Us

For however much Jordan Peele is following the overrated Get Out with a film that divides the audience and for which I could easily understand any choice on the rating scale, this is a surprise that caught me quite unprepared. And that I more than anyone else would be the one praising this film the most? I would never believe it. But Us is a true example of a combination of nerve-wracking situations, goosebump-inducing moments, and humor that doesn't play it safe and instead complements the mood excellently, in most cases, in a completely unforced way. The social issues are present this time are just right, and also subtle, so you need to (voluntarily?) dig into them in your own way and not get slapped in the face with them every few minutes, as was the case with Get Out. The first reveal pleasantly surprised me in how it doesn't hold back in terms of genre, the second, which some found excessive and degrading, actually spun the ideological whirlwind at double speed for me. I might even leave the fifth star for a hypothetical second viewing due to the occasional brutality and overall despair. Although I felt very claustrophobic almost the entire two hours while watching, the battle in the background with the pas de deux composition is an unprecedented example of harmony between music and image that I will want to see again. A sculpted toy that can't be faulted. (03/27/2019)

With this grotesquely warped horror movie reminiscent of The Twilight Zone, Jordan Peele has confirmed his position as an illustrious talent in the field of genre films. In Us, those who are so inclined can see a provocative parallel to the basic principle of capitalism, i.e. the presumed right to privilege and living life at the expense of someone else, which brings out the dark side of people. At the same time, however, it is simply a great, original horror flick that is not satisfied with the superficial tricks with which most current contributions to the genre are inundated. (04/01/2019)

After the fame-fair, the sanctimony, the back-slapping, the accolades, and the paternalistic labeling as "Black Hitchcock" (or later, more appropriately, "the first Peele"), one might have expected that this filmmaker's next script would simply be overdeveloped. There's a very strong sense of the thorough research into the horror genre that Peele had clearly done before. This is noticeable here not only in the references and quotations, which are thankfully sparse, but especially in the structure and formal elements. The immobilization of the head of the family right at the beginning is borrowed from Funny Games (here, however, via a baseball bat instead of a golf club, which does make a mess later in the film), the threat of tailor's scissors from the French Inside, work with a second plan ala It Follows, evil sealed in underground tunnels, see for example, Barker's The Midnight Meat Train, and the home invasion genre that climbs from the surface of a single house to somewhere beyond the metaphysical framework brings to mind, again, the French Martyrs. These reminders of the New French Extreme period specifically are what do Us the greatest disservice, because like in Get Out, there is a reluctance to work with violence, which is, however, one of the essential ingredients of the HI thriller. Imagining how the blood would have flowed off the screen during the scene of the families being slaughtered in the second house if it had been filmed in France sometime around 2009 unfortunately leaves a sense of reservation. This is actually linked to the second problem, namely that despite the relatively radical twists and turns the script offers in its concept, the film contains no downright radical genre scenes. Something like the opening shotgun entrance in Martyrs, the circular saw scene in Frontier(s), or the motorcycle finale in the Evil Dead remake. These problems are then what keep Us from five stars, because otherwise, like Get Out, it's really a breath of life into a moribund horror genre whose work with gradation, a dose of twists, and working with pop culture (using the Hands Across America initiative to make a point? FTW!) is something to be cherished. The last shot, with Minnie Riperton's "Les Fleurs", almost won that fifth star. (06/25/2019)

Is it possible that this was made by the creator of the brilliant Get Out?! Us does not work on any level as an attempt at horror with certain (perhaps philosophical?!) overtones. Though it is a technically flawless Hollywood movie, it is laughable and unbelievable in terms of its content. Scenes that are supposed to be scary are instead embarrassing to the point of being ridiculous; the dialogue, which is supposed to be wittily cool, is unnatural and silly. There is seemingly an attempt at an interesting existential element in the uncovering of the story’s mystery, but it turns out to be WTF nonsense. It’s as if the sophisticated violin of Shyamalan’s early originality and Stephen King’s thematic distinctiveness were supposed to be employed here, but there was only enough talent for a child’s ukulele with half of its strings missing. (10/16/2020)

It goes by quickly without getting boring, Peele delivers a very original concept that plays with our expectations, but unfortunately, this incomprehensible genre hodgepodge can’t never fully satisfy its ambitions of social comedy-horror. Get Out was solidly built on paranoia and the humour worked like an almost welcome relief, Us is packed with ideas, jokes and wannabe shocking twists, but it doesn’t give the viewer a chance to comfortably get into the story and enjoy the concept or feel scared. And no, I don’t think the experience can improve with a rewatch. 60% (04/03/2019)