Review: Us

Before Get Out, I was aware enough of Jordan Peele in his comedic and acting work, that I knew he had the potential to do great things.

Then when he made his directorial debut, everyone was going nuts for him. Get Out for me was a very enjoyable and thought-provoking horror-thriller that had top re-watchability.

Now what his follow-up is suggesting is basically Peele showing his love and affection for The Twilight Zone as the story looked something that would fit in nicely to the TV series. Peele has even produced a few episodes of the new version of The Twilight Zone.

I was pretty excited another Peele film and while I did not feel this was as enjoyable, it's certainly another horror-thriller that made me think long after seeing it.
As the story develops and concludes, the themes its covering felt very relevant, especially in modern American society and that for me was the films strongest aspect.

The performances as well need to be commended, especially as the concept forces the main characters to go beyond a normal duty for a film.
Lupite Nyong'o really surprised as she showed great range in her performances. You could instantly separate her characters, and I was definitely terrified and unsettled by one of them. Peele certainly brought the best out of Nyong'o.
Winston Duke was a lot of fun to watch. One character in particular will be very relatable to a lot of mainstream audiences and felt great value to watch from start to finish.
I also have to give huge props to child actors, Evan Alex, Madison Curry and especially Shahadi Wright Joseph. There was a lot of psychical acting required for their roles and it paid off beautifully.
One memorable performance that came on late in the film was Elisabeth Moss, who while was not on-screen for long gave a scene-stealing moment in what was another un-nerving scene.

Despite all the praise, a part of me was disappointed. It did lack in scares for me. There were also some scenes that I could tell were supposed to scare or unsettle you that did not quite work for me. Also, the pacing did feel was flowing and seamless throughout.

I think to summarise, I thought this was a pretty good viewing experience. I think Peele was brave in making more of a thinking piece than a jump-scare fest and it will be interesting to see how mainstream audiences react to it.
The ensemble cast played their part beautifully and the overall tone of the film felt pretty satisfying for me and making more excited for Peele's future as a director.
While I haven't quite given it an exceptional rating, that might chance of multiple viewings. That being said, it's still one that should definitely check out. It's great to see a refreshing chance to the Horror genre and Peele could be the Horror director of a generation.

Rating: 7/10