By Jason Pyles
*This column was originally printed in the April 2019 edition of The BP Times newspaper.
Us (2019) – Most people probably know writer-director Jordan Peele from his comedy duo TV series, “Key and Peele,” though he has many prior credits. In 2017, Peele wrote and directed a noteworthy Horror film titled “Get Out,” which was worthily praised for its razor-sharp social commentary about race and its exceptional performances.
Then on March 22, we got another Horror movie that Peele wrote and directed called “Us.” Here’s the premise (without spoilers): A family’s beach vacation becomes horrifying when they encounter doppelgängers — exact replicas of themselves — who try to harm and terrorize them.
Upon seeing the trailer, at first blush, the film appeared to be a Jordan Peele-worthy exploration of how sometimes we can be our own worst enemy. I wondered if the themes had something to do with self-sabotage, self-loathing or maybe even perfectionism.
I was also excited about the possibility that “Us” was written to explore the unsettling realization that the monster is oneself, a la Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, or Walter White in “Breaking Bad,” or Aaron Eckhart’s Harvey Dent / Two-Face character in Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight.” It’s a fascinating concept to me: We all tend to think we’re the altruistic hero unless we realize we’re not. There’s an incredible film about this type of realization starring Michael Douglas called “Falling Down” (1993). So, given Peele’s excellent racial commentary in “Get Out,” I had high hopes for the possibilities with his new film, “Us.”
Unfortunately, Peele does not pursue any of the themes mentioned above, which I found disappointing. I was also hoping for more commentary about race, but alas, I’m here to review the movie I saw, not the movie I wanted to see.
There’s no question that “Us” is a fresh and relatively original Horror film, though its story has some unmistakable parallels to a tale from “The Simpsons” TV series. (I won’t expound further to avoid spoilers.) I should also mention that “Us” has a surprising amount of humor, so it is both creepy and funny at times.
Ultimately, “Us” is another good entry for the Horror genre and is somewhat rare due to its great performances. Fine acting isn’t typically a staple of most Horror movies. However, I think “Us” has been overhyped and overpraised. Reminiscent of a lesser M. Night Shyamalan film, “Us” has a significant amount of contrivance that requires even more suspension of disbelief.
Click to hear my audio podcast review of Jordan Peele’s “Us” (2019).
Triple Frontier (2019) – And if Horror movies aren’t really your thing, there’s a great Crime Heist film currently streaming on Netflix called “Triple Frontier.” It stars Ben Affleck, Oscar Isaac, Charlie Hunnam, Garrett Hedlund and Pedro Pascal.
Basically, it’s about five former Special Forces operatives who travel to a South American jungle with a plan to assassinate a ferocious drug lord, thereby ridding the world of a “bad guy,” so they can commandeer his millions in cash for themselves. “Triple Frontier” is one of my favorite films so far this year.
PSA: Finally, don’t forget that on April 26, “Avengers: Endgame” hits theaters to provide the gripping conclusion to last year’s “Avengers: Infinity War.”
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