Us Review: Did Jordan Peele Create Another Gem, Or is He a One Hit Wonder?

After Jordan Peele’s first film, Get Out, the still relatively inexperienced director was hailed as the next great horror director. In his first movie, he illustrated how to seamlessly mesh horror, comedy, and relevant political commentary, culminating in one of the most original movies of the decade. As someone who has only just begun to watch horror movies, I hopped on the figurative “hype-train” surrounding Jordan Peele, but thankfully his fan base only had to wait two years for his follow up in Us.

It must first be said that both of Peele’s movies aren’t conventional horror films; they don’t offer as many scares as some have come to expect in recent years with the genre. Instead, his craft, which he seems to have perfected in only two movies, focuses on the building of tension. The movie, similar to Get Out, offers some fantastic comedy, courtesy of Winston Duke (who is known for Black Panther) in the role of the father. Contrasting this is Lupita Nyong’o (known for Black Panther and 12 Years a Slave) as a mother with a tormented past following her encounter with the “monster”. Along with the exceptional acting, Peele’s story never feels to drag, with no scenes seeming unneeded or out of place. But the crown jewel of the film has got to be the ending, with a twist on par with prime Shyamalan that will have the audience thinking about the film long after the credits.

Jordan Peele has proved skeptics wrong and shown that he isn’t a one-hit wonder with his riveting follow up. Additionally, the film is hopefully a sign for what is to come. The horror genre has long been looked down upon by the rest of Hollywood. The Academy is no exception as they often snub far more deserving people from horror movies just because of the reputation that follows the genre. To some degree, it is easy to see why it has gained this reputation, as it is hard to come across a consistent creator of horror movies recently (looking at you Shyamalan) but Peele has revived the genre thanks to his unique and relevant stories. He has already been praised as the next Alfred Hitchcock of the genre, and with how it’s looking right now, it’s easy to see why.

Verdict:

8.5/10: Jordan Peele’s second film is a worthy successor to Get Out and depicts the beginnings of a new titan of the horror movie genre.