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So, Us was... muddled. Gorgeous, great, a shitload of fun, fucking terrifying, etc. Gorgeously acted. Winston Duke playing Jordan goddamned Peele for an entire movie was just great. Lupita Nyong'o was amazing. But muddled.
I've spent a couple of days since seeing it gnawing on what was bugging me about it, and I think one of the primary problems is that horror is, at its core, a reactionary genre. When you're making progressive horror, you're fighting an uphill battle against the genre's base tendencies. It can be done, obviously, and it can be done very well, but it means that the messaging and conceit have to be much more focused. Get Out* and Assassination Nation were two good examples of that in action. Us was a lot farther out there than Get Out, and a lot more ambitious. There's a lot more going on there, and it asks the audience to follow it a lot farther down the rabbit hole. I don't know that it necessarily works. I'm also not sure where the twist leaves the main characters.
( Spoilers behind the cut )
It's muddled. It's a small price to pay for a significantly more ambitious film, but it blunts some of its bite.
*I feel like Get Out is one of those films where you almost can't compare it to anything else, because it's... It's a literal perfect film. I mean, there are literally no missed steps, sour notes, self-indulgent flourishes, or untaken opportunities. It hits every mark it addresses. Especially for a first-time feature director, that pretty much does not happen.
I've spent a couple of days since seeing it gnawing on what was bugging me about it, and I think one of the primary problems is that horror is, at its core, a reactionary genre. When you're making progressive horror, you're fighting an uphill battle against the genre's base tendencies. It can be done, obviously, and it can be done very well, but it means that the messaging and conceit have to be much more focused. Get Out* and Assassination Nation were two good examples of that in action. Us was a lot farther out there than Get Out, and a lot more ambitious. There's a lot more going on there, and it asks the audience to follow it a lot farther down the rabbit hole. I don't know that it necessarily works. I'm also not sure where the twist leaves the main characters.
( Spoilers behind the cut )
It's muddled. It's a small price to pay for a significantly more ambitious film, but it blunts some of its bite.
*I feel like Get Out is one of those films where you almost can't compare it to anything else, because it's... It's a literal perfect film. I mean, there are literally no missed steps, sour notes, self-indulgent flourishes, or untaken opportunities. It hits every mark it addresses. Especially for a first-time feature director, that pretty much does not happen.
