Whether your with others or just your shadow, Us is a fun ride through darker shadows

Rating: 8/10 (27 March 2019)

All of us have problems. I might wake up with a cold, making me more tired then usual to do what I love. You might be worrying about how to pay an expensive medical bill when you don't have health insurance. Parents might be worrying about how their going to put their kids through college when the tuition keeps getting more expensive. The point is that when we have problems, the last thing we want is to make them such a big deal we cannot function. This is why we suppress these stresses rather then confronting them. Often, this will come back in bad ways. Perhaps as a bigger issue or a darker part of you personality.
I believe that we are often our worst enemy when were not honest with ourselves. This also happens to be a theme of Jordan Peele's newest movie. For a guy who originally came into the business with his comedic skills, he sure is showing hick knack for suspense. Even though I really enjoyed Get Out, I count that more as a social thriller then a horror, kind of like a Twilight Zone story (considering that he's about to reboot The Twilight Zone). Let's see how that compares to Us.
A mother of two Adelaide (played by Lupita Nyong'o) is on vacation with her family, but cannot shake her memories of running across a clone of herself back in the mid 80's. This makes visiting Santa Monica beach hard, but she puts up with it to please her husband Gabe (played by Winston Duke) and her children Zora (played by Shahadi Wright Joseph) and Jason (Played by Evan Alex). Their beach trip goes fine, even meeting with friends of theirs. The only slip up is when Jason finds a random guy standing still with blood dripping, but tells no one about it.
When they return home, things seem to be going fine until four random people show up in their driveway. Gabe tries to call them out, but they don't respond. When he threatens them, they run off, but later return. To the family's horror, the four people are all clones of themselves, only to be wearing red jumpsuits and seem crazy. The only one that can talk (though slowly and with a raspy voice) is Adelaide's that calls herself Red. Throughout the night, the family tries to outsmart and escape the clones, but there may be something bigger facing them.
I can say without a doubt that Get Out was not a lucky situation, as Us is just as entertaining and fun as the latter was. I'm more convinced that Jordan Peele really understands what scares people, not just black people. This is probably the most literal example of "the past coming back to haunt you" I've seen in a while. It's a staple within a lot of ghost and horror stories, but what this does different is that its more layered then you'd expect. I won't spoil how, but it takes the home invasion thriller in a different direction then you'd expect.
The acting is top notch with Lupita Nyong'o doing great as both Adelaide and Red. In fact, I also realized that since the plot calls for each main player to have a clone, everyone had two sides they had to play; themselves and their darker reflections. This is a gamble, but I couldn't see anyone that was weaker then the other. I think it's success comes from it's script, which was also written by Jordan Peele. He's a guy who certainly knows how to make good comedy out of these moments, but it's drama and suspense are still just as real.
Now when comparing this to Get Out, is Us better? I'd say the two are even, but for different reasons. Get Out showcased a darker story that probably scared me more then Us did. Us will probably have more of a rewatch, mainstream value as it's scares were a bit more expected, but it's story was simply larger. If I had any problems with the movie is that I wish the bigger twist was different. I won't spoil it here, but let's say if you've seen a lot of movies about clones, then you may already know what the twist is, as it's been done before.
I'll give this eight red jumpsuits out of ten. Horror and thriller fans will love this. If you liked Get Out, then I could see you also enjoying this. Whether your with someone or your shadow, Us is a fun ride through darker shadows.