There is a long cinematic tradition behind Jordan Peele’s second big-screen outing, Us. Search ‘evil twin films’ on IMDb and you will find ninety different examples. From the original 1920 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (starring John Barrymore) through its multiple remakes, the idea has been thoroughly explored. Both The Stepford Wives (1975 and 2004) and Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956 and 1978) have their own doppelgangers, and there are countless other movies that play on the evil look-alike theme.
Of course, not all identical twins are evil. There are the adorable Olsen twins, Mary-Kate and Ashley; Good Charlotte's Benji and Joel Madden; the poker-playing Zinks, Sebastian and Daniel; and the identical Proclaimers twins Charlie and Craig Reid, who would, by all accounts, walk “a thousand miles” just to be with you. That said, you wouldn't want to mess with the identical Kray twins, Ronnie and Reggie.
A fresh take on twins
Yet, despite all this rich history, Peele still manages to get something new from the evil twin concept in this carefully-crafted psychological thriller. Just as he did with the Frankenstein idea in Get Out, he weaves in a social conscience through smart satire, which leaves you thinking about more than just the plot and its twists as you drive home from the movie theatre. This is a film that you will be talking about until long after you should’ve gone to bed.
(If Get Out was Jordan Peele’s Frankenstein, then Us is his Jekyll and Hyde)
The set-up is initially quite simple, as we join a seemingly normal, middle-class American family on vacation in their holiday home, only to find them terrorised by identical versions of themselves who appear out of nowhere in their driveway. Of course, being Jordan Peele, things are much more complicated than that, and we are soon drawn into two parallel worlds, above and below, where one version of ‘Us’ succeeds at the expense of the other.
Terrific in twin roles
This duality presents a real challenge for the cast, as each had to play two versions of themselves; but they all rise to the occasion with convincing performances in both roles. The leads, Lupita Nyong’o and fellow Wakandan, Winston Duke, are ably supported by their on-screen progeny, Shahadi Wright Joseph and Evan Alex, as well as their neighbours, Elizabeth Moss and Tim Heidecker. Each one brings a chilling realism to their alter ego as their world starts to slowly fall apart from within.
You may feel that Us is wandering off into all-too familiar zombie bloodbath territory in the middle act, and to be fair, there is a good deal of gore to be had mid-film. However, it is well worth sticking with it for the twists and turns that are to come in the final reel. In particular, the ultimate twist is right up there with ‘I see dead people’ and one that you probably won’t see coming.
Looking inside ourselves
Jordan Peele’s genius with Us is how he gets you thinking about your own alter ego and what that might hold in store for you if you ever had to face it down. We all have a dark side—an evil twin inside us that we keep safely locked away—whether we are prepared to admit it or not. What’s more, if we are truly honest with ourselves, we all know that our comforts and conveniences generally come at someone else’s expense somewhere in the world. We just try not to think about it too much. With Us, Peele makes us consider both of these ideas, and moreover, without ever evangelising or forcing his ideas down our throat.
Of course, you don’t have to think about any of the subtler messages to enjoy Us. It more than stands on its own as a horror thriller, even if you only take the action at face value. But as with all of the very best movies, the more time you invest in thinking about it and revisiting it for a second or third viewing, the more you will get out of it.
With such high expectations, following the surprise success of his debut Get Out, there was a lot riding on Us. Like the ‘difficult second album’, it always seemed easier for it to fail than succeed. Yet, far from suffering by comparison, Us is every bit as good, if not better, than its predecessor. You just might not want to look at yourself in the mirror for a while, though.
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(Us—the chilling second film from Jordan Peele)
There is a long cinematic tradition behind Jordan Peele’s second big-screen outing, Us. Search ‘evil twin films’ on IMDb and you will find ninety different examples. From the original 1920 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (starring John Barrymore) through its multiple remakes, the idea has been thoroughly explored. Both The Stepford Wives (1975 and 2004) and Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956 and 1978) have their own doppelgangers, and there are countless other movies that play on the evil look-alike theme.
Of course, not all identical twins are evil. There are the adorable Olsen twins, Mary-Kate and Ashley; Good Charlotte's Benji and Joel Madden; the poker-playing Zinks, Sebastian and Daniel; and the identical Proclaimers twins Charlie and Craig Reid, who would, by all accounts, walk “a thousand miles” just to be with you. That said, you wouldn't want to mess with the identical Kray twins, Ronnie and Reggie.
A fresh take on twins
Yet, despite all this rich history, Peele still manages to get something new from the evil twin concept in this carefully-crafted psychological thriller. Just as he did with the Frankenstein idea in Get Out, he weaves in a social conscience through smart satire, which leaves you thinking about more than just the plot and its twists as you drive home from the movie theatre. This is a film that you will be talking about until long after you should’ve gone to bed.
(If Get Out was Jordan Peele’s Frankenstein, then Us is his Jekyll and Hyde)
The set-up is initially quite simple, as we join a seemingly normal, middle-class American family on vacation in their holiday home, only to find them terrorised by identical versions of themselves who appear out of nowhere in their driveway. Of course, being Jordan Peele, things are much more complicated than that, and we are soon drawn into two parallel worlds, above and below, where one version of ‘Us’ succeeds at the expense of the other.
Terrific in twin roles
This duality presents a real challenge for the cast, as each had to play two versions of themselves; but they all rise to the occasion with convincing performances in both roles. The leads, Lupita Nyong’o and fellow Wakandan, Winston Duke, are ably supported by their on-screen progeny, Shahadi Wright Joseph and Evan Alex, as well as their neighbours, Elizabeth Moss and Tim Heidecker. Each one brings a chilling realism to their alter ego as their world starts to slowly fall apart from within.
You may feel that Us is wandering off into all-too familiar zombie bloodbath territory in the middle act, and to be fair, there is a good deal of gore to be had mid-film. However, it is well worth sticking with it for the twists and turns that are to come in the final reel. In particular, the ultimate twist is right up there with ‘I see dead people’ and one that you probably won’t see coming.
Looking inside ourselves
Jordan Peele’s genius with Us is how he gets you thinking about your own alter ego and what that might hold in store for you if you ever had to face it down. We all have a dark side—an evil twin inside us that we keep safely locked away—whether we are prepared to admit it or not. What’s more, if we are truly honest with ourselves, we all know that our comforts and conveniences generally come at someone else’s expense somewhere in the world. We just try not to think about it too much. With Us, Peele makes us consider both of these ideas, and moreover, without ever evangelising or forcing his ideas down our throat.
Of course, you don’t have to think about any of the subtler messages to enjoy Us. It more than stands on its own as a horror thriller, even if you only take the action at face value. But as with all of the very best movies, the more time you invest in thinking about it and revisiting it for a second or third viewing, the more you will get out of it.
With such high expectations, following the surprise success of his debut Get Out, there was a lot riding on Us. Like the ‘difficult second album’, it always seemed easier for it to fail than succeed. Yet, far from suffering by comparison, Us is every bit as good, if not better, than its predecessor. You just might not want to look at yourself in the mirror for a while, though.