The horror inside us
Film delivers a metaphor for what’s really scary about the world right now
Love of money is not the root of all evil. The root of all evil turns out to be a dilapidated funhouse on the beach at Santa Cruz, Calif. In 1986, it went by the name Vision Quest. These days it’s called Merlin’s Forest. But the secondary sign that reads “Find Yourself” hasn’t changed. And Adelaide Wilson (Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o) does just that.
The newest from writer-director Jordan Peele (2017’s Get Out, the upcoming Twilight
Zone reboot) opens in 1986, with young Adelaide (Madison Curry) straying from her parents and meeting something spooky and decidedly un-fun in the funhouse. Actually, it opens with some onscreen text about tunnels, which by the end of the film’s fast-moving two hours you may decide was one clue too many.
But the bulk of Us takes place in the present. Adult Adelaide is staying at a summer cottage not far from Santa Cruz, along with husband Gabe (Winston Duke) and kids Zora and Jason (Shahadi Wright Joseph, Evan Alex). She experiences a number of mildly creepy coincidences, culminating in a calm, chilly statement from her son: “There’s a family in our driveway.”
Indeed there is, and this is where Peele’s horror really takes off. It features shades of the recent sci-fi Annihilation, the excellent 2014 horror It Follows, and even the royal drama The Favourite (all those rabbits!), but it is still its own story, captivating and original, though sometimes maddeningly under-explained.
It’s also not quite the equal of Get Out, which dealt with America’s toxic relationship with race, and won an Oscar for its screenplay. Us — parallels to the short form for United States, and the notion of “us and them” are entirely deliberate — casts a wider net, suggesting a metaphorical rot under the floorboards in Peele’s homeland. Notice how the evil entity introduces herself: “We are Americans.”
But that nebulous nefariousness means the film has to lean heavily on more traditional scares, which it admittedly does quite well. With a nod to Funny Games — one of many touchstones Peele has named — the Wilsons find themselves beset by crazily smiling intruders, though in this case they’re odd doubles, primal and half-formed. Imagine the worst version of you.
Only Adelaide’s opposite even seems capable of speech, and she sounds like talking and breathing at the same time is almost too much for her to handle. The others mostly grunt, howl and wield ferocious scissors, generally against their direct human counterparts, but they’ll attack anyone who crosses them.
Peele’s comedy roots sometimes show through in the timing and reactions of his characters, and a recent preview screening brought forth numerous bouts of nervous giggles from the packed house. Take Gabe’s cut-rate outboard motorboat: Its engine’s tendency to stall rivals most actors’ understanding of timing.
Primed on trailers and the genius of Get Out, I was a little underwhelmed by the relatively thin story and modest scares of Us. (I only had to hide behind my splayed fingers once!) But it’s still miles above the average horror fare.
Peele spoiled us with his last film, and his delivery of a merely moderate success with this one is hardly cause for alarm. cknight@postmedia.com