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Trailer drops for Jordan Peele’s new horror movie, “Us”

Oh, I see

Well just a glance, it looks like it’s 100 percent fresh and 82 on metacritic, so far. Very earl, obviously.

I’m not reading the synopsis’ so I’m don’t know what’s actually being said
 

Labolas

Member
Yeah, I'm very mixed on the movie. The acting and characters are great. But the story is where the movie fails. And really it's a more of a thriller than horror as well.

"The whole shadow/doppelganger plotline is very weak and isn't explained well. Why the government made them to begin with other than being nefarious? How does the underground lair contain millions and millions of US citizens? What about the homeless and immigrants, are they included? Fuck man, all I can think of is Nier did it better"

But it isn't a bad movie just a decent one that doesn't deserve the praise it's getting.
 
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I’ve avoided all spoilers so far but I’m probably not going to be able to see this movie in theaters so I’m thinking of just watching a spoiler review. I’m so curious about what is happening
 
So I watched it today. I didn’t see it theaters, the source quality was low (in fairness, it’s really hard for me to go see this in theaters right now and for the foreseeable future) but I still gotta say I think it’s great.

I liked Get Out, probably scored Get Out a solid 8 or high 7. I would give this an 8.5.

It’s fitting that Peele is presenting the new Twilight Zone because this kind of feels like a long Twilight Zone episode.

I’ll be honest, I feel like I don’t really “get it.” I kinda “get it,” but I mostly don’t. I’m gonna watch some of my favorite reviewers’ spoiler videos and listen to their interpretations.

Some of my thoughts:

So are “The Tethered” supposed represent poor people?” Is the metaphor here class warfare? That was my thought as the movie was playing.

My suspension of disbelief was struggling a little bit at certain points. The family was way too calm when The Tethered first went into the house. Like wouldn’t a big guy like Winston Duke be freaking the fuck out and going down swinging in that situation? Also when they were debating who should drive based on kill count, that felt way weird from a tonal perspective. Also when Duke was trying to negotiate with the others like “we can go to the ATM” like dude it’s obvious something beyond being robbed was happening.

So she says “if it weren’t for you I never would have danced at all,” and when she dances The Tethered believe in her, because dancing proved she was different (as she was in fact a “real person”)? Or am I just not getting the big picture here?

I get that the real girl gets a handcuffed to the bed as she is replaced, I get that’s why she had adult fake self handcuff herself to the table. I notice the fake self is saved by the handcuffs numerous times, using them as a weapon at one point. Is that a metaphor for something too?

I’ll watch it again. I probably just need smart people to explain the meaning behind everything.

Why could the son control his fake but no one else?

The twist seems obvious since she showed compassion to the Tethered children, right?

So did she forget she was Tethered as a child and it just came out in her subconscious at the end? Did she know all along?

Real Lupita says “I couldn’t just kill you, I had to make a statement” but what is the statement?

If anyone who understands the movie better than I can help me out there I’d appreciate it

Lupita will get nominated for the academy award and if she wins it will be well earned. She’s amazing in this.

Edit

Also

What was the significance of the number 11? It’s used numerous times
 
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MetalAlien

Banned
Ever heard the saying avoid even the appearance of evil? It's a miss translation of Thessalonians 5:22. Anyway, I avoid even the appearance of politics disgused as a normal movie. I don't even know what the message this movie is trying to invoke. but i'll wait for redbox or something.
 
Ever heard the saying avoid even the appearance of evil? It's a miss translation of Thessalonians 5:22. Anyway, I avoid even the appearance of politics disgused as a normal movie. I don't even know what the message this movie is trying to invoke. but i'll wait for redbox or something.

I’m just curious, what movies do you watch, then?

I’d imagine your selection would be very limited?
 

MetalAlien

Banned
I’m just curious, what movies do you watch, then?

I’d imagine your selection would be very limited?
You are correct about that. I used to see a movie a week at least. In the past few years that has dropped to a trickle. I still watch a shit ton of older movies though. I have the netflix that ships to your home. I get 3 dvds at a time and my list was over 200 titles deep at one point. This morning I watched Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas. (friend gave it to me)
 

Doom85

Member
Saw it last night, thought it was great. Not quite on par with Get Out, but Peele is still proving himself as a very creative director. Particularly loved the final fight, that choreography and music, SO GOOD.

As someone who feels that horror is often ruined by too much explanation, I'm not bothered by the full lack of details on the threat in the movie. Truth be told, I wish some of the details provided about their origin had been omitted and we were just left with some visual clues that give us some possibilities about their origin. I know other feel differently but that's my preference. Some say, "I really wish It Follows explained what It even was" and I'm like, "that's fine if you feel that way, but for me it would have made it less menacing."
 

