Respond to these rapid questions in our Us quiz and we will tell you which Us character you are. Play it now.
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Accordingly, this is what the Lord says: ‘I will bring on them a disaster from which they will not be able to escape.'” “I will not listen to them, no matter how loudly they scream at me.” In Jeremiah 11:11, the Bible says
In Rodney Ascher’s documentary “Room 237,” four conspiracy theorists attempt to decipher the hidden messages in Stanley Kubrick’s film “The Shining,” which is based on the novel by Stephen King. The ideas about what the movie is about range from the conceivable to the absurdly absurd. Some theories are preoccupied with the possibility that “The Shining” was Kubrick’s way of admitting that he fabricated the footage of the moon landing, while others are preoccupied with the specifics of the hedge maze. The other two believe there is evidence that the 1980 film makes an indirect reference to either the genocide of Native Americans or the Holocaust, depending on their viewpoint.
“Us,” Jordan Peele’s excellent new horror film, can be interpreted in a variety of ways, much like the classic horror film “The Shining.” Every image appears to be a clue to what is about to happen or a stand-in for something that is not directly related to the main story of a family in peril. In Peele’s film, for which he was also responsible for the direction, writing, and production, audiences will likely reap the benefits of repeated viewings, with each viewing revealing a new secret and revealing something you may have missed the first time around.
But you shouldn’t waste any more time and start this Us quiz.
Beginning in 1986, “Us” tells the story of a young girl and her parents wandering through the Santa Cruz boardwalk at night. She walks away from them and out onto the empty beach, where she watches a foreboding flock of thunderclouds looming overhead. Her eyes are drawn to an attraction just off the main pier, and she walks into what appears to be an abandoned hall of mirrors, where she discovers something terrifying: she has been reincarnated as her own doppelgänger. The film then shifts to the present day, with Janelle Monae singing on the radio as the Wilson family drives to their vacation home in the mountains. Adelaide (Lupita Nyong’o), the little girl who grew up to be a woman, is apprehensive about returning to that spot on the Santa Cruz beach where she first met her father. While her husband, Gabe (Winston Duke), thinks her reaction is excessive, he makes an effort to put her at ease so that they can take their children, Zora (Shahadi Wright Joseph) and Jason (Evan Alex), to the beach and meet up with old friends, the Tylers (Elisabeth Moss and Tim Heidecker) and their twin daughters, who are visiting from California. After a minor scare and a series of strange coincidences on the beach, the family returns home for a quiet night in, only to have their tranquility interrupted by an unlikely group of trespassers who appear to be doppelgängers of their own family, who line up across their driveway.
One of the attractions of “Us” is the way in which you interpret what all of this information and imagery is trying to tell you. There is no doubt that the film will provide audiences with plenty to think about long after the credits have rolled. On two separate occasions in the film, the Bible verse Jeremiah 11:11 appears, and there are numerous other Biblical references to be explored, including an analogy between heaven and hell that appears in the film. This could be a reference to the rocket sweater that the little boy wears in “The Shining,” or it could be a warning about the dangers of the ocean that Jason faces in “Jaws.” When young Adelaide walks into the mysterious attraction in the 1980s scene, she is greeted by a Native American wearing a headdress above the words “Shaman Vision Quest.” This is a reference to the film’s “Shaman Vision Quest.” Upon their return, they find the sign has been replaced with a more politically correct sign featuring a wizard advertising it as “Merlin’s Enchanted Forest,” a bandaid solution to concealing the racist exterior and the horrors that await them within its halls.
