Rating of
3/4
US - Review
Matthew Brady - wrote on 04/24/19
"If you wanna get crazy, we can get crazy.."
That moment when you trying to sound tough, but come across as doing a Christopher Walken impression.
Anywhere…
‘US’ is no horror masterpiece, but does not waste an excellent concept in terms of execution and the talent involved. The film creeps into your thoughts long after leaving the cinema and already that’s an achievement. This is Jordan Peele’s second feature movie that takes a horror trope of a family in peril and goes “but what if...”. While the movie dose stick with you long after it’s done, you slowly reflect on things that don’t make sense when given some thought. However, I will take original concepts any day.
Lupita Nyong'o is absolutely terrific as the troubled mother with a mysterious past and the unnerving doppelganger Red. The differences in her performance with facial, vocal, movement and how she carried herself throughout the movie looked effortless. Toni Collette delivered the best performance of last year with ‘Hereditary’, and this year is Lupita. I also make this comparison as the sad reality that Lupita will likely be overlooked by the Academy Awards the same as the Collette, because the labeled genre horror - damn shame.
The child actors (Shahadi Wright Joseph and Evan Alex) were both pretty good, especially during the scenes when they looked terrified and how they both played the doppelgangers. I find it amusing to see Winston Duke playing the comedic relief compared to his past roles so far, which I got most of the chuckles from.
The score was very unique to say the least. The mixture on modern, classics and original compose music resulted in a fascinating approach that manage to elevate the intensity even more. The cinematography is visually striking with the use of shadows and colors that models the film’s presence.
Jordan Peele manages to juggle so many ideas with social commentary, themes, horror, trauma, America, ect. I can’t progress how peculiar Peele’s career has shifted and suddenly becoming the most promising voice in horror, if he chooses to continue with this genre or explore different things. I just hope we don’t have another M. Night Shyamalan situation where frame goes to one’s head.
For issues: I wish the film was more ambiguous and didn’t explain itself towards the end, especially the last shot. Some of the humor deflates the tension in inappropriate segments that stopped me from scared. As I said before, the film juggles so many ideas, although at times feels like it’s saying too little.
Other than that, I still think this is a strong follow up to ‘Get Out’ and I’ll see Peele’s next movie no matter what.
Overall rating: Watch yourself.
