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Film Review : Us

Jeremiah 11:11
Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape;
and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them.

“Get out” was a big nod to the racist past (and present) of the United States. A white, prosperous community who use African Americans to replace their worn-out bodies. A cynical story in which the physique of black Americans is being worshipped to some extent. And at the same time, it’s also distasteful because these American fellow men are regarded as superfluous individuals nobody will miss. Their disappearance won’t be noticed, so to speak. And a protagonist as a future victim, who can escape at the end with a piece of cotton (yes, a subtle reference). It’s quite obvious this can be regarded as a kind of allegory with a political twist. “Us” containing a political message, however, isn’t something I could see immediately. Of course, it depends on how you interpret the whole. I myself interpreted the story as a “Twilight zone” -like event. Soul mates leading a symmetrical existence. So no genetic experiments that got out of hand. Or is it all metaphorically intended and a reflection of how we see ourselves as a society? All in all, I put “Us” on the same level as “Hereditary“. A lot of hype-creation, but in my humble opinion a bit disappointing.

An excellent beginning.

However, the film starts very strong. The most impressive moment is the opening scene with the camera zooming out, slowly revealing lots of bunnies (with a choir as background music). Simply beautiful. Then an intense moment with young Adelaide (Madison Curry) who wanders around on the beach of Santa Cruz during a family vacation and ends up in an attraction. There she stands face to face with something frightening. So frightening that she doesn’t want to speak anymore and her parents (whose loving relationship clearly disappeared) desperately seek the help of a psychologist.

Creepy and grim.

When Adelaide comes back into the picture as an adult (Lupita Nyong’o), it seems as if the traumatic experience has been processed. But when she returns to the same beach with her husband Gabe (Winston Duke) and children Zora (Shahadi Wright Joseph) and Jason (Evan Alex), where they meet up with friends, there are all sorts of omens pointing to the event from the past. It’s only when a group of weird people in orange overalls appear on their driveway at night that the atmosphere becomes grim and frightening. At first, I had a sort of “The Purge” deja vu moment. The moment the Wilson family comes face to face with these strangers, it becomes apparent that they are really creepy and strangely behaving individuals.

My God! That voice!??