“Us” (R)
Still basking in the Oscar-winning success of his socially-aware mystery thriller “Get Out,” writer-director Jordan Peele is back with a vengeance with “Us,” which, well, brings out the beast in all of us.
While “Get Out” was construed as a horror film to some, there’s no doubt Peele’s intentions with “Us,” a brutal, nightmarish “Twilight Zone”-like horror thriller that, despite all that it has going for it from its brilliant acting and filmmaking standpoint, doesn’t quite unfold into a neat and tidy narrative by the time the film wraps up. But perhaps that’s the point: While moviegoers are bound to leave confused, the visceral thrills are so damn freaky and scary that it will be enough to pull you back in for a repeat viewing to try to figure out just what the hell happened.
AUDIO: Hear Tim’s review of “Us” with Tom Barnard on “The KQ Morning Show” on KQRS-FM.
“Us” begins in 1986 when a young girl, Adelaide (Madison Curry) wanders away from her parents at a beachside carnival in Santa Cruz, California, and ends up in a mirror-filled funhouse where she is traumatized after encountering what appears to be her doppelganger. Flashing-forward to present day, Adelaide (Lupita Nyong’o) is married to Gabe (‘Black Panther’s’ Winston Duke) and has two children, Zora (Shahadi Wright Joseph) and Jason (Evan Alex), and despite her reluctance, Adelaide returns to the spot of her trauma in Santa Cruz, where the family meets up with friends.
After Jason encounters a strange apparition on the beach, the family returns home only to encounter four, crimson-clad doppelgangers of themselves. But these twins, armed with scissors, make it quite clear that they are evil, and invade the family’s home and terrorize them. Instinctively, the family — led by the fierce Adelaide — fights back, and upon their escape, they discover the doppelganger phenomena is spread far beyond their confines. As it turns out, “The Tethered,” as mirror images call themselves, are shadowing other people in the city have embarked on a murderous rampage to apparently take back what was once theirs.
Backed by impressive dual performances by all the principal actors (especially the frightening Nyong’o, who shows incredible range across the board), there’s no question Peele has an incredible handle on horror filmmaking. Spurning traditional techniques and tropes, the filmmaker instead relies on simpler in-camera effects or off-camera theater to provoke viewers’ imaginations to drive the action. If that weren’t enough, Peele punctuates the film by creating unbearable tension through crafty editing and spellbinding if not outright bizarre music. Luckily, the comedy actor-turned-filmmaker lets viewers take a breather time and again from this stress-inducing nightmare with some well-placed bits of comic relief.
AUDIO: Hear Tim’s review of “Us” with Jordana Green on “Paul and Jordana” on WCCO-AM.
As much as “Us” has going for it in terms of its action and performances, it also suffers from an overly-ambitious plot. What exactly Peele is trying to say is up for interpretation by every viewer, and perhaps the easiest way the film can be explained away is that people their our own worst enemies. Clearly there’s much more there, though, specifically about the society we live that is divided by class, and Peele wants you to come back for more to try to figure it out. The bonus is you’ll get to shriek, jump, laugh, avert your eyes and more all over again as you try to mine the certain hidden messages that are buried deep within “Us.”
Lammometer: 8 (out of 10)
Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for The KQ92 Morning Show,” “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC), WCCO Radio, WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere.
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