Manus

Member
I did not enjoy the movie and it's rare I don't enjoy a horror film since it's my favorite genre. I'm sick of movies trying to have some sort of deeper meaning or social commentary. Cinematography was great and so was the soundtrack but other than that didn't find much else I liked about it.

Almost felt like some bad M. Night film come the second half of the film.
 
Saw it last night, thought it was great. Not quite on par with Get Out, but Peele is still proving himself as a very creative director. Particularly loved the final fight, that choreography and music, SO GOOD.

As someone who feels that horror is often ruined by too much explanation, I'm not bothered by the full lack of details on the threat in the movie. Truth be told, I wish some of the details provided about their origin had been omitted and we were just left with some visual clues that give us some possibilities about their origin. I know other feel differently but that's my preference. Some say, "I really wish It Follows explained what It even was" and I'm like, "that's fine if you feel that way, but for me it would have made it less menacing."

Peele himself said there really isn’t “an answer.” It sounds like he intended for the message to mean different things to different people. I dig that.
 

Aurelian

my friends call me "Cunty"
I did not enjoy the movie and it's rare I don't enjoy a horror film since it's my favorite genre. I'm sick of movies trying to have some sort of deeper meaning or social commentary. Cinematography was great and so was the soundtrack but other than that didn't find much else I liked about it.

Almost felt like some bad M. Night film come the second half of the film.

To some extent, many if not most horror movies have a deeper meaning even if they don't appear to. They frequently tap into collective social anxieties and the morality of the time. For example, the classic '70s/'80s movies reflected the obsession with sexual 'purity,' where teens (especially girls) who slept around got killed while the chaste ones survived. The Shining? The novel is a commentary on alcoholism, and that persists to a lesser degree in Kubrick's movie.
 
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I really don’t feel like I was being hit over the head with political commentary.

Sure, it’s there, but it’s up for interpretation.

This movie feels like a puzzle.

Or, as Peele himself stated, “it’s a Rorschach test.”

I found the movie riveting, even if the second half goes a little balls wild.

I know there’s one line in the movie that maybe made people groan. I almost wish that line wasn’t in the movie as it’s the only part that feels a little too “on the nose.” We all know the line I’m talking about, or you will once you see it.

“We are Americans.”

Even I, a Liberal Cuckboy, rolled my eyes at this line.

Other than that one line I get everything was subtle enough.

Just me, though
 
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Nikana

Go Go Neo Rangers!
I did not enjoy the movie and it's rare I don't enjoy a horror film since it's my favorite genre. I'm sick of movies trying to have some sort of deeper meaning or social commentary. Cinematography was great and so was the soundtrack but other than that didn't find much else I liked about it.

Almost felt like some bad M. Night film come the second half of the film.

Literally said the same thing to my buddy.
 
There’s political/social commentary in most of your favorite movies, I would almost guarantee it. I always chuckle when I see people call The Winter Soldier their favorite MCU film then around and criticize politics in MCU films
 

cryptoadam

Banned
So I watched it today. I didn’t see it theaters, the source quality was low (in fairness, it’s really hard for me to go see this in theaters right now and for the foreseeable future) but I still gotta say I think it’s great.

I liked Get Out, probably scored Get Out a solid 8 or high 7. I would give this an 8.5.

It’s fitting that Peele is presenting the new Twilight Zone because this kind of feels like a long Twilight Zone episode.

I’ll be honest, I feel like I don’t really “get it.” I kinda “get it,” but I mostly don’t. I’m gonna watch some of my favorite reviewers’ spoiler videos and listen to their interpretations.

Some of my thoughts:

So are “The Tethered” supposed represent poor people?” Is the metaphor here class warfare? That was my thought as the movie was playing.

My suspension of disbelief was struggling a little bit at certain points. The family was way too calm when The Tethered first went into the house. Like wouldn’t a big guy like Winston Duke be freaking the fuck out and going down swinging in that situation? Also when they were debating who should drive based on kill count, that felt way weird from a tonal perspective. Also when Duke was trying to negotiate with the others like “we can go to the ATM” like dude it’s obvious something beyond being robbed was happening.

So she says “if it weren’t for you I never would have danced at all,” and when she dances The Tethered believe in her, because dancing proved she was different (as she was in fact a “real person”)? Or am I just not getting the big picture here?

I get that the real girl gets a handcuffed to the bed as she is replaced, I get that’s why she had adult fake self handcuff herself to the table. I notice the fake self is saved by the handcuffs numerous times, using them as a weapon at one point. Is that a metaphor for something too?

I’ll watch it again. I probably just need smart people to explain the meaning behind everything.

Why could the son control his fake but no one else?

The twist seems obvious since she showed compassion to the Tethered children, right?

So did she forget she was Tethered as a child and it just came out in her subconscious at the end? Did she know all along?

Real Lupita says “I couldn’t just kill you, I had to make a statement” but what is the statement?

