By Steve Crum 

Since 2015, when he split from Kegan-Michael Key after years on TV as the hilarious Key & Peele, Jordan Peele’s showbiz life has gone onward and upward. He has kept his comedic roots alive by producing a couple of funny TV series—sans his onscreen presence. 

So it was surprising when he decided to make a foray into horror movies by way of producing, writing and directing. His first, 2017’s Get Out, was a critical and box office sensation. Peele deservedly won the Best Screenwriting Oscar, and the film was nominated for Best Picture and Best Directing. 

Does he equal or top Get Out with this newest screamfest, Us? Well, not quite on both counts. But Us is still jammed with creepy shivers and high production values. It is a gotta-see for horror fans. You know a movie is really scary when audience members at the preview keep yelling at the screen, “Don’t open that door!” and “Look out!” (I didn’t say such, but I sure thought it.)  Us contains abundant  surprises, turns, and twists throughout.

Much like Peele’s Get Out, Us involves a seemingly innocent trip to a secluded home. [Incidentally, Us is NOT a sequel.] In this case, it is a family of four trekking to their summer home, which happens to be near the Santa Cruz, California beach. The couple, Gabe and Adelaide Wilson (Winston Duke and Lupita Nyong’o), have a teenaged daughter, Zora (Shahadi Wright Joseph), and younger son, Jason (Evan Alex). 

The couple moves in, and all goes well for a few hours, until Adelaide feels unstable and fearful, based solely on her instincts. At sundown, her fears are justified when four strangers dressed in red jumpers show up, standing in the driveway. So begins the Wilsons’ nightmare, playing out in murderous blood and screams for remainder of the film’s 116 minutes. 

A bit of a spoiler hint: The driveway four (known later as “The Tethered”) are also portrayed by the principal cast of Duke, Nyong’o, Wright Joseph, and Alex. 

As the Wilsons are finally able to flee, there is a horrific encounter with their neighbors from down the street, Josh and Kitty Tyler (Tim Heidecker and Elisabeth Moss), and their two teen daughters. Incidentally, scissors and knives are integral to the action in Us. There is also a motorboat. And many more red jumpsuits. 

Enhancing the film is a terrific music score by Michael Abels, who also scored Get Out. Kudos to cinematographer Mike Gioulakis as well. 

Overall, Us becomes a horror hybrid, infusing zombies + Invasion of the Body Snatchers + slasher flick touches + psychological chills. The movie’s first third is as terrifying and involving as a scary movie could be. The second third expands the plot with new characters and repeated terrors. By the finale, we are wondering where the movie has taken us. The conclusion seems hurried and muddled. That lack of resolution is the film’s weakness. 

However, this does not detract from the thrill ride that is Us, and its stellar ensemble cast that has to perform in virtually every scene—often in duplicate roles. 

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GRADE, Based upon A to F Scale: B+