US (Jordan Peele)

US starts with a creepy prologue set in a Santa Cruz amusement park in 1986 where a little girl wanders off from her parents to go inside a mirrored funhouse called “Find Yourself”. What she sees there haunts this young girl for some time, even to some extent into her adulthood where she’s now an accomplished woman with a jovial husband, typical teenage daughter and young son with a penchant for masks. It’s unclear why the family is vacationing in Santa Cruz, there seems to be reference to the husband having stayed at this house when he was a kid, like the house belongs to his family; but as this is the first time she’s ever expressed not wanting to go to the beach, it must be the first time the family has vacationed there.

Whenever a writer/director has a critical and commercial success like Jordan Peele did with 2017 “Get Out” there’s always much anticipation and excitement, but also the automatic assumption it won’t live up to the first one, and I’m sorry to say, it doesn’t. Not because he delved further into horror, not because the social commentary isn’t as biting; it’s certainly not because the acting is less, as all the actors do a brilliant job playing dual roles; particularly Lupita Nyong’o who proves she can hold her own as a fascinating lead actor.

The problem stems possibly from Peele being a bit rushed in the writing process. There’s no doubt he’s an incredibly talented director, skillfully composing scenes of dread, and providing the film with good intensity and thrills, not to mention humor. But once US takes us down-the-rabbit-hole (nearly literally) to explain the reasons for these doppelgangers, he relies too heavily on our assumption that he’s providing some brilliant metaphysical possibility, when really, I think he just couldn’t figure it out. He knew how creepy it would be to fight yourself (Be your own worse enemy) and he figured out a good twist, but with too many obvious unanswered questions, it leaves US untethered to its moorings.

P.S. I’d always been told when you happen to catch the time of 11:11 often, it’s the Universe telling you you’re on track in your journey, so I’ve always taken comfort in it. But now it seems sinister!

Cast: Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, Elisabeth Moss,Tim Heidecker, Shahadi Wright Joseph,Evan Alex

T&T the Large Association of Movie Blogs (aka the LAMb) rating: 3.5 outta 5