If anyone who understands the movie better than I can help me out there I’d appreciate it

Lupita will get nominated for the academy award and if she wins it will be well earned. She’s amazing in this.

Edit

Also

What was the significance of the number 11? It’s used numerous times

I didn't see them movie but read spoilers/reviews so in spoilers back to our conversation before the movie came out.

So looks like my predictions on the plot were pretty close. I was a bit off about the tethered since they were clones and not in their head or from another dimension, but I did say essentially that the tethered would be the family and that something happened in the past. Which is close enough since the mom was switched out and then she became a tethered and had the same clone family somehow.

One thing I heard was this movie cost a fraction of get out, which is surprising since usually budgets go up after a sucsesful movie.

I think Jordan might be tapped to helm a big budget movie soon. WE have seen it happen where smaller directors get fast tracked to Star Wars or Marvel or DC. Jordan has proven he is a top director so a studio is going to come calling.
 
I watched it a second time and focused on one of my spoiler thoughts from previous post:

The role of a specific object in the story:

The use/role of handcuffs. Tethered Lupita defends herself/saves herself with the handcuffs numerous times and flat out uses them to kill at least once. This HAS to be a statement of some sort about our criminal justice system, right? That can’t just be coincidental, could it?
 

MetalAlien

Banned
There’s political/social commentary in most of your favorite movies, I would almost guarantee it. I always chuckle when I see people call The Winter Soldier their favorite MCU film then around and criticize politics in MCU films
Don't hit me over the head with it, that's all. That's why I find old school Anime hard to watch sometimes.
 
I watched it a second time and focused on one of my spoiler thoughts from previous post:

The role of a specific object in the story:

The use/role of handcuffs. Tethered Lupita defends herself/saves herself with the handcuffs numerous times and flat out uses them to kill at least once. This HAS to be a statement of some sort about our criminal justice system, right? That can’t just be coincidental, could it?

Um....she had them on and so she used them.

I thought that the movie was fun, but it's no Get Out.
 
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Airola

Member
What a big disappointment this was.

Turned out it was more of a comedy than a horror movie and both the comedy and horror were way too ineffective. It was a bit boring but still promising early on in the movie and got really interesting when things started to happen, but the moment the villains opened their mouths it first became quite cringy as I didn't still know it's supposed to be funny too. I thought they tried to make them be creepy in their weirdness but just failed hard. Then when the comedy started the movie lost all its tension. Didn't feel the situations were tense anymore and couldn't care much about the characters.

I also held out hopes for it to have some really cool Twilight Zone horror thing going on based on the trailer but the whole thing was much less interesting what I had thought of after seeing the trailer.
 

Airola

Member
Almost felt like some bad M. Night film come the second half of the film.

Yeah, I had the exact same feeling. Got that feeling pretty early on. I really thought at some point that is this Peele making him be the second Shyamalan already in his second movie.
 

Christopher

Member
People I see are analyzing this movie like it’s a fucking Picasso painting it’s dissapointing and loses steam after the first half hour
 
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People I see are analyzing this movie like it’s a fucking Picasso painting it’s dissapointing and loses steam after the first half hour

Well I think that there are three "hidden" social commentary points that are made about the movie. So there are things to unpack and discuss, but to me the movie is very simple.

US loses steam for a hot minute, but then picks back up. Overall it's a decent movie that is only meant to be watched once imo.
 
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People I see are analyzing this movie like it’s a fucking Picasso painting it’s dissapointing and loses steam after the first half hour

I apologize for enjoying the movie

I apologize for getting further enjoyment out of discussing themes and symbolism in all movies I see (when applicable)

Please forgive me

I meant you no harm, oh tortured soul
 
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Christopher

Member
I apologize for enjoying the movie

I apologize for getting further enjoyment out of discussing themes and symbolism in all movies I see (when applicable)

Please forgive me

I meant you no harm, oh tortured soul

Enjoy it all you want. I’m just so glad that you clearly see the deeper meaning in all this the social commentary...so deep.
 

Azula

Neo Member
Felt torn on this film. The technical aspects of the film were amazing. The acting was brilliant. The cinematography amazing. And Peele feels like a master of building tension. It’s actually a very nuanced thing. This film wasn’t exaxctly scary in a physical sense, but was instead disturbing and creepy spiritually and within.

SPOILERS AHEAD

But where this film kind of fell flat for me, was the plot. And I’m torn because I don’t know if the story is problematic or not. I get a lot of people are arguing that the film is kept “ambiguous” so it’s up to interpretation. But IMO the story wasn’t that ambiguous in terms of the physical set up.

The film opens with text saying there is millions of tunnels and abandoned subways under the US, that people don’t know about. By the end of the film, they pretty much state that “they created clones, but that the soul is still attached to the clone. So “they” created clones and put them in these underground tunnels, to control the people on the surface (because you can influence people’s actions with the clones being tied to the real person by their soul).

