Us (2019)

Title: Us

Year: 2019

Genre: Horror | Thriller |

Runtime: 116 min

Director: Jordan Peele

Starring: Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, Elisabeth Moss

7,4/10                  

 A family’s serenity turns to chaos when a group of doppelgängers begins to terrorize them.

FUNNY HORROR WITH A OVERALL MESSAGE

Thanks to Jordan Peele’s previous academy award-winning horror film I had a lot of hopes and expectations in this project, like the other visitors in the cinema. We all were decently pleased with the result; it was an enjoyable experience with lots of funny and scary scenes. It has a similar charm like Get out but more complex in its message and executions, that’s where the film “fall” in comparison with the directors’ previous project.

I must say that I love Peele’s strategy to blend comedy and horror, it gets the viewers calm and gets them to open up and be less tense. That’s where the perfect moment to throw in the horror, and this movie has lots of this, especially thanks to Winston Duke’s dad character who always had something quirky to say in any kind of moment, even when his house getting invaded by murders doppelgängers. The way Peele execute this kind of storytelling is refreshing for the horror genre. Like I said he blend it enough, so it doesn’t become a parody. Other horror directors should take notice.

The ensemble did a great job especially the Wilson family who had to act against themselves as the family members and the evil doppelgängers, doing both dialogue and fight scenes. The other actors did also an amazing work selling the concept that the world is getting overthrown by these evil beings from underground. Like the cast, the production overall was also great. Nice work, clothes, make-up etc. It was nothing mind-blowing but it didn’t need to be because the films overall complexity were not in the visual but in the story and premise.

To summarize, I honestly enjoyed this film like the others in the cinema. I heard a lot of laughs and scares throughout the viewing. Lots of plus with this film but I liked Get out more. It was simpler and easier to follow which gave the message more impact, in a slick step-by-step way. I feel like Peele were trying to say more with this film, which it’s great that he is trying to innovate his craft, but I feel like he was too quick making this, maybe some more re-writes. The overall message it’s very clear at the end of the film, and you will understand it when you’re watching it, but meanwhile the message it’s very clear there are also a lot of plot-holes which you also will see when you’re analyzing the story; the evil twin was there all along. However, I still deeply recommend this film for at least one watch, maybe a night out at the cinema.