So Us was a movie..... The end.
Okay, but seriously, Us is... an interesting film to talk about. It is a movie that I have a lot of things I like about it, and a lot of things I dislike about it. Is it a terrible movie? No, of course not. I mean, Peele has clearly proven his worth as a horror director with his film Get Out, but even the best can make some bad horror movies. Del Toro made Crimson Peaks, a movie I will happily find disgust in despite my live for del Toro's work. But Us is... an odd case. It is a movie that I can't find very scary, can't find very smart, and not due to a preference thing. It is for obvious reasons. Reasons that we will be going into detail about in this review of the new movie, Us. And don't worry, this review will be as spoiler free as possible.
Us follows the survival of a family of four as they go to their summer home for a vacation, expecting a nice time at the beach, one where the mother, Adelaide, had a horrifying experience, and is wiry about going. Once night falls, the family is attacked by another family of four in red jumpsuits. But the thing is this isn't your usual home invasion horror story, cause these intruders are... well, the family. They look just like them. And throughout the movie, the family is forced to fight off their sort of doppelgangers in order to survive this hellish nightmare. Now before I get into my favorite stuff in a horror movie... the horror, let's talk about some stuff. The acting in this movie is some of the best I've seen in any horror movie. The fact that the characters have to act out two different characters at once, emotions of fear, as well as intimidation, is incredible to me. Just that alone makes the movie a lot more interesting to me. And it certainly adds to the fear. You can just feel the fear from these actors. I would happily say that the lead actress, Lupita Nyong'o (A name I refuse to pronounce outloud) Should be rewarded for her acting. And the score of this movie is some of the best I've heard in a movie in a while. The music is creepy, intimidating, and really manages to hit you with the emotion and atmosphere. It doesn't make music to tell you, "Hey, this is a creepy scene. You should be scared". No, it just does the music as it's own thing, and it's own thing is really impressive. Probably not stuff you'd listen to on the train on your way home from work, but it's definitely some good stuff.
Now let's talk about the fear in this movie. You know me and you know that if you want to make a human scary, you gotta really try. And while just having them in jumpsuits and making scary faces while groaning like an angry cat is more funny than scary, I'd be lying if some of the imagery in this movie wasn't intimidating. Seeing these doppelgangers standing around, and not like you'd think, but when they are standing around in a straight line, you know what I mean if you saw the movie, that is haunting. That there is some intimidating stuff. That imagery is impressive to me, honestly. Not much of the other stuff to be honest, because humans just aren't that scary. But this stuff, this is some impressive imagery for just some people who got their fashion inspiration from Michael Jackson (Yes, really).
Now, for the stuff I don't care about, and here's where I anger everyone when I say this movie is not as smart as you may think it is or as smart as Peele thinks it is. Sorry Jordan Peele, I like you, you're a talented guy, but this is just not that impressive of a movie. So first off, the comedy in this movie is just kinda strange. I get it, Peele is a comedian, and there is a time and a place for comedy in horror films. His first horror film, Get Out, did that flawlessly. But in this movie, you got all sorts of jokes during the horror. One minute, you got them trying to fight off the attackers, and in the next scene, they're all joking about their kill count. And during a really tense scene with corpses and attackers around any corner, all you can hear is N.W.A.'s Fuck the Police. I will say that the jokes are in fact funny, they aren't groan-worthy or unbearable, I mean, I expect good humor from a professional comedian, but it's too much and it breaks the tension and the horror. I will say some scenes were pretty creepy, but a lot of the time they were just destroyed by jokes. Another thing about this movie that is not that impressive is the ending, one that I looked at and thought, "Hey, that's pretty cool", but I swear, every time I read it, it just gets worse and worse. And it makes me like this movie less and less. I just wish they kept out the whole exposition at the end, cause that actually ruins the entire movie. And the very last twist just feels like they needed something else because it wouldn't be a horror movie without a last minute twist to freak the audience out, but it just doesn't feel right. It doesn't feel like it was earned. But really, just the exposition near the end was the one that broke me. I feel as though the movie would've been a lot scarier if they just decided to keep everything a mystery. You want answers? Too bad. Go onto Tumblr or Reddit and discuss fan theories on this movie in the hopes of understanding all this madness. Fear of the unknown. That is all it needed. But they just end up screwing it with the ending and it honestly, for me, turns a movie that I saw with a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes into a 60%. Maybe even a 50% if the acting and composing wasn't so good.
So yeah, Us is really not all as good as everyone likes to say it is. And I don't hate this movie because of the message it wants to tell. Hell, I'd say hate is a strong word for how I feel about this movie. I'm more disappointed. I was really expecting a lot more and while the movie is far from terrible and, I will say, more competently made than most modern horror films, it just comes off as average at best. There is a good horror movie here somewhere, but it just shoots itself in the foot at the last few minutes. I will say that I hope Peele continues to make horror films cause he clearly has the talent for it. But honestly, just stick with Get Out. It is a much more interesting film, it's writing is more fascinating, it's message is more unique, it has a good mix of horror and comedy without both overlapping the other, all in a nice little package. Take Care.
Okay, but seriously, Us is... an interesting film to talk about. It is a movie that I have a lot of things I like about it, and a lot of things I dislike about it. Is it a terrible movie? No, of course not. I mean, Peele has clearly proven his worth as a horror director with his film Get Out, but even the best can make some bad horror movies. Del Toro made Crimson Peaks, a movie I will happily find disgust in despite my live for del Toro's work. But Us is... an odd case. It is a movie that I can't find very scary, can't find very smart, and not due to a preference thing. It is for obvious reasons. Reasons that we will be going into detail about in this review of the new movie, Us. And don't worry, this review will be as spoiler free as possible.
