Review: ‘Us’ is an instant horror masterpiece

By George Haerle

For Grays Harbor News Group

A couple years ago, comedian and actor Jordan Peele made his directorial debut with “Get Out,” a brilliant horror film and social commentary on different forms of racism rolled into one heck of a time at the theater. It was an instant horror classic, with some claiming it redefined the genre.

Two years later, Peele is not only producing and hosting the reboot of the “Twilight Zone” TV series (coming to CBS), but also has solidified his place as a master of the horror film with “Us.”

I don’t take the term “master of the horror film” lightly: Spielberg, Kubrick, Cameron, Lucas, Carpenter, Peele. Between “Get Out” and “Us,” Peele’s name will be remembered and taught amongst some of the greatest filmmakers of all time, even more so if he keeps this huge winning streak he’s been on. If the new “Twilight Zone” is as good as it looks, holy moly, he is going to be very, very rich (not that he isn’t already).

Most people will probably love “Us” — but if you don’t like being left with a sense of uneasiness with a mind-blowing third act that will change your entire perception of what you just watched, then this very cerebral and very creepy experience might not be for you. The devil is truly in the details, and if you fall into the “loved it” camp you’ll instantly want, or even need, to go back in and see it again.

The plot, in as little detail as possible, is that as young Adelaide Wilson encounters her doppelganger inside an empty funhouse on the Santa Cruz boardwalk in California. Years later (played as an adult by Lupita Nyong’o), Adelaide still fears crossing paths with this strange twin she ran away from — especially as she and her husband Gabe (Winston Duke) and children (Shahadi Wright Joseph and Evan Alex) go on a weekend trip to Santa Cruz.

When night falls after a day full of strange coincidences, another family shows up outside their vacation home. They are identical to the Wilsons in every way, except for a significant difference: Their doppelgangers are viciously twisted and homicidal.

Anything more than that should not be said. Heck, maybe even that is too much. “Us” is a horror film through and through, maybe more so than “Get Out.” In fact, the first two acts are just an incredibly well-executed horror thriller that keeps you guessing while peppering in a good laugh or two. But the final 30 minutes or so are where the movie truly rockets off into the levels of a classic, wrapping it up with a finale that is probably going to be divisive amongst some horror fans.

Whatever your final opinion of the film might be, it can’t be denied there’s a mind-boggling level of intricacy. Later, when you start reflecting on all of the details throughout the film, it totally enriches the experience as it sort of marinates in your thoughts for a day or two.

Last but not least, the performances and casting are just phenomenal, with the amount of versatility that the actors playing the Wilson family have genuinely on display. Nyong’o could be up for an Oscar nod for her standout dual performance of Adelaide and her terrifying doppelganger, Red. Winston Duke is great all around, and the child actors are great as both the Wilson children and their sinister counterparts.

All of this, along with the incredible amount of subtle social commentary that has barely even begun to be discussed, make “Us” one of the great films of 2019, and it will be hard to knock off of my personal top 5 list. “Fighting With My Family” was the other great movie of the year so far, but the amount of awesome scares, entertainment, and fun that “Us” delivers is in a stratospheric level all of its own that will be talked about for a long time to come.

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“Us” is currently playing at the Riverside Cinemas, 1017 S. Boone St. in Aberdeen.

George Haerle holds a bachelor’s degree in creative writing for media and lives in Cosmopolis.