“Us” Review

Us+Review

Liam Taylor, Reporter

On March 22, Jordan Peele’s Us made its theatre debut. The movie follows Adelaide Wilson, her husband and two kids as they fight off evil versions of themselves in this two hour long horror film.

I saw the movie with my family opening week, but I wasn’t really sure what to expect. We’d all seen Get Out, Jordan Peele’s first major film, but we didn’t know much at all about Us going into it.

Not only did I leave the movie theatre utterly terrified, but I was also slightly confused. It was one of those (many) films that I didn’t quite understand. Maybe it was because of the layers and layers of metaphors, or the disorienting twist at the end, but I kept trying to comprehend what I’d just seen the entire car ride home. However, before I get into all of that, I do want to say that the movie was amazing. It is safe to say I have never been more scared watching a movie in my life. And that’s saying something given I’ve watched literally every horror movie on Netflix.

Now I’m not going to try and explain all the symbols and metaphors in the movie, simply because I don’t think that is possible, but there were a couple that stood out. First, those scissors. Now if you haven’t seen the movie, the tethered (the evil, underground twin-versions of the main characters) use scissors as their weapons against their true selves above. Well, this makes sense because they are quite literally cutting themselves away from their human counterparts. They probably serve as some deeper meaning as well, but that’s the best my brain could do with that one.

Another big theme of the movie is the number eleven. 11:11 shows up frequently throughout the film, and if you’re anything like me, the first thing that’ll pop into your head is that thing people post on their snapchat stories. But surprisingly enough, it is actually referring to the Bible verse, Jeremiah 11:11: “I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto Me, I will not hearken unto them.”

I previously mentioned a twist at the end of the movie. Since I’m trying to avoid spoilers while writing this article, all I am going to say is that if the complex metaphors aren’t enough incentive for you to go see the movie, the twist should be. If you are looking for a good scare, but also a movie that’s going to make you think, I would 10 out of 10 recommend Us.