A horror and satire mixed in one; the latest film by Jordan Peele that will be hitting theaters this spring is called US. Although not at the same level as the brilliant GET OUT, the first film Peele brought to the big screen, US is still a rollercoaster ride with odd twists and turns till the end when the rather creepy and strange explanation of the storyline is finally revealed.
The film opens in 1986 when young Adelaide (Madison Curry) is visiting the Santa Cruz boardwalk with her parents. Becoming increasingly bored since her parents are not really paying attention to her, Adelaide wonders off and winds up in a scary fun house with a hall of mirrors. To keep herself calm in a dark cold eerie place, the little wanderer whistles the tune Itsy Bitsy Spider when suddenly someone starts whistling back. The lights are out in the hall of mirrors and with no sense of how to escape a rather frightening fun house; Adelaide unexpectedly finds herself face-to-face with a horrifying mirror image of herself that leaves her completely traumatized.
Fast forward to present day, Adelaide (Lupita Nyong’o) is now a happily married young mother. Adelaide and her husband Gabe (Winston Duke) and their two children Zora (Shahadi Wright Joseph) and Jason (Evan Alex) are on vacation near Santa Cruz. They are getting settled into their lovely cabin near the beach when Gabe gets into his head to buy a boat and also explore more of the beaches in area. Adelaide is not too thrilled about the suggestion of going to a beach area she has avoided since she was a little girl. Gabe convinces her that they should go and also hang out with Kitty (Elizabeth Moss) and Tim (Tim Heidecker) Tyler, the nuvo-riche friends that Gabe seems to be competing with, along with their two teenage daughters. But that night after the seaside excursion, Adelaide’s foreboding feeling of something chasing her is getting stronger. She is becoming increasingly agitated and confesses her childhood nightmare to Gabe and tells him she wants to leave. Baffled by his wife’s behavior, Gabe and the rest of the family don’t get time to make any decisions about their vacation because much to their surprise they discover four ghostly and oddly familiar strangers standing in their driveway. Ignoring Gabe’s orders to leave the premises, each of the unwanted guests scatters in different directions. And so begins a harrowing home invasion experience that will lead the family in a fight for survival. Just a side note – in the film, Adelaide is calling 911 for help and is told the police will arrive in 14 minutes – the police never show up even while the rather long home invasion is taking place. A flaw perhaps the filmmakers forgot to address.
When in full swing, this latest horror flick will keep audiences on the edge of their seats. The home invasion sequence is scary as hell and the terror doesn’t stop there. Just when the Wilson’s think they have beaten their assailants, they come back to terrorize them again. The heart stopping chase outside of the house makes for even more scares that are bound to entertain.
Winston Duke gets to be the comic relief for the show and is a scene stealer with great finesse as he delivers his one-liners with the look of someone who is really confused by something so unexpected. Playing the Wilson siblings Shahadi Wright Joseph and Evan Alex are terrific as children trying to survive an unimaginable horror. Elisabeth Moss manages to make your skin crawl with some of her facial expressions but sadly this amazing actress did not get much screen time. Tim Heidecker gets some comical moments also but it is not clear if he was supposed to be funny or scary. It is the performance by Lupita Nyong’o that is the glue that holds this movie together. Without her performance, US could have come off as really stupid and contrived. Lupita’s intense gaze as a woman paralyzed with childhood fear whose maternal instincts cause her to stop at nothing to save her family leaves her to be a force of nature. The Oscar winning actress is just amazing in this movie.
The latest endeavor from Jordan Peele starts off by gripping audiences with fears of a child. But then the film slows down and loses momentum. It takes a while for the storyline to build back up again. At times it feels like the comic relief in the film breaks the adrenaline rush audiences are getting from the tension of the narrative. It is common for horror films to throw in comic relief, but a very tricky thing to time it just right as to not take away from the euphoria. US seems to miss its mark a little on keeping the craziness going that thrill seekers love.
By the end of the film there is a surprise twist and explanation that most won’t be able to guess giving moviegoers that ah-ha moment that will make this film so much fun. US, a peculiar film about family’s worst nightmare, will give you goose bumps, keep you on the edge, and will have you thinking about turning and running as fast as you can if you happen to ever see someone that looks just like you.
The police not showing up is not a flaw. One must assume they were attacked also and therefore could not be explained. Unless you wanted someone to show up and say that the police had also been attacked