The best movies are the ones that have a myriad of interpretations. Movies that convey a seemingly straightforward narrative on the surface, but just below it’s surface lies something... deeper. 

Us reminded me, in a few ways, of Annihilation. It’s stories vary drastically, but what reminded the former of the latter for me was the vast amounts of allegories and symbolism. Us has elements of home invasion horror films from before, but it stands out because it asks of the viewer to ask questions themselves. There’s positively oodles of analogies and commentaries on moderns society, some unexpectedly so, such as American consumerism, the dual nature of the soul, poverty vs wealth, and much more. It’s easily a movie that requires multiple viewings in order to unpack every little detail, a very Kubrick-ian tactic in Jordan Peele’s exceptional directing. 

Speaking of Peele, the guy has hit another home run here if you couldn’t already tell. He knows the story, and he knows how to set it up to perfection. I loved his combining of wit and menace, with some of the jokes absolutely nailing their landing. Winston Duke’a comedic timing was beyond perfect. 

Lupita Nyong’o. Holy shit. That woman deserves all the awards (that she’ll never get for this role, sadly). The range she displayed here between her and her doppelgänger were unnervingly good. There was a scene, a rather long take, of her doppelgänger just talking in this deep, guttural growl that had my eyes utterly transfixed on the screen. It was incredible. 

Props to Michael Abels, the composer. Horror scores are some of my least favorite, but he managed to make a very memorable one here. Pais De Deux was easily the best track of the whole album. 

Now, there are moments that made absolutely zero sense to me (at this current viewing stage, anyway). I’m sure upon subsequent viewings it’ll come to light, but right now I was left scratching my head in puzzlement at a few aspects. And though it’s marketed as a horror, I really didn’t find anything to be scary. There was one sequence towards the beginning that was really spooky, but other than that, despite the great atmosphere, most of the scares relied on jumps. 

Other than that, this movie is freakin’ awesome. Love it, love it, love it.