We aren’t told who “they” are. Could be gov/ Illuminati type power groups. And they feed these “shadows” by feeding them rabbits. So it’s established that people are storing these clones underground to house them and feed them. Then one day one of the clones kidnaps a human from the surface and swaps places. Because a human was living among these shadows that can’t fully think or communicate, she’s able to organize all the clones/ shadows to rise up and take over the surface from the original humans (the scissors are so that they can cut the soul tethered between them and their origina self).

IMO this is the physical plot, and is established. Yes the film is heavily based on metaphors and is thematically heavy. But within the phsycial world, people are dying. The clones/ shadows have linked arms around the world and are physically affecting the world.

My issue then, is that while the metaphors about today’s society are interesting, I’m not sure if I love the actual lore of the movie. This idea that a single human is able to organize all the clones / shadows to have a revolution. That they all wear the same uniforms (that they were able to get all of that clothing). It also brings into question a lot of the main character. Did she always remember that she kidnapped her human self? So was all the crying and fear about going back to Santa Cruz BS? Why even go back?

Even if the answer is there, I’m not so sure that I even like the way the story is dished out. Almost happens too quickly, and doesn’t feel fleshed out. But does it even matter? Apart of me wishes there was no explanation, and it was just people being tormented by clones of themselves. With the answer being more ambiguous, and being about ones internal fight with their fears and demons. But by them having a physical plot, with lore etc. It kind of made it all real for me, and I’m not sure I really like the lore behind shadows / clones, and them being housed underground.

*phew*

All that said, I actually enjoyed it. I loved a lot of things about it. But left the theater feeling torn. I’ll have to watch this again. Definitely thinking a lot about it.
 
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This guy does good work



I think he nails it down pretty accurately. I didn’t even notice
the biblical reference my first time watching

Not really a spoiler but I’ll spoil it just out of caution
 

Mohonky

Member
Yeh i watch foundflix and his ending explained videos abit.

You guys are killing my excitement for this film. Im definitely seeing it no matter what though, especially after Get Out.
 

Azula

Neo Member
Yeh i watch foundflix and his ending explained videos abit.

You guys are killing my excitement for this film. Im definitely seeing it no matter what though, especially after Get Out.

Film is technically great. Like I said, brilliant acting and amazing cinematography. He’s mastered tension building. I enjoyed this scene to scene. BUT, if you are someone that is more plot oriented, and care about that above else - then this might not be as good as Get Out for you.

Unique premise aside, I believe that if this was another director, this movie would get reemed more for the plot. But on the other hand, Peele is so damn good. And all the other elements in this film are incredible. Which is why I personally feel torn. Because if this was another director, none of the other elements would be this damn good.

Plus, there is a chance you end up loving the plot. I think the premise itself is unique. Just go in with an open mind, and let yourself hang on to each scene. Get wrapped up in the tension and have a fun time. My theater had people gasping and holding on to their date / loved one. It was a lot of fun.
 
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godhandiscen

There are millions of whiny 5-year olds on Earth, and I AM THEIR KING.
This movie was fantastic, and the social commentary was on point.

The "tethered", are a metaphor for individuals who are born without hope and whose existence sole purpose is to serve those who were born with more opportunities. Their revolution is a meaningless demonstration just like the original "Hands Across America" and a thousand other activist showings. Like Adelaide says to her kid at the end of the movie, "everything will go back to being the same".

It doesn't surprise me that a lot of individuals just don't see it or don't want to see it. I know, I am typing this from a $3k laptop built in a factory packed with workers whose lives resemble slavery; I can't judge. However, the message is loud and clear, and more difficult to digest when you realize that you are actually the monster.

I agree a lot with this interpretation of the movie, so I'll leave it here:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/danidi...s-jordan-peeles-us-really-about/#7b66c21f5583

PS: Props on calling out the people who bought that useless flamethrower, and then go on social media to post about equality and discrimination.
 
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mckmas8808

Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
This movie was fantastic, and the social commentary was on point.

The "tethered", are a metaphor for individuals who are born without hope and whose existence sole purpose is to serve those who were born with more opportunities. Their revolution is a meaningless demonstration just like the original "Hands Across America" and a thousand other activist showings. Like Adelaide says to her kid at the end of the movie, "everything will go back to being the same".

It doesn't surprise me that a lot of individuals just don't see it or don't want to see it. I know, I am typing this from a $3k laptop built in a factory packed with workers whose lives resemble slavery; I can't judge. However, the message is loud and clear, and more difficult to digest when you realize that you are actually the monster.

I agree a lot with this interpretation of the movie, so I'll leave it here:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/danidi...s-jordan-peeles-us-really-about/#7b66c21f5583

PS: Props on calling out the people who bought that useless flamethrower, and then go on social media to post about equality and discrimination.

