It's said that humans have doppelgangers; people who look very much like us, whom we might never meet. How true that is remains something we might not be certain of. But even within our societies, countries or places we've travelled to, we must have come across or been told of someone who resembled us. Perhaps, that could make the claim true.
Nevertheless, how would it feel to one day find someone who looks just like you? Not a twin, not a sibling or a relative, and not someone with some sort of resemblance, but a perfect look-alike. What would it feel like? I mean, even if we knew someone like that existed it wouldn't be a simple thing to take. Someone looking exactly like you who you share no past or any ties with. It becomes more interesting when you never knew somebody like that existed.
The 2019 film, Us explores this in a scary and tragic way. Written and directed by Jordan Peele, the film stars Lupita Nyong'o as Adelaide "Addy" Wilson, Winston Duke as Gabriel "Gabe" Wilson, Elisabeth Moss as Kitty Tyler, Tim Heidecker as Josh Tyler, Shahadi Wright Joseph as Zora Wilson, and Evan Alex as Jason Wilson, alongside other cast members. I must say that the title of the film was something that got me to want to watch it.
A film titled with just the two-letter word, “Us” is something unusual that should make a person curious to know what it's about. The psychological horror film follows Adelaide Wilson and her family, who get attacked by a group of doppelgangers, called the “Tethered”. Sure, they didn't come bearing peace. The menacing attackers were all dressed in red, each interested in and drawn to their doppelgangers, even during the attack.
The family of four had to find a way to survive these attackers who carried their faces. It happened to be that the “Tethered” weren't just doppelgangers of Adelaide and her family, but more of an epidemic of doppelgangers. Even though the “Tethered” are doppelgangers of these other people, their behaviour was rather different. Not in the sense of the attack and violence they brought, but their basic behaviour and demeanour were unusual and different.
The doppelgangers of Adelaide, Gabe, Zora and Jason, the family, were Red, Abraham, Umbrae and Pluto, respectively. Adelaide was different as she alone could speak unlike the others, though in a weird voice. That had me thinking, why her alone? Besides the “why” of the attack and the “how” of the doppelgangers; the “Tethered.” There happened to be a backstory to that, which answered the aforementioned questions as well.
That built a good suspense and got me invested in the film till the end, to try and find those answers. I think that's one of the interesting things about the film. It leaves viewers caught up in the horror while also demanding answers that should account for the horror too. Then there's the plot twist that occurred late in the film, which could be easy for a viewer to miss, and I consider that some missed it, at first probably.
Unlike going the common route of cheap jump scares, Us went a different way. Perhaps, one of the appeals of this horror film is this; it's a psychological horror, not relying on some sort of gore or monsters. But saying in a way that the monsters might be us. Not someone outside but the person within. It's also an allegorical message about the complicit nature of society. How the underprivileged can be swept aside and forgotten, till they become a problem.
Seeing Lupita Nyong'o featured looked promising already. Playing as the main character in Adelaide was good, and even more impressive as the “Tethered” version in Red. She carried her role and characters well. Notwithstanding, Winston Duke played his role well too as Gabe and as Abraham, contributing a good performance. Shahadi Wright Joseph and Evan Alex gave commendable acting as the frightened and confused children trying to survive.
The psychological horror was communicated to an extent. Meeting someone who looked like you, behaving weirdly and attacking you is a path that goes down that route. The film didn't rely on elaborate visual effects, but used cinematography effectively to build tension, establish atmosphere, and reinforce its themes, exploiting the vulnerabilities of the psychological and emotional aspects of the human mind. The plot twist is the icing on the cake, and a defining feature of the film. Us is a good watch.
Thank you for reading!
Rating: 82/100