As I’m writing this review, Us, the latest horror movie by comedy performer turned visionary director, Jordan Peele, just tracked as the second largest opening of an original film, earning a whopping $71M at the box office over its first weekend in theaters. This is leaps and bounds more than Get Out made in its opening weekend back in 2017.
So, a congrats to everyone involved is in order.
Now let’s talk about what worked and what didn’t work about this movie.
What Worked
Us is a crowd pleaser. The movie is filled with fun cat and mouse games, an entertaining use of familiar talent in unfamiliar roles, and genuinely stylish directing. Lupita Nyong’o does a fantastic job as the lead, while Winston Duke, Shahadi Wright Joseph, Evan Alex Elisabeth Moss and Tim Heidecker round out the cast with solid performances that mix comedy and dramatic pressure together perfectly.
It’s fun, the premise is unique without straying too far from its chosen genre, there is a nice balance between humor and horror, and an interesting layer of subtle allegory. Similar to Get Out, a viewer could potentially read into the subtext of the premise and extract themes about racial identity tensions in America. If you want to go down that mental rabbit hole, start by reading this speech (link) and then watch (or re-watch) the movie.
What Didn't Work
In horror, the cardinal rule (if you want to keep things scary) is to obscure your villain(s). Once the audience gets a good look at the source of danger, their imaginations stop running around in a panic and things get less scary. Us wasn’t without its fun jump scares, but the sense of dread was diminished pretty early after we got a good look at the assailants.
Act 3 was also a bit of an exposition dump with lengthy dialogue exchanges about the true nature of the assailants.
Sometimes, less is more. This film could have done with a little less.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this. You can opt to change your cookie settings. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are as essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.