Many are calling his film a masterpiece, along with using the buzz words "nightmarish" and "Terrifying." Well it certainly is an accomplished and entertaining piece of work, I wouldn't use any of those words to describe Us.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it a lot. It's a good movie! But I'm going to go out on a limb and say anyone who believes it to be a nightmarish and terrifying masterpiece didn't grow up on horror movies. There's a lot of horror classics out there -- The Exorcist, A Nightmare on Elm Street, John Carpenter's Halloween, The Haunting and Poltergeist to a name a few -- and Us isn't one of them.
I wasn't scared by Us, nor was I shocked, horrified or grossed out. It has nightmare qualities, but it won't give me nightmares. 'Nuff said.
But I did have a blast with this movie. It's surprisingly funny and offers up some likeable characters who more or less behave like real people in an out-of-control situation. And Peele knows how to set up sequences and have them pay off in a most satisfying way. The man knows his shit!
Us has a lot to say too; about how we're shaped by our surroundings, that we each have a dark side wanting to crawl its way to the surface, and about how we're all willing to commit unspeakable acts if it suits us, or if we want to hold on to what's ours. I got it, and I dig it. Us leaves us with things to think about.
Horror, like sci-fi, is a perfect venue for artists who want get their message across in an entertaining way. That might not be my thing when it comes to entertainment, but I applaud someone like Peele for doing so, and doing so in a way that didn't bore me to tears.
I don't know if Us is something I will watch over and over again, but I would be remiss to give it anything but a Good. It's certainly a movie people should see, and I look forward to whatever Peele cooks up next.
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