“Us” Is A Chilling Indictment of Classism

I really liked Get Out, but for some reason had never had a burning need to watch Us, despite hearing good things. But something about the film had always held my attention. Maybe it was the aesthetics, or the more forward menace of the film I had picked up on in it’s promotion. Either way, my curiosity was piqued enough that when I passed it on Tubi at 3 in the morning, I said “Why not?” So, for some reason, as I always do, I put on a horror film in the dead of night with no one around.

Here’s our opening setup and overall premise: In 1986, a girl strays from her parents at a boardwalk and enters a house of mirrors, which gets progressively creepier the more she goes in. Something happens, but we aren’t meant to know what-it’s a typical mysterious scare with loud music. Cut to the present and the little girl is now grown, with a husband and two kids. They’re going on vacation to the exact same place on the coast from the intro. The family hangs out at the beach with their white friends (fated for death…). While there, one of the kids wanders off into the house of mirrors and our main character, Adelaide, freaks out. They return home. Later that night, they come under attack by freakish doppelgangers….

So that’s our setup. Obviously no spoilers (at least not many), but let’s continue. First things first, the doppelgangers. When doing a thriller, or horror film, one implicit rule is that the villain has to be equally, if not more interesting than the main characters. And what’s brilliant about this story is that by using doppelgangers as the antagonists, it allows us to learn about our main characters. For example, Zora, the daugther, has a doppelganger called Umbrae, who specializes in chasing down her prey, which mirrors Zora, who is on the track team. Jason, the son, and his doppelganger Pluto are both mischievous and wear masks. Adelaide and her doppelganger are the brains of their respective families while the husbands are the muscle. It’s a smart use of symmetry that allows us to grasp the importance of their differences and their similarities.

This film is a great example of smart, nuanced horror in every department from the writing to the shots to the pacing. This movie will frighten you and has some good scares, but they never feel cheap or forced. It’s held together by dark, but tight and brilliant writing as opposed to simple jump scares and the conflict in this film holds a lot of weight. I felt genuine concern for the characters in a way I didn’t in normal horror films. This is one of Jordan Peele’s strengths as a horror writer- he knows how to create a level of character focus that allows you to care about the protagonists because you spend actual time with them. Too many horror films spend too much time building up wooden characters just to kill them for dramatic effect. Peele is much more pragmatic-you’ll get a scene, maybe two, just enough so that you have some context for their deaths on screen, but not so much it wastes valuable screen time.

I also really liked Peele’s approach to violence, which, again, felt pragmatic and darkly realistic. The use of scissors, fire pokers and other non traditional weaponry contribute to a sense of unease throughout the film. It makes you realize how cold blooded the situations you are witnessing actually are, as the dramatic need for death quickly outpaces the weaponry on hand. There’s plenty of blood and some mild gore, but there’s nothing over the top or ridiculous. It’s very well balanced.

The acting in this film is very strong and sucks you in. These characters would definitely would not feel as fleshed out without the strong performances we see on screen. Lupita Nyong’o, Elisabeth Moss and Winston Duke are excellent at capturing their respective characters and their distinct tones. Lupita Nyong’o nails a sense of vigilance and menace in her dual role as Adelaide and Red, her doppelganger. Elisabeth Moss gives an understated but brilliantly layered performance, first and foremost as the chatty white family friend who can’t help but make Adelaide uncomfortable, then as her own unhinged and depraved doppelganger. It’s a chilling performance that I found very compelling despite her limited screentime. Winston Duke is an emotional rock in this film, showing a humanity and devotion to his family that kind of grounds the whole movie. Adelaide goes straight Terminator 2 Sarah Connor, but Winston’s Gabe stays a comforting and reassuring presence throughout.

The film is, at its heart, a story about classism. The doppelgangers, also called the Tethered, are soulless mimics who live below the ground in a subterranean tunnel system. Envisioned as a way to control citizens, they ended up being worthless and were abandoned below ground, forced to act out (this part is a little convoluted) the actions of their surface counterpart like a puppet. They are an underclass, one that exists not only a macro scale, but on an individual one. There are several little scenes that show the disturbing and depressing truth of this life. A notable one is when we cut between a girl riding a roller coaster and her Tethered counterpart trapped in one room in the underground, doing the exact same reactions while standing in space. They are trapped, not by any choice of their own- they didn’t chose to be created- but rather by the unfortunate circumstances of their existence. It is haunting and eloquent metaphor for classism, how being born into poverty can completely change your life outlook compared to being born in privilege, and how we often overlook the less fortunate and their plights.

And that is why they have risen up- the Tethered wish to unite with the soul that controls their body, but to do so, they must take it from the body in which it resides. So they rise up and start killing people, specifically their counterparts. They will go after strangers, but for the most part, once they kill their above ground counterpart, their duty is fulfilled. And Peele pretty much sticks to this idea for the entire film. It was a great choice and really helped focus the action on our characters and lended some credibility to the idea our heroes might survive. The tethered aren’t zombies. Their intelligence is actually at a human level, in fact, they can be no more or less intelligent than the person whom they mimic. If our protagonists had to deal with the entire army of Tethered, that would be a tall prospect. But by making it a 4 v. 4 exercise (for the most part), Peele is able to reign in the action and control it to let his story telling and greater themes shine through.

I would recommend this film to anyone who liked horror, or just wants to watch a cerebral film because this movie will scare you and keep you up at night with not only nightmares, but also big lonely questions. The acting is great, the production is great. It’s like exactly 2 hours and it doesn’t drag or waste any time. Neat clean writing. I mean, there’s a lot to love about this movie. I found it to be a technically great film in all aspects of execution and even better, it’s really saying something and it says it very well. What more could you want from a movie?