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Us – Review

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London, UK
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Budding writer-director Jordan Peele has fallen short of the lofty heights set by his debut foray into horror with latest creation Us.

In 2017, comedy writer Jordan Peele floored filmgoers with his whip-smart horror movieΒ Get Out, which was met with critical acclaim – including an Oscar for β€˜Best Original Screenplay’.

Blending scares with social commentary in ways not yet seen,Β Get OutΒ oozed intelligence and truly stood out among a surplus of banal tick box horrors from recent years.

It easily took the cake for my personal favourite picture of 2017.

So, you can imagine my delectation when Peele announced his return to the genre, two years on withΒ US.

The initial trailer had Peele’s signature stamp all over it; from the creepy rendition of LUNIZ’s β€˜I Got 5 on It’, to the obvious underlying elements of humour, it was all lusciously familiar.

I was truly excited, and all but sure we were in for another instant classic, but coming out of the theatre on opening night, my overriding feeling was one of disappointment (and meh).

Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t by any means a bad film. Peele just set the bar extremely high with his big screen debut.

Although it largely falls in line withΒ Get Out’s genre trappings,Β USΒ is a different beast entirely, offering a more a generalist examination of society as a whole (while thinly veiled as a classic home-invasion horror).

Centred around the Wilson family; Adelaide (mumma), her husband Gabe, and their two children, Zora and Jason, this plot starts with a relatively simple premise.

A family trip to a beach house in Santa Cruz descends into a nightmarish game of cat and mouse between each of the family members and their eerily altered doppelgangers.

Unfortunately, the reveal falls a little flat, and the explanation behind the manhunt seems a little forced and unnatural.

Frequent comedic elements are amusing in places, though a few ill placed gags cut through the immersion in certain scenes; including the Adelaide double’s detailed explanation behind the ‘Tetherds’ grievances with their counterparts, which (explained in copious detail, in a croaky voice) was pretty comical itself, and not in a good way.

It felt a little cheap to have the plot essentially spoonfed to us so early on, and for me, it failed to fully recover. The previous sense of nuance and subtlety we were all hoping would be Peele’s signature just wasn’t there.

In a more general sense,Β USΒ succeeded in balancing effective scares with wit (for the most part). Peele asks his audiences to buy into some hefty concepts, while avoiding the trap of being too po-faced about it all.

The most redeeming quality ofΒ USΒ (for me) is the performances of each of the family members, with a nod to the kid-actors in particular, Shahadi Wright Joseph and Evan Alex. It was enjoyable to see them blossom from ignorant children to merciless and efficient killers.

To summarise,Β USΒ is far from perfect. It seems as though the plot is a little convoluted and misguided, throwing up more questions than answers. It is undoubtedly a unique and ambitious horror narrative, and I don’t recall seeing anything similar in the genre in my years. It’s just that, from Peele, I was expecting something truly brilliant

This isn’t that.

3
out of 5

A fun, but ultimately forgettable experience

Expectation's were seriously high after Peele's horror debut, and Us just doesn't reach the same heights

Editor in Chief London, UK

I’m Jamie (He/Him), the Editor in Chief at Thred. Keeping up with gaming and revolutionary technology is my forte, but when away from my keyboard, you’ll probably find me wrapped around a large Tango ice blast at the latest mediocre horror flick. Follow me on Twitter, LinkedIn and drop me some ideas/feedback viaΒ email.

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