Us (2019)

Elevator Pitch: A middle class African American family on a vacation near Santa Barbara, spend the day on the beach adjacent to the funfair, despite the reluctance of the mother, who has had a traumatic experience in the hall of mirrors as a child. Then after dark they see a group of people in their driveway, and despite their defence the group break into the house and imprison the family. They are horrified to find that the interlopers are their doppelgangers. They are “us” says the son. But where did the doppelgangers come from, why are they there and what do they intend?

Content: A bit of drinking, no nudity sex or drug taking, but a lot of blood and gore as the family dispatch invaders with a variety of domestic implements. We see the event in the hall of mirrors where the mother, as a child has a bad experience, the family failing to enjoy themselves on the beach, a sort of rivalry with their middle class friends causing the father to buy and be seen driving a boat. A lot of battles with their own doppelgangers and others as civilisation as we know it begins to break down. And finally the reveal which may not come as a surprise.

A View: This oeuvre was praised by most of the critics, achieving a rating of over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes. It apparently addresses aspects of American culture which might be a bit of the reasons for its popularity, and Jordan Peele was a well known sketch writer and performer on American TV before he became a film writer and director. This, Get Out, and the provenance of the stars who were major players in Black Panther has created an level of enthusiasm which, in my view, the film does not really warrant. There were just too many loose ends. I’ll just mention one. Surely someone had a handgun! So for me, wait until it comes out as a download.

Additional Info: It is one of the few films to make its production costs back on it first weekend.