Film Views: “Us”

With the success of Jordan Peele’s “Get Out,” (2017) it’s clear the former sketch comedy star now has a new role: that of the next J. J. Abrams or M. Night Shyamalan. “Get Out” was a terrifying film whereby tropes about black folks in horror films was turned on its head in a tale about modern day slavery. With his latest film, “Us,” Peele has a lot to live up to. A self-described horror movie fanatic, “Us” takes some of its cues from a 1984 horror film “C.H.U.D.” — which Peele places a VHS cover of the film in an early scene of the film when the protagonist, young Adelaide Wilson, is watching TV. More foreshadowing commences when Addy see a TV commercial for Hands Across America — the USA For Africa sponsored event in 1986 when people across the United States would donate money to fight homelessness and create a human chain across the continent. Well, that event didn’t quite go as planned, but in “Us” it becomes part of the plot.

The film has twists, turns, and terror, so I won’t reveal anything that will spoil the ride for those who want to be surprised by the story. Suffice it to say that “Us” has a kind of hall of mirrors plot with dopplegangers, bloody violence, and even government experimentation. The story is fairly simple: Addy, now an adult, is on a family trip with her husband and two children. They stay at a family house near Santa Cruz, but upon arriving at their vacation spot, Addy is clearly not comfortable with the choice of the location — but she tries her best to go with it. Through flashbacks it’s revealed that, as a child, she experienced a traumatic event at Santa Cruz. She tells her husband about it, and he tries to be understanding. However, his ham-handed response about keeping her safe from any kind of danger is soon put to the test. For those who have seen the trailer, it’s no surprise that Addy and her family have to fight dopplegangers. But who they are and what what they want isn’t all that simple.

The performances by Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, Shahadi Wright Joseph, and Evan Alex are all very good. Moreover, Peele has created an African-American family who 1. Are solidly middle class. 2. In a seemingly stable marriage. 3. Have kids whose interests run the range from typical teenage girl to nerdy little brother. In a way, Peele is again playing with stereotypes in movies. It doesn’t take a PhD in Film Studies to know that for the vast majority of movies with African-American characters, the depiction of adults and children rarely falls into the realm of what’s considered “normal.” So for Peele to have the family unit so economically and socially secure is more than a nice touch. Now, it’s pretty clear that Wilsons are not the Huxtables in “Us,” but considering how many movies about black folks highlight dysfunction and marginality, “Us” is novel in how the horrific events have the effect of rendering the Wilson’s ethnicity a non-issue when it comes to propelling the plot. Peele isn’t making grand pronouncements about blacks in “Us.” Instead, he’s making a different point about the power of resentment — or in the philosophical sense, Ressentiment — and how that plays out when one’s will is being controlled by another power. That’s kind of heady stuff for a horror movie, but Peele has been down this road before in “Get Out.” If he is making a grand pronouncement, it’s that relationships involving power and control are not the province of a certain group of people.

While “Us” has genuine thrills woven into the its plot, the movie kind of falls short in its execution. There’s a lot riding on Peele to deliver unsuspecting plot twists since he seems to be casting his lot with those who have varied success in using sleight of hand to keep audiences misdirected. Sure, clues to the surprise ending are peppered throughout the film, but do they add up to anything satisfying? For me, no.