Film: Us
Cast: Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, Elisabeth Moss, Tim Heidecker, Shahadi Wright Joseph, Evan Alex, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
Director Jordan Peele
Rating: * * * * *
This gory horror flick marks writer-director Jordan Peele’s arrival as a horror-meister par excellence. In “US”, Peele employs allegory and the trope of evil twins/doppelgangers to serve up an absolute scarefest. The setting of the opening sequence is a California beach fair in the mid-eighties. A small girl named Adelaide (Madison Curry) wanders into an eerie hall of mirrors only to encounter a replica of herself. Cut to the present day, and mother of two Adelaide (Lupita Nyong’o, superb) is haunted by memories even as she, her hubby Gabe Wilson (Winston Duke, impressive), two kids Zora (Shahadi Wright Joseph) and Jason (Evan Alex), and friends Kitty and Josh Tyler (Elisabeth Moss, Tim Heidecker) chill out on the beach near the Wilson holiday home.
Soon, the Wilsons (and the Tylers) are terrorised by armed, masked, malevolent strangers, who turn out to be clones, who have emerged from a labyrinth of tunnels, intent on murdering the surface humans. They call themselves the “Tethered”. Expect to be shocked and stunned as Peele makes a significant statement on economic inequality and aspirations of the have-nots.
The Tethered twist religion to suit themselves and justify their murderous behaviour. They claim that God told them to kill the humans and usurp their place. Sounds familiar? To amplify to the horror, Peele makes judicious use of an eerie choral score and pop hits. A Beach Boys’ song is played during the murders of two characters.
Viewers might like to know the group initially comprised three brothers: Brian Wilson on bass guitar and keyboards, Carl Wilson on guitar, and Dennis Wilson on drums. The principal characters in US are also surnamed Wilson. The film ends on a grim note. A sign of the portentous times we live in. But let me inject a note of hope…The righteous shall live by faith.