No reason to say you can't judge just because you are typing on a $3K laptop. It's not like you can control the corporations that "hire" slaves to dig for those minerals. In the same way it's not the fault of the "normal people" that the "tethered" live the way they do.
 
I haven't seen Peele's previous movie, but I watched this one at the cinema last week-end, and we all pretty much thought it was rather boring and tedious as neither the "social commentary", nor the horror aspects seem to work in this movie.

As a horror movie, it is just another slasher flick that fails to build any kind of suspense, not once did I find myself scared. On the contrary, I cringed myself through most of the scenes that were seeping with misplaced humor, be it the bumbling dad or the dysfunctional rich neighbors with their malfunctioning Alexa clone. The kills were all rather unimaginative and the weird choice of music ruined most scenes. Watching preteens smash in skulls with a golf-club to the tune of "f*ck the police" by NWA felt more forced than anything else really.

Throughout the movie, I really didn't care about the characters at all because all of them were rather cardboard cut-out, be it the middle-class family or the rich neighbors. The mother was your standard traumatized slasher flick victim, the children were nondescript and merely served as emotional bait, the father was basically Homer Simpson and all you get from the neighbors is that they are your stereotypical well-off but dysfunctional superficial and consumerist fools who can't raise their children right.

The social commentary was also rather bland and doesn't really work, for numerous reasons. First of all, the message is nothing new and something that you've already heard on numerous occasions. As far as I understood, the gist of it is that our luxurious first world lifestyle is the result of a blind consumerism at the expense of other humans that are exploited to produce our goods in inhuman conditions. There's reason why the underground looks like a shopping mall. While the moral message isn't wrong, the movie fails to bring anything new to the table as it is beating the dead horse of our globalist capitalistic exploitation system. You're really better off just watching a documentary on Coltan mining or assembly-line work in China. Besides, other works of fiction have done a much better job presenting this anti-consumerist message, like "Snowpiercer", "American Psycho", "Fight Club", "Mad Max" or "They Live".

Heck, if you want to see this treated in an equally humorous but thought-provoking way, just watch "Modern Times" released in 1936 by Charlie Chaplin:



Another reason why the social commentary doesn't really work is because the movie tries to explain the "shadows" or "doppelgängers" in the most hamfisted way. It's something about thousands of miles of unexplored underground tunnels and secret cloning facilities that were abandoned by "the man". If you want people to explore the deeper aspects of your social criticism, then why prevent them from doing so by providing this derivative drivel of an explanation? It also doesn't help that the "shadows" are all blood-thirsty murderers who are out to simply kill us and "hold hands". Which only flies in the face of the message you're trying to convey in the first place because it makes the audience pretty much unsympathetic to their underground struggle.

Lastly, you can see the plot twist coming from a mile away and also contradicts the message of the movie. Basically, if you want to have a good life you need to swap roles thus, condemning another person to a life of suffering. I mean, yeah, I get it, materialism is a zero-sum game, but nowhere does the movie present an alternative view on happiness, be it immaterialistic values, intellectual pleasure or philosophical contemplation. The "shadows" want the exact same thing as the "originals" and in their social envy they are just as willing to exploit others to reach their materialistic goals. The mother's "shadow" explains this pretty well by saying that every time the original family had a hot, tasty meal, their counterparts ate "raw, bloody rabbit", and every time their children got plushy toys, they got "cold sharp tools that cut your fingers".

One of the reasons this movie fails where others succeeded, is because its underlying Hobbesian message is purely nihilistic in its one-sided presentation of human nature. The other movies that I've cited at least try to present the audience with a different world-view that could allow it to escape this consumerist hamster wheel. "Us" on the other hand, seems contempt with its simplistic moral messaging. You're either part of the hamster wheel or you're doomed to suffer, that's it.

In the end, "Us" is a boring horror slasher flick that fails on numerous levels to bring across its tedious social message. It is neither entertaining from a horror perspective, nor very effective in making you think.
 
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I haven't seen Peele's previous movie, but I watched this one at the cinema last week-end, and we all pretty much thought it was rather boring and tedious as neither the "social commentary", nor the horror aspects seem to work in this movie.

As a horror movie, it is just another slasher flick that fails to build any kind of suspense, not once did I find myself scared. On the contrary, I cringed myself through most of the scenes that were seeping with misplaced humor, be it the bumbling dad or the dysfunctional rich neighbors with their malfunctioning Alexa clone. The kills were all rather unimaginative and the weird choice of music ruined most scenes. Watching preteens smash in skulls with a golf-club to the tune of "f*ck the police" by NWA felt more forced than anything else really.

