In the classic Twilight Zone episode “Mirror Image”, there’s a scene where the character Millicent Barnes (played by Vera Miles) is shocked by what appears to be a clone of herself sitting on a bus. She explains to her friend how she believes it’s another version of herself coming from a different universe, intent on replacing Millicent through sinister means. So it’s appropriate and ironic that CBS approached Jordan Peele to host its newest version of the Twilight Zone, as his new horror film Us feels somewhat influenced by “Mirror Image” in some respects.
Of course, Peele, who also likes to weave social commentaries into his work much like how Rod Serling often would, has his own twists on the formula that make for a creepily entertaining movie. What exactly he’s trying to convey isn’t as clear-cut as Get Out’s messaging, but it still holds its own as a disturbing survival tale.
Adelaide Wilson (maiden name Thomas, played by Lupita Nyong’o) will certainly need all the survival skills she can muster when things go from peaceful to bad to worse during her family’s trip to a Santa Cruz beach home for the summer. She’s still haunted by scary memories from the time she went to Santa Cruz in 1986, wandering through a strange funhouse before a shocking encounter.
But present-day life with her husband (Winston Duke, a fellow Black Panther veteran) and likable kids (Evan Alex and Shahadi Wright Joseph) goes well for her so far, at least until there’s a sudden power outage at the beach house. Suddenly, Evan Alex’s Jason notices a clan that’s wandered into their driveway, who turn out to be doppelgangers of the Wilson family clad in red jumpsuits.
Jason’s clone wears a strange white mask and crawls across the floor in animal-like fashion and the opposite of Wilson Duke’s unassuming husband Gabe has a deadness inside his eyes. Red, the parallel of Adelaide, reveals they’ve been living underground, waiting for the chance to take the idyllic life their upper surface counterparts enjoy- by force- before giving chase.
Outside of some witty lines between the Wilsons, there’s not much letup in terms of the scares and how frequently they come at the audience, which makes for a more traditional horror experience than Get Out’s more suspenseful atmosphere. The family’s battles with their clones are bloody and gruesome, but still well-conceived and generally feel believable, and Mike Gioulakis’s cinematography is pretty strong in this department.
Their friends the Tylers (Elisabeth Moss and Tim Heidecker as the parents Kitty and Josh) have more than their hands full with their own opposites, which makes strong use of N.W.A’s “F*** The Police” in a darkly comic fashion. Luniz’s “I Got 5 On It” also plays a strong role in Us, with a strong reprise weaved into Michael Abels’s score.
Eventually, the story builds toward some surprising twists, and your opinions may vary as to whether or not they add or detract from the story. If nothing else I felt they added to the creepiness of Us, showing just how ambitious Peele was with this project. It concludes with a striking visual that will never allow you to think of Minnie Ripperton’s “Les Fleurs” the same way again.
One can easily be creeped out by the Tethered without wracking one’s brain over what exactly Peele means for them to represent, but it’s fun to speculate regardless. Perhaps they could be considered allegories for marginalized people, but there are doppelgangers of all backgrounds. Maybe they symbolize America’s underclass, or displaced native people? Or could they be referring to our inner dark side, or the kinds of people we could have become had we made different choices in our lives?
Even with the vague amount of detail Peele gives to the Tethered and their intent, he’s still managed to develop Us into an intriguing and suspenseful horror film. Whether Peele was intentionally going for a “Death Of Author” approach or not is up to you, but there’s more than enough terrifying about it to keep most of the audience glued to their seat in fear, regardless of how an individual person might interpret the story.
Based on a strong lead performance from Nyong’o who’s also backed up by a great supporting cast, I can easily recommend it for horror aficionados, fans of Peele’s other work or just newcomers, If you’d held hands across the theaters of America seeing this film, let us know your thoughts at @Official_FAN on Twitter!