Us follows the survival of a family of four as they go to their summer home for a vacation, expecting a nice time at the beach, one where the mother, Adelaide, had a horrifying experience, and is wiry about going. Once night falls, the family is attacked by another family of four in red jumpsuits. But the thing is this isn't your usual home invasion horror story, cause these intruders are... well, the family. They look just like them. And throughout the movie, the family is forced to fight off their sort of doppelgangers in order to survive this hellish nightmare. Now before I get into my favorite stuff in a horror movie... the horror, let's talk about some stuff. The acting in this movie is some of the best I've seen in any horror movie. The fact that the characters have to act out two different characters at once, emotions of fear, as well as intimidation, is incredible to me. Just that alone makes the movie a lot more interesting to me. And it certainly adds to the fear. You can just feel the fear from these actors. I would happily say that the lead actress, Lupita Nyong'o (A name I refuse to pronounce outloud) Should be rewarded for her acting. And the score of this movie is some of the best I've heard in a movie in a while. The music is creepy, intimidating, and really manages to hit you with the emotion and atmosphere. It doesn't make music to tell you, "Hey, this is a creepy scene. You should be scared". No, it just does the music as it's own thing, and it's own thing is really impressive. Probably not stuff you'd listen to on the train on your way home from work, but it's definitely some good stuff.
Now let's talk about the fear in this movie. You know me and you know that if you want to make a human scary, you gotta really try. And while just having them in jumpsuits and making scary faces while groaning like an angry cat is more funny than scary, I'd be lying if some of the imagery in this movie wasn't intimidating. Seeing these doppelgangers standing around, and not like you'd think, but when they are standing around in a straight line, you know what I mean if you saw the movie, that is haunting. That there is some intimidating stuff. That imagery is impressive to me, honestly. Not much of the other stuff to be honest, because humans just aren't that scary. But this stuff, this is some impressive imagery for just some people who got their fashion inspiration from Michael Jackson (Yes, really).
Now, for the stuff I don't care about, and here's where I anger everyone when I say this movie is not as smart as you may think it is or as smart as Peele thinks it is. Sorry Jordan Peele, I like you, you're a talented guy, but this is just not that impressive of a movie. So first off, the comedy in this movie is just kinda strange. I get it, Peele is a comedian, and there is a time and a place for comedy in horror films. His first horror film, Get Out, did that flawlessly. But in this movie, you got all sorts of jokes during the horror. One minute, you got them trying to fight off the attackers, and in the next scene, they're all joking about their kill count. And during a really tense scene with corpses and attackers around any corner, all you can hear is N.W.A.'s Fuck the Police. I will say that the jokes are in fact funny, they aren't groan-worthy or unbearable, I mean, I expect good humor from a professional comedian, but it's too much and it breaks the tension and the horror. I will say some scenes were pretty creepy, but a lot of the time they were just destroyed by jokes. Another thing about this movie that is not that impressive is the ending, one that I looked at and thought, "Hey, that's pretty cool", but I swear, every time I read it, it just gets worse and worse. And it makes me like this movie less and less. I just wish they kept out the whole exposition at the end, cause that actually ruins the entire movie. And the very last twist just feels like they needed something else because it wouldn't be a horror movie without a last minute twist to freak the audience out, but it just doesn't feel right. It doesn't feel like it was earned. But really, just the exposition near the end was the one that broke me. I feel as though the movie would've been a lot scarier if they just decided to keep everything a mystery. You want answers? Too bad. Go onto Tumblr or Reddit and discuss fan theories on this movie in the hopes of understanding all this madness. Fear of the unknown. That is all it needed. But they just end up screwing it with the ending and it honestly, for me, turns a movie that I saw with a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes into a 60%. Maybe even a 50% if the acting and composing wasn't so good.
So yeah, Us is really not all as good as everyone likes to say it is. And I don't hate this movie because of the message it wants to tell. Hell, I'd say hate is a strong word for how I feel about this movie. I'm more disappointed. I was really expecting a lot more and while the movie is far from terrible and, I will say, more competently made than most modern horror films, it just comes off as average at best. There is a good horror movie here somewhere, but it just shoots itself in the foot at the last few minutes. I will say that I hope Peele continues to make horror films cause he clearly has the talent for it. But honestly, just stick with Get Out. It is a much more interesting film, it's writing is more fascinating, it's message is more unique, it has a good mix of horror and comedy without both overlapping the other, all in a nice little package. Take Care.
#1: ANDREW HENRY: (The Revenant)
The captain of the team.. Remember him? The guy with red hair, that beat the shit out of the kid, for saying Leonardo was dead when he wasn't..
How angry were you that he died?
I sure was.
#2: TYRESSE: (Walking Dead)
No!.. Just no!
Even for Walking Dead!
#3: HANK (Breaking Bad)
Everyone always remembers this scene..
#4: BILL (Kill Bill)
Boy.. Felt a little anti climatic.
She spend all that time getting to him.. And the actual fight lasted half a minute..
#5: ROMAN or KATE: (GTA 4)
Niko just can't catch a break.
The captain of the team.. Remember him? The guy with red hair, that beat the shit out of the kid, for saying Leonardo was dead when he wasn't..
How angry were you that he died?
I sure was.
#2: TYRESSE: (Walking Dead)
No!.. Just no!
Even for Walking Dead!
#3: HANK (Breaking Bad)
Everyone always remembers this scene..
#4: BILL (Kill Bill)
Boy.. Felt a little anti climatic.
She spend all that time getting to him.. And the actual fight lasted half a minute..
#5: ROMAN or KATE: (GTA 4)
Niko just can't catch a break.