Peele's best work, at least until the next one.

Rating: 9/10 (24 March 2019)

Jordan Peele's sophomore effort is simply astonishing. When I first saw the trailer for Us, I was reminded of Walt Kelly's proclamation in Pogo - We have met the enemy, and he is Us. On the one hand, the movie works as a straightforward horror film about doppelgangers wreaking havoc on their "real" counterparts, but there's so much more going on. Peele forces us to examine what we think "good" and "bad" actually entail and whether there can be smidges of both in the same person. Watching this film, I found it amazing that Peele got his start in comedy; he seems like a practiced hand at psychological horror, with layers upon layers that will definitely put your brain into hyperdrive. And anchoring the whole thing, with two smashing performances, is Lupita Nyong'o, one of the best actresses of her generation. Us is a powerful film that makes forceful statements about what it means to be a human, an American, a male, a woman, and/or a have-not. The cinematography is surreal (watch out for the house of mirrors!), and the Peele expertly juggles the light and dark tones throughout. This is a masterful work.