Great Follow-up and Solid Social Commentary

Rating: 10/10 (16 December 2019)

This was a film that I was highly anticipated coming out this year. It was one that I was looking into showtimes while on vacation, because I was gone the opening weekend. I kept seeing the trailer over and over again, so I finally got a chance to see it when I still had vacation day scheduled when I got home. I then gave it a second viewing when my girlfriend finally wanted to see it. To get into this, the synopsis is a family's serenity turns into chaos when a group of doppelgangers begins to terrorize them.
We kick this off back in 1986. We see a television screen showing us some commercials before cutting to a boardwalk. There's a family where the mother and father don't seem to be really getting along. The father might have a tad bit of a drinking problem and their daughter isn't talking a lot. When her father isn't paying attention, she wanders off into a hall of mirrors. It is there that she comes face to face with another little girl who looks just like her.
It then jumps to the present where the little girl grows up to be Adelaide Wilson (Lupita Nyong'o). She is a bit on edge to the summer house she is going to with her family. Her husband is Gabe (Winston Duke). They also have two children, Zora (Shadhadi Wright Joseph) and Jason (Evan Alex). Something interesting is that Jason has a mask with him at all times and a bit off.
Gabe wants to take the family to the beach, but Adelaide is completely against this. We know because of the incident that happened to her as a child. Gabe or the family has no idea. He does convince her they go meet their friends there. Their friends are Kitty Tyler (Elisabeth Moss) and Josh (Tim Heidecker) along with their two kids Becca (Cali Sheldon) and Lindsey (Noelle Sheldon). When Jason disappears to use the bathroom, he finds an odd man. This freaks his mother out and they go home.
Adelaide feels something is wrong and when the lights go out, she panics. It is then that Jason informs them there is a family outside. Their lives become a nightmare as they soon realize this other family looks exactly like them.
Now I am trying to go as vague with the recap as I can to not spoil the film. I will state that this film has a quote that starts it off that kind of gives away what is going on here. I've decided to include a spoiler section at the end as I really want to delve into this a bit more. I've seen some people are upset about this, but I personally wasn't. I will admit, I was at first, but then I started seeing all of the signs that writer, director and producer Jordan Peele put into the film. Examples are the infamous C.H.U.D. VHS, Jason wearing a Jaws t-shirt and amongst other things. Seeing all of these things, I have to give him so much credit for putting these little things in that only horror fans will probably pick up on for references.
Coming into this film, I had a feeling there was going to be some social commentary going on. I can actually see that some of my friends won't pick up on them or if they do, they are going to hate them thinking that it isn't really something that is an issue, but I have to say, I think it really deepens the film for me. It is looking at the issue of race; with Gabe really wanting to be like the Tyler's as everything they get seems to outdo what he's done. There are issues of class, which is everyone against their doppelgangers. I don't want to delve too much into this, because I think I could probably write a whole paper on the different issues, what they could mean and things to this effect. It is something that knowing Peele from previous works, I had a feeling we would get and I'm so glad they're there.
Much like his previous film, Get Out, I love that we are following black protagonists. I love that Adelaide is our final girl and I will delve more into that in a bit. As a horror fan, I've heard and made the jokes about who would die out of my friends and even seeing the documentary Horror Noire, it makes even more sense. I like seeing things from a different perspective and a film like this definitely helps there.
To the pacing of the film, I think for the most part it was really good. I'm a big fan of the duality the film gives us of things that happened earlier in the film and then come full circle in the end. I thought the ending was solid, even though I thought the reveal was something that probably happened pretty early on. I think it makes sense for the film and why everything happens as it does.
For the acting, Nyong'o was great. I love how her character is so subdued in the beginning of the film and then we see the fear grow within her. It is when she is faced with saving her children and family that she grows into what she has to in order to survive. She makes a great final girl and if she really wants to keep doing horror films, with her ability, I'm completely for it. Duke was solid as her husband. He brings some comedy which I think is good for horror to alleviate a bit of the tension when needed. Moss and Heidecker were solid as well. I thought all of the kids in the film, especially Alex did well. It can be tough for children, as they seem to be either really good or really bad. Alex and Joseph for the screen time they got were good.
Effects for the film I believe were mostly practical. Something else I love about Peele I've heard in interviews is that he loves the genre and I think that amount of respect is there in the basics for sure. The blood and effects look real which really helps. There is some CGI but it is hidden by shadows which hide if it doesn't look good and really keeps the realism. I thought the effects were good for sure.
The soundtrack of the film is something else that was on point. It seems to be split between score and real songs, but the ones that are chosen are perfect for when they are needed. I will never be able to hear the song 'I Got 5 on It' without thinking of this film. The real songs title or lyrics fit the situation and the others build the tension. It was very well done in my opinion. I especially like the orchestral song we get during the final showdown scene. It is the same one used in the trailer.
Now with that said, I've seen horror fans being pretty divided on this film. I took a bit of time after seeing it to process and then writing this to ensure I got down everything I wanted to say without spoiling it. I'm normally a guy who doesn't like things force fed to me, but I like that this film wants you to know things with the references. I think the social commentary is good and the acting helps bring this all to life. After the second viewing, I no longer have an issue with the pacing as I feel it builds tension to a solid conclusion. The score and the effects were both really good as well. I personally felt this is a great movie.
SPOILERS
After my second viewing, I decided I wanted to do this section and delve a bit more into it. We get this interesting interaction between the child Adelaide and Red. By the end we see that she chokes her and then takes over her life. This is interesting as when the real Adelaide shows up to confront Red, she struggles to speak.
I was talking this over with my girlfriend as she was confused as to why Red can talk. I equated it to someone with autism. Because she was above ground, able to get the proper treatment through dance, she was able to get over being non-verbal and learn to talk. The switching is also the reason that there's this uprising. Having Adelaide down with the other tethered, she's able to teach them enough about taking over the world above. She needs to make a grand gesture and when she went down in 1986, Hands Across America was a thing.
I used to have an issue with not knowing who or why these clones are down there. It was this time around that I caught on this was an experiment to control everyone above. The comment about tunnels underneath us that don't really have a use is interesting. I've actually heard we have a ton of tunnels in real life there so I like the play on that. So now with that issue resolved. This is interesting as well that Jason has more control over Pluto than anyone else. I think he's more like Red so that allows him this. Going even farther, he is building a tunnel on the beach and he's wearing a Jaws shirt. I took this as the shark comes up under people.
The last thing is to go a bit deeper into the references. Jeremiah 11:11, which is the sign that the homeless man is holding up is 'Therefore this is what the LORD says: 'I will bring on them a disaster they cannot escape. Although they cry out to me, I will not listen to them.' This describes what Adelaide's master plan is with Hands Across America. There's also the C.H.U.D. case which is Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers. These people aren't cannibals, but the rest of it fits. I also believe the A Nightmare on Elm Street box is referencing when Gabe wants to set up booby traps like Home Alone. Nancy does in that film.