Jordan Peele is an incredible film maker who thinks outside the box and his 2019 film ‘Us’ is no exception. Peele who previously directed the renowned ‘Get Out’ does not let the audience down with this horror. The film, is about a family’s beach holiday turned nightmare, when they are terrorised by their doppelgängers. However, there are various opinions as to what the film is really about and people have different interpretations of the director’s intentions, some of the theories include ideas of duality, social inequality, Americas past and post traumatic stress. The film includes subtle social commentary which comes to light at the end of the film in particular.
One of the most captivating and terrifying elements to this film is the music. From beginning to end the soundtrack goes perfectly with everything shown on screen and creates the appropriate ambience for the audience. It's different to the sound normally used in horror film, but works amazingly.
While it's a horror movie, one of my favourite scenes has an unexpected comedy aspect to it. When the neighbours are being brutally murdered by the doppelgängers the music switches between the Beach Boys, ‘Good vibrations’ and N.W.A’s ‘Fuck the Police’. Two songs you would not only not expect to hear in this film, but you would never expect them to be played one after the other. Throughout the movie there are many comedic scenes, which somehow don’t throw off the horror aspect of the film as a whole. It's a perfect balance between the two genres.
Another brilliant thing about this film is the acting. The whole cast is unbelievable at playing both the original characters and their contrasting doppelgängers. We’re all aware of how much of an incredible actress Lupita Nyong’o and her role in the film just confirms it. Her acting is one of the most terrifying elements, her switch between an anxious mother and horrifying doppelgänger is awe-inspiring. She never fails to show her ability to play a mixture of characters.
One thing that is clear is the double meaning, which is even cleverly hinted through the title, ‘Us’ , it can be taken literally or it is believed to be an abbreviation of the United States. This links to Peele describing the film as being about the current state of the America, he proclaims ‘We’re a country that is afraid of the outsider.’ While I enjoy the concept of this, I believe there could have been more time taken to make this clear to the audience, I enjoy the fact that there is no single meaning but I do wish that, as an audience, we got more of a clear cut ending. When the film comes to a close, it leaves you wondering what the film meant and what the main meaning of the film was. When searching for it, you find yourself sent down a spiral of thousands of theories.
However, if you’re a horror fan and particularly enjoy unconventional types of horror films, if you haven’t watched this yet, you’re definitely missing out. The acting, cinematography, sound and script is captivating throughout. Just don’t expect to have all your questions answered by the time
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