it out of the park again with ‘Us’
By Jack Murphy// A&E Editor
ordan Peele returns to the horror genre with his psychological horror thriller “Us.” “Us” is written, produced and directed by Jordan Peele, and stars Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, Shahadi Wright Joseph and Evan Alex as a family that goes on vacation only to be visited by a family that looks exactly like them, and the horror ensues. Jordan Peele shocked everyone in 2017 with “Get Out,” including me. I consider myself a massive horror film buff, and I really appreciate when directors take the genre seriously and not make a cheap movie riddled with cheap jump scares and terrible characters. What made “Get Out” so different from every other good horror movie was that it was also a good comedy, something that I did expect from Peele. Along with the comedy, Peele wrote an Oscar-winning screenplay, that after multiple rewatches still holds up strong. I’m glad to say that Peele continues to succeed with “Us.”
First off, why isn’t Lupita Nyong’o given more lead roles? She is absolutely incredible in the movie. I mean she steals every single scene she is in. Nyong’o’s gotten smaller roles in other big blockbusters before like “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” and “Black Panther” but I am predicting right now she’s gonna be headlining a lot more films in the future. Nyong’o, along with the other three members of her family, plays an evil version of herself, and hers is unique because her double is the only one that can talk, and the voice she gave her doppelgänger is absolutely spine chilling.
The rest of the family is also fantastic, even the kids played by Shahadi Wright Joseph, and Evan Alex. They have to carry many scenes in the film and they do a great job doing so, not only being funny, but also giving off the sense of pure terror. Winston Duke does this better than anyone else in the film, continuing to build off his memorable performance in “Black Panther.”
Another one of the best aspects of “Us” is Peele’s direction. He’s stepped up his game significantly since “Get Out” with many one take shots that are incredibly well done. His ability to build tension from scene to scene is what can make or break horror films, and Peele knows when to keep adding tension and when to release it, which is something many other bad horror films like “Slenderman” don’t understand. Peele’s writing, although not as good or complex as “Get Out,” is still very good, as he creates a story that, while insane, is still somewhat believable. There’s a lot of foreshadowing in the film from beginning to end that’s actually really clever and I know would make watching the film a second time a completely different experience.
Michael Adel returns as Peele’s composer and has really improved after “Get Out.” The most memorable piece of music in the film is the sample of Luniz’s “I Got 5 On It,” that was used in the trailer, and it still works in the film just as well as it did in the trailer.
I’m really curious to see what other people think of the ending because it does leave questions in the air, and it required me to do a little bit of research. I ended up watching a video or two after I got out of the theater. I might have just not understood the ending and not may have been the purpose.
Overall, “Us” is a terrific horror film and Peele continues to knock it out of the park since making his directorial debut. He completely understands the horror genre, and if he decides to make another horror film, I will buy a ticket opening night. If not and he directs something else, he’s still got my undevout attention. Lupita Nyong’o should, not just be nominated, but win an Academy Award for her performance and hopefully, the Academy will give more respect to the horror genre and Hollywood execs will give Nyong’o more leading roles. I’m going to give “Us” an “A.”
Evan Alex, Winston Duke, Lupita Nyong’o and Shahadi Wright Joseph star in “Us.” Picture by Universal Studios