Movie Review: Us

By Jorge Jaquez

If you met your doppelgänger, would you become their best friend? What would you do if they tried to kill you and replace you?

Jordan Peele, the director of “Get Out,” which won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, has delivered an even more formidable film. Peele, the first African-American to win the achievement, also directed “Us,” which toys around with the same theme of possession as “Get Out” through the form of an existential terror of doppelgängers. The story grabs viewers by the throat and won’t let go.

“I left the movie feeling paranoid, with a feeling a vertigo-as if the real world was a little less real,” Ebony Thompson, a Stony Brook University freshman, said. “Like any good horror film, it made me question the world around me. The film asks us to question how we know who we really are.”  

The movie follows a family on a summer vacation that goes awry when their doppelgängers appear and begin to terrorize them.  The film has grossed over $174 million dollars in the United States as of May 12, according to Box Office Mojo.

The cast features a wide array of talent such as actress Lupita Nyong’o, who plays duo characters as Adelaide Wilson and Red. In an interview with The New York Times, she credits her voice of Red from Spasmodic Dysphonia, a neurological voice disorder affecting the voice muscles in the larynx.

Winston Duke plays Gabe Wilson and Abraham. He is that parent that embarrasses teens because he is cringy and a big teddy bear, with both personalities getting shown a lot in the movie.

Shahadi Wright Joseph, who is 14 years old, and Evan Alex, who is 11 years old, shine in their roles as the Wilson’s daughter and son. The young actors know how to act. I was rooting for them the whole movie, but towards the end, there is this secret revealed that just shocks you. We also see Elisabeth Moss, Tim Heidecker, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Anna Diop, and many other great actors that make this movie a must see.

The movie is both terrifying and comical so if you do decide to watch, there are some key things to look out for. The rabbits, the hands across America commercial campaign, and Jeremiah 11:11 are some of the most prominent symbols. If you’re going for the second time like everyone should, then pay attention to the composition in the movie as Peele’s style of directing is framed to showcase the symbols.

Jordan Peele will definitely leave you in a “WTF moment” towards the end. However, there are so many emotions to describe that it’s just best to go see it. After the movie it will make you wonder what the hell went on, and soon, you’ll start to spiral into reading movie analytical reviews on the internet about all the symbols and how they connect to each other.

“The movie made me feel like I need to look at the world in a different way,” Alejandro Kim said. “Once you leave the theater, you become paranoid by the people around you. I would recommend it to anyone who likes to get scared, but not in a jumpscare kind of way.”