Us Quiz
Similarly to his previous film, “Get Out,” Peele pays significant homage to the films that have had an impact on him in “Us.” However, there does not appear to be a general agreement this time. As I talked with other people who had also seen the film, we discussed the different titles that stood out to us. As far as I could tell, “The Shining” appeared to be the film that received the greatest number of references in “Us,” with an overhead shot of the Wilson family driving through hilly forests to their vacation home, similar to the Torrance family’s journey to the Overlook Hotel. Also included are references to the “The Shining” twins, as well as architectural and cinematography parallels. In one scene, Nyong’o charges the camera with a weapon, much like Jack Nicholson menacingly drags along an ax in the same scene from “The Shining.” “Us,” on the other hand, is more than just a love letter to a single horror film. Also in the film, Peele pays homage to director Brian De Palma with a split diopter shot that, for the first time in the film, gives equal attention to both Adelaide and her doppelgänger. It also pays homage to director Darren Aronofsky’s “Black Swan” in terms of dueling balletic styles and a beautifully choreographed fight scene that appears to be a combative pas de deux between the two lead characters.
Also, you will find out which character are you in this Us quiz.
Because Peele not only understands how to tell his story, but he has also assembled an incredible cast to play two roles in this delightfully deranged home invasion-family horror film, it works. The Wilsons are the epitome of the all-American family: a family of four that appears to be middle class, with college-educated (Gabe is wearing a Howard University sweater) parents who are overly protective of their two children (Gabe is wearing a Howard University sweater). It is true that their doppelgängers look like them and are related to them in some way, but they live completely opposite lives, and their existence has been one of limitations and misery. It’s one of the most poignant analogies of class in America to come out of a studio film in recent memory, and it’s one of the most important films of the year. A unique opportunity for the actors to portray two extremes, one of intense normality and the other of wretched evil, is provided by this project. In “Us,” Duke demonstrates his comedic abilities as a dorky father who frequently embarrasses his children, while his doppelgänger is a frightful wall of violence who says little other than grunts and fights his opponent. I will be extremely disappointed if Nyong’o does not receive some sort of professional recognition for her performances in this film. When she portrays Adelaide, she is fearful, trying to keep traumatic memories at bay while maintaining a brave face for the sake of her family. Nyong’o uses a graceful, confident movement to portray her character’s doppelgänger, sliding into the family’s home with scissors in hand. With wide-eyed and malicious curiosity, the doppelgänger appears to be on the hunt for new ways to terrorize this family. She whispers in a raspy, sinister tone that would cause many people to jump and flee if they heard her.
A great crew is required to bring a suspenseful story and a wonderful cast to life, and “Us” does not lack for talent in this department. Mike Gioulakis, the cinematographer for “It Follows,” creates unsettling images in everyday settings. For example, a strange family standing at a driveway isn’t necessarily frightening, but when it’s eerily dark out, they’re backlit so that their faces aren’t visible and the four bodies are standing at a higher elevation from our heroes, giving the impression that evil is swooping in from above. Kym Barrett’s costume designs not only provide the doppelgängers with their sinister-looking red jumpsuits, but they also provide the Wilsons and Tylers with their everyday, comfortable clothes for their vacation. The ominous notes from the sound design team, as well as the music composed by Michael Abels, who also composed the score for “Get Out,” lay the groundwork for the film’s nerve-wracking sequences.
About the quiz
Jordan Peele isn’t the next Stanley Kubrick, M. Night Shyamalan, Alfred Hitchcock, or Steven Spielberg, nor is he the next M. Night Shyamalan. He is the director of his own film, with a vision that combines comedy, horror, and social commentary in one package. His visual style is bright, playful, and delightfully unnerving at the same time, and he has a lot of it. Peele employs a different cinematic language than Kubrick, and, in contrast to Shyamalan, appears more comfortable teasing his story’s twists throughout the narrative. He also employs suspense in a different way than Hitchcock, and possesses the comedic timing that Spielberg lacked. ‘Us’ is yet another enthralling exploration of the country’s oppressive past and present, which it is still too afraid to bring up. In his films, Peele encourages audiences to engage in dialogue, and he provides them with material to think about and feel their way through some of the darker aspects of the human condition and the American experience.
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This review was originally submitted on March 9, 2019, from the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas.
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