What a Great Premise!

Rating: Null/10 (29 March 2019)

There are no spoilers here. :D The premise to this film is wonderful. The first 30 minutes before the "threat" shows up are great. Unlike some people on here, I prefer 2hr films, more time for the characters and story to be fleshed out. I also am a fan of slow burns, I can enjoy a fast-paced film but slower films, again, allow for more exposition. Unfortunately, that just didn't happen here.
I love psychological films of all stripes, and mind-bending films are some of my favorite films. It would be lazy to write me off because I don't totally share your opinion. This isn't a horror film, it is a thriller, and unfortunately, as a thriller, it falls under the weight of it's own plot holes, and lack of suspense.
"Get Out", while effective, is overrated and overblown. It is, in some ways, just as illogical as this film. Here, however, what is lazy writing and lazy plot devices, is being described as "genius". "Get Out" was a pretty racist film that was supposed to be critiquing race issues, okay, than don't have ALL of your white characters be evil, theirs a start for you. Despite that, it was still a well-made film, it had a good build up, held your attention, and had a good solid final act. It didn't deserve Academy awards, especially since "Hereditary", a superior film in almost every way, didn't get a single nod. "Us" is not so lucky, as to have the positive side of "Get Out".
The acting is wonderful, the cinematography and direction are very well-done. From a technical standpoint, outside of the script, this is a great film. Unfortunately, a good script, even if the story is simplistic, is one of the most vital elements, if not the most important.
Why does the script not work here like it did in "Get Out"? "Get Out" had a superb finale, it was tense and suspenseful with some good kills. "Get Out" created mysteries in the same way "Us" does, but "Us" not only doesn't answer most of them, it offers up allegory that is nonsensical, and too many plot threads that make no sense. Other reviewers have already expounded on this issue. They could be overlooked more if the film was more presented as a 100% fantasy, or the ending was something along the lines of "The Signal", or if the focus was solely on the people experiencing, and not on the issue itself. Meaning, no answers would have been better than the answers it gave.
Overall, it had good atmosphere in some parts of the film, and again, the first 30 minutes were superb and had such a wonderful buildup, that unfortunately was totally dropped after that point. This will rightly become, a forgotten film in 10yrs. It isn't very memorable save a few scenes, and it squandered so much potential. Was it not made by an over-hyped film director, this film would have languished in development hell, and been likely bombed, if it even made it to theaters and wasn't straight to VOD. Maybe it would have become a cult classic, and maybe it would have been a better movie since it wouldn't have to deal with the MPAA, but given it's current iteration, and with the expectations it had on it's shoulders, it is barely above average.
God Bless ~Amy