Accompanied by her husband, son and daughter, Adelaide Wilson returns to the beachfront home where she grew up as a child. Haunted by a traumatic experience from the past, Adelaide grows increasingly concerned that something bad is going to happen. Her worst fears soon become a reality when four masked strangers descend upon the house, forcing the Wilsons into a fight for survival. When the masks come off, the family is horrified to learn that each attacker takes the appearance of one of them.
Us is one of those horror films which comes out and attracts a lot of attention because of the new approach it takes to the horror genre, it is from the same director as 'Get Out' which follows a similar type of horror genre to Us. This film really does a lot to make it unique though, and throughout the film we are constantly exposed to twists and plot switches, jump scares and a series of interesting and unsettling scenes - all of which come together to create a film which is scary, but in its own way. Is Us all that it's made out to be? Here are my thoughts.
I'll start off with what I liked about the film, I really liked how the story and the characters were introduced to us in a way that helped to understand who they were but by building tension and mystery right from the very beginning - this then had a really effective impact because it gave the whole of the film a mysterious theme. By introducing us to the child character and the story behind the characters, not only did this help to give a really good idea of what was happening throughout the film but it also helped to make scenes feel more real which made the film really engaging for us. For example, by showing us a variety of different timelines, this allowed us to be able to really grasp the concept and events that went on during the starting sequence and then use this to make sense of parts later on in the film. Us is obviously a horror film, the main purpose is obviously to scare us but the way in which we are scared and put on edge throughout the film is done really cleverly, by sometimes tricking us into a false sense of security and then other times making us feel like something will happen and then nothing does, this results in a really effective horror film which actually manages to get inside of your head way after the credits have rolled. I also really liked how the emotions of mystery and confusion were inputted into the plot by using a series of clever and interesting effects which related to the characters in the film, seeing the various copies of the main characters but twisted and creepy versions really seemed to add a lot of tension and excitement into the film - simply because it offered a different perspective into what makes a horror film scary. These characters also had really interesting personalities too, I also liked this and I feel that it also helps to make the film unique because they weren't just mute killing machines. Not only do the normal characters have exciting and unique personalities which helps them to make them enjoyable to watch and follow but the enemy characters (albeit mostly not being able to speak) have some really exciting and interesting personalities, seeing them actually communicating and having conversations with the main characters also really helped to make them multi dimensional because we could understand them a little better.
I also really liked how the various characters seemed to self promote horror and tension through speaking about past experiences and seeing their emotions when talking about the beach experience, these emotions were really well done in a way that made these emotions really powerful and believable - helping to make them seem like genuine people. The ways in which the various characters were presented to us was also a great way in which the film kept a constant theme of excitement and tension, a good example of this is during the home invasion scenes. This is really effective at scaring us through a fast paced series of events which catches us off guard and helps to promote the fast paced and strange theme of the film through the various character interactions. The villains and overall characters in the film are really unique and interesting because they all have a series of twists and secrets which keeps us on our toes and this is executed in a really creepy way - e.g. seeing Dahlia crying in the mirror which turns into creepy laughing. The film is full of twists and changes which keeps it fresh and exciting whilst still being super creepy!
In films like this, a good and solid plot is always key to how well the film is received by audiences. Us has a really fresh and exciting idea of what makes an exciting horror film, by giving us a fast paced plot but also by using a series of simple and straightforward scenes to ensure that the film is easy to follow - but then by combining this with scenes which keep us thinking about the film after leaving, makes the films plot really clever because it stays with us and makes us think about the causes of certain events. The plot also is really effective at making the film scary - not only does it scare us but it uses repeating scenes to create meaningful scares and because we understand the characters well this ensures that we have a good idea of why they react in the ways they do which is effective. The film also feels really well made too, it's only Jordan Peele's second film, but his craft is spellbinding. He knows how to captivate the audience. The acting, the shots, the editing, the pacing are all top-notch and kept me chilled and engaged throughout. Some of the best features of 'get out' are definitely used here but the plot is executed in such a clever way to trick us into a false sense of security and relating back to earlier scenes helps to keep us involved in what is going on because we really have a good understanding of what is going on, but it doesn't give too much away so that we instantly understand everything. Some things require discussion afterwards and then this helps to piece together the film and this clever plot structure matches that of 'Get Out'. I also like how the films plot didn't just promote horror and scares though, seeing a real side of both sets of characters at the end really cleverly helped to tell us the story of living above and under the world and the differences in which both sets of characters lived through, for example seeing the handcuffing to the table scene during the home invasion related to how Red was handcuffed to the bed when she was kidnapped at the beginning - the film was full of references like this which helped to wrap it up strongly. Then I feel that the film finished off really well by using a clever and unpredictable twist, it feels really clever and helps to make the story much clearer whilst definitely leaving the film as a discussion point outside of the cinema. Not only does this ending scene help to summarise the whole film in the way that twists were cleverly implemented into the film but it also helps to answer a lot of questions that we have and really helps to keep the film fresh and exciting right at the end.
The film definitely wasn't perfect though, the main issue that I have with the film is that character emotions don't feel anywhere near realistic enough. During the scene that involved Kitty and Josh's family being brutally murdered by their clones, there didn't seem to be any type of fear or terror that was shown by the characters which resulted in potentially terrifying scenes for audiences, actually being flat and plain because the character emotions weren't effective or believable. I mean who is going to tell jokes whilst their family is being murdered? This lack of emotion was apparent throughout the film too, I mean I understand how characters often make silly decisions during horror films but if you've just run over a murderous clone and hit them into the woods would you really get out to check that they're dead? No you wouldn't! Silly decisions like this and poor character emotions that just weren't realistic at all definitely let the film down. It took a while to get going, and then became a survival horror without any explanation as to why, where or who. A lot of the ideas and things in this film felt very far fetched which can definitely be good as it shows the film tried to push boundaries, but many of these scenes were far too strange and had no meaning to us - such as the single man standing alone with bloody hands on the beach, or the man holding the "Jeremiah 11:11" sign - there wasn't a solid reason or explanation for these which means that big opportunities to create mystery and articles on the internet like "Revealed: Explanations for Us secrets" were missed out.
Overall, I would give this film an 8. The approach that was used to make the film seem scary was really effective and I enjoyed seeing the various character types and what they got up to because they were interesting and exciting, and the ways in which the villains were presented and utilised throughout the film was really exciting and enjoyable too. This just added in a fresh element which we haven't really seen in this genre of film before. But the lack of realism behind character emotions really is the films downfall here, because where some scenes should really be memorable, scary and effective, they aren't because we see characters joking and messing around so we can't take these scenes seriously. Humour and horror has to be very well done to be effective and it just isn't here, it flops and that brings the whole film down. I would recommend this film though, it's scary yes but not on the same level as other '15' rated horrors like insidious or sinister which definitely offer a more intense experience. Although, it still promises to entertain and keep you thinking about scenes and the plot for a while after leaving the cinema.
Thank you for reading my review, I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing this and watching the film. I hope you have a lovely day! :)
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