Throughout the movie, I really didn't care about the characters at all because all of them were rather cardboard cut-out, be it the middle-class family or the rich neighbors. The mother was your standard traumatized slasher flick victim, the children were nondescript and merely served as emotional bait, the father was basically Homer Simpson and all you get from the neighbors is that they are your stereotypical well-off but dysfunctional superficial and consumerist fools who can't raise their children right.

The social commentary was also rather bland and doesn't really work, for numerous reasons. First of all, the message is nothing new and something that you've already heard on numerous occasions. As far as I understood, the gist of it is that our luxurious first world lifestyle is the result of a blind consumerism at the expense of other humans that are exploited to produce our goods in inhuman conditions. There's reason why the underground looks like a shopping mall. While the moral message isn't wrong, the movie fails to bring anything new to the table as it is beating the dead horse of our globalist capitalistic exploitation system. You're really better off just watching a documentary on Coltan mining or assembly-line work in China. Besides, other works of fiction have done a much better job presenting this anti-consumerist message, like "Snowpiercer", "American Psycho", "Fight Club", "Mad Max" or "They Live".

Heck, if you want to see this treated in an equally humorous but thought-provoking way, just watch "Modern Times" released in 1936 by Charlie Chaplin:



Another reason why the social commentary doesn't really work is because the movie tries to explain the "shadows" or "doppelgängers" in the most hamfisted way. It's something about thousands of miles of unexplored underground tunnels and secret cloning facilities that were abandoned by "the man". If you want people to explore the deeper aspects of your social criticism, then why prevent them from doing so by providing this derivative drivel of an explanation? It also doesn't help that the "shadows" are all blood-thirsty murderers who are out to simply kill us and "hold hands". Which only flies in the face of the message you're trying to convey in the first place because it makes the audience pretty much unsympathetic to their underground struggle.

Lastly, you can see the plot twist coming from a mile away and also contradicts the message of the movie. Basically, if you want to have a good life you need to swap roles thus, condemning another person to a life of suffering. I mean, yeah, I get it, materialism is a zero-sum game, but nowhere does the movie present an alternative view on happiness, be it immaterialistic values, intellectual pleasure or philosophical contemplation. The "shadows" want the exact same thing as the "originals" and in their social envy they are just as willing to exploit others to reach their materialistic goals. The mother's "shadow" explains this pretty well by saying that every time the original family had a hot, tasty meal, their counterparts ate "raw, bloody rabbit", and every time their children got plushy toys, they got "cold sharp tools that cut your fingers".

One of the reasons this movie fails where others succeeded, is because its underlying Hobbesian message is purely nihilistic in its one-sided presentation of human nature. The other movies that I've cited at least try to present the audience with a different world-view that could allow it to escape this consumerist hamster wheel. "Us" on the other hand, seems contempt with its simplistic moral messaging. You're either part of the hamster wheel or you're doomed to suffer, that's it.

In the end, "Us" is a boring horror slasher flick that fails on numerous levels to bring across its tedious social message. It is neither entertaining from a horror perspective, nor very effective in making you think.


Damn. Laying the smack down.

I disagree, but well thought out and well written post here.
 
I thought it was a great contemporary 'remake' of CHUD, right down to the hamfisted social commentary. And like CHUD, it doesn't detract from the enjoyment of the film - it's simply a fun watch.

That "we are Americans" line was groan-worthy, though.
 
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random question

Is there a conscious effort behind Key not being in either of Jordan’s movies? They are still friends, I hope? Is this ever discussed openly?
 

Doom85

Member
random question

Is there a conscious effort behind Key not being in either of Jordan’s movies? They are still friends, I hope? Is this ever discussed openly?

They likely just want to not be typecast as those two guys who always have to be together, not to mention Peele wants to focus on directing it looks like (and I appreciate him not just forcing Key into all his films, lord knows I think Tim Burton needs to realize not all his films need Depp. Heck, makes me wonder if the only reason Depp didn't appear in some role in Miss Peregrine's Home was because the studio said no or something). It was only a few years ago they were in Keanu together, plus they had a cameo appearance in ABC's new Muppets (where they talked about how Key and Peele was cancelled (it wasn't actually but rather simply ended, just FYI) and are afraid the same could happen to the Muppets. Sadly, they were right....). I'm sure they still get along, it's just they're doing their own things now it seems like.
 

EviLore

Expansive Ellipses
Staff Member
Just got back.

What a mess. It's technically very competent, but the writing sinks the ship. Such a lazy denouement, unimaginative action and kills, paper thin characters. Get Out is its better by far.
 
