By: Charlene Yang
On Mar. 22, “Us,” an American horror film directed by Jordan Peele was released in theaters. The film follows Adelaide Wilson (Lupita Nyong’o) as she and her family encounter their doppelgängers one night while on vacation.
The movie begins by showing a young Adelaide as she wanders off from her parents on a trip in Santa Cruz, where she first encounters her look-alike. The film then moves to present-day with an adult Adelaide on summer vacation with her husband Gabe (Winston Duke) and her two children Zora (Shahadi Wright Joseph) and Jason (Evan Alex). When Adelaide and her family return from a beach trip to Santa Cruz, they meet and have to survive their doppelgängers pursuing them.
“Us” is a thrill to watch the whole way through. While the suspense built up between scares is done well enough to give you a fright, the occasional humor helps break up the tension between these scenes before ramping up again. The actors do a great job as well, especially in acting as their characters’ creepy look-alikes. The soundtrack enhances the suspense of each scene and especially adds to the intensity of the film’s climactic moment, matching the amazing cuts of the scene.
The only part of the film that may be a bit of a problem is the explanation as to why things happen in the story. Throughout most of the film, the audience is left with few clues as to who the doppelgängers are and why they are hunting down the main characters. It’s only until the later part of the movie that reasons are provided and even then the reasons may feel like they were dropped all at once. Some plot threads are also left a little ambiguous, which may leave you a little dissatisfied.
If you are itching for some psychological horror this season and have a couple of hours to spare, I would recommend you give it a shot.