Just watched it as well. Funny thing is that the theater I go to mostly has a Black audience. Everyone liked it until the clones/doppelgängers arrive. The audience started laughing once the matriarch started talking in her odd voice and it lost steam with us after the fact. Later on, it goes into absurd territory and resembles 'Tim and Eric's Bedtime Stories' with a message. It wasn't scary to me, nor was 'Get Out'. His films (so far) tend to be social thrillers. The 11:11 theme, the Black Flag t-shirts, the nods to CHUD, Goonies and The Man with Two Brains were very on the nose in terms of allegory. The end of the film skews towards Shyamalan territory. The actor that played the father was great, so was PTSD Lupita. The references to other movies the characters make seemed forced and didn't go over well. His movies have too much of an arthouse/European feel that muddies any message he has for his audience and tends to go over their heads. Shout out to that one daughter of Tim Heidecker that wore the punk shirts. She had some thick thighs.
 
I really don’t feel like I was being hit over the head with political commentary.

Sure, it’s there, but it’s up for interpretation.

This movie feels like a puzzle.

Or, as Peele himself stated, “it’s a Rorschach test.”

I found the movie riveting, even if the second half goes a little balls wild.

I know there’s one line in the movie that maybe made people groan. I almost wish that line wasn’t in the movie as it’s the only part that feels a little too “on the nose.” We all know the line I’m talking about, or you will once you see it.

“We are Americans.”

Even I, a Liberal Cuckboy, rolled my eyes at this line.

Other than that one line I get everything was subtle enough.

Just me, though

I remembered reading this post today as I watched Mat Pat's take on this line, and the rest of the movie. It's a pretty good analysis.




And it also reminded me of this post from another thread:

As the philosopher John Stuart Mill wrote, "It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied. And if the fool, or the pig, are a different opinion, it is because they know only their own side of the question”.

With this adage, Mill wanted to convey that human beings who dedicate their whole lives to the pursuit of corporal pleasure and materialistic delights will never find true happiness, because doing so would mean to betray human nature. After all, we are reasonable animals and as such, we cannot find meaning in materialistic goods. Mill's utilitarian philosophy is a direct refutation of the hedonistic nature of modern society that promises happiness through the means of consumption.

Living the life of a pig may sound enticing, but ultimately it means to deny ones own true nature. No, a human being can only find happiness by staying true to his nature or as Aristotle would say, his function. So in order to determine human nature, we need to find out what we are made to perform. We human beings tend to define things according to their function, so it would be silly to assume that the human being itself serves no purpose that is exclusive to its existence. The function of a knife is to cut, so by definition a good knife is a knife that performs its function of cutting admirably. A pen is a good pen if it allows you to write well, a chair is a good chair if it allows you to sit comfortably and so on...

The same of course is true for human craft. A carpenter is a good carpenter if he produces good furniture, a strategist is a good strategist if he obtains victory and a doctor is a good doctor if he heals others well. Even our organs follow the same principle. An eye is good if it has good eyesight, a leg is good if it allows you to run fast and a nose is a good nose if it can pick up scents accurately. Following this line of thinking, there's really no reason why it should be any different for us humans. So in order to find out our function as human beings, we only need to compare use to other living beings.

Plants can grow, multiply and take up nutrients. Compared to plants, animals can do something that plants cannot, that is to feel emotions. Now, compared to plants and animals, what is it that humans can perform that other living organisms can't? Well, according to Aristotle, what makes humans unique is their ability to reason. In other words, a human being is a good human being if it performs its true function which is to live a life according to reason. Therefore, happiness can only be found in our ability to think

Considering all of the above, can we truly say that our modern societies live up to that ideal? Let's face it, we live in a pleasure-oriented world that reveres corporal and materialistic hedonism, rather than intellectual significance. The things we buy, the stuff we consume, the entertainment media we watch and the people we make famous are, for the most part, a celebration of corporal hedonism. Youth, external beauty, expensive clothes and apparel, a lifestyle in luxury, these are the values we tend to dignify with our utmost attention. The Hollywood celebrity, the rich corporate start-up trust fund kid, the social media opinion monger, these are the people we listen to while the intellectuals who seek meaning and understanding are shunned by society at large.

The media we consume, are mostly puddle deep with a thick veneer of emotionally laden pseudo-morality, filled to the brim with tits, asses and explosions. Our society has long since stopped to seek meaning in the movies we watch, the songs we listen to, the games we play and the books we read. What we want is digital escapism from the burdens of reality, a reality that cannot be shaped so easily by our capricious whims and desires. No, what we have cultivated is not a generation of enlightened human beings capable of rational thought, instead we created a generation of people who define themselves through the things they consume. You can see it everywhere, our entertainment has become religion, our new iPhone a sacred cow, the lifestyle and media starlets our prophets.

And there is a simple reason for that: You cannot package and sell intellectual pleasure.

Intellectual pleasure is what you intimately derive from a good through the capacity of your own reason. As such it is purely dependent on your capacity to think about, to rationalize and to understand the things of the world. It is not an instant gratification in the sense that it can easily appeal to your bodily desires. As Leo Strauss would say, it requires the "cultivation of your reason". Only a beautiful mind can appreciate intellectual beauty that doesn't come with a price tag.

As John Stuart Mill would say, the higher pleasures of the mind are vastly superior to the lower pleasures of the body. As such he greatly values pleasures of the intellect, of contemplation, of imagination, and of moral sentiments. Today's society cares very little about these values as it equates happiness with pleasure and material wealth. Coincidentally these are the people we tend to admire, not the free thinkers, the knowledgeable and the intellectuals, but the business moguls and the pop and movie stars. We don't value these people for their beautiful minds, but their beautiful smiles, their economic prowess and their pricey possessions. We give them expensive designer clothes, pompous villas and shiny golden trophies. Worse yet, we listen to their words because they are rich and famous and when you are rich and famous you must be right.

But the thing with money is that it doesn't make you happy, you can be the richest person in the world and still be depressingly empty and vacuous. Money isn't happiness and never can be, simply because it's not a value in and of itself, it is merely a means to an end. Or as Aristotle would describe it, it's an intermediate goal through which we promise ourselves joy. No, true happiness can only be found through ataraxia, the tranquility of the soul which is a commodity that has become rare these days as most people are busy enviously eyeing the possessions of their fellow human beings. What our materialistic society has plenty of, is jealousy.

We've cultivated a whole generation of young people who get their worldviews from social media by following some vacuous pompous starlet that's merely parroting words without understanding their meaning. I don't admire these famous people, in fact, I pity them. Despite their golden tongue, they stand for everything that I learned to despise about this society. They keep repeating all these shiny buzzwords, not because they know what they actually mean, but because they think it's expected of them. And so they keep tweeting and messaging these grandiose words and hashtags, without respecting them themselves.

Just try it for yourself, and go sit someplace (an empty room, a lonely bench, beneath a tree, whatever...) without your mobile, without a book or piece of entertainment, without internet or any other distracting piece of commodity of the modern world. Just sit there, you and yourself and wait... just wait and see what happens. Will you be fine, will your thoughts creep up on you, will your regrets haunt you? If that thought alone makes you shudder, if it sounds boring or pointless, you might be far away from your own ataraxy. Sitting there contemplating, letting your thoughts flow through you, keeping yourself company, not in the sense of meditation, but in an ontological sense, to simply exist. Why is it that we have become so frightened of that? Being busy is not enough. It’s what we are busy with that counts, or as Socrates would say, “beware the barrenness of a busy life".

Popular entertainment has not only become religion, but also an escape from ourselves, as more and more people become unable to spend time just being by and with themselves. Contemplation of the self has largely fallen out of fashion, instead we've become too busy watching others, finding their faults and pointing fingers. The world, we'd like to think, is a bad place not because of our own stupidity but because of others. Now what I'm saying is nothing new. When Socrates faced the 501-member jury in his apologia, this is what he had to say to those charged with deciding his innocence or guilt: "As long as I draw breath… I shall… exhort you… Are you not ashamed of your eagerness to possess as much wealth, reputation and honors as possible, while you do not care for nor give thought to wisdom or truth, or the best possible state of your soul?"

It is an age old problem, but none that has become irrelevant, on the contrary. Gone are the days of intellectual moralism, what we've got now is a simplified version of social justice. A purely materialistic view on morality, defined by skin color, race, gender and perceived privilege. Our current notion of justice is popular not because it is right, but because it is easy. Just use your eyes, no need for careful consideration, visual confirmation is sufficient. It's the ultimate morality of a generation the grew up with social media and permanent visual stimulation that vastly prefers appearance over substance.

In the end, pleasure is a poor substitute for happiness, it is fleeting and ephemeral. Thus we fall from one pleasure to another, never really satisfied with what we have because once we've gotten one thing we're already looking forward to another. Our society promises pleasure, because pain and misery have no value anymore. Thus we have subjugated ourselves under the soft tyranny of the promise of numb corporal pleasure that renders us fragile against the harshness of reality. Our very own pleasure utopia has become a golden cage that leaves no room for the beauty of misery anymore.

By doing so, we've engrossed ourselves with first world problems without significance and let me tell you, there is nothing worse than suffering without meaning. I say no to that, I'll take the sweet suffering that life has bestowed upon me over dull corporal pleasure anytime, because to bravely bear the harshness of existence that is to become a better human. To find true happiness is not to look forwards to the things you don't have, but to the thing you do have and your ability to endure and reflect upon yourself.

Weather the storm dear Gaffers and stay afloat.
 

Christopher

Member
Just got back.

What a mess. It's technically very competent, but the writing sinks the ship. Such a lazy denouement, unimaginative action and kills, paper thin characters. Get Out is its better by far.

You didn’t find the deeper meaning in the shit writing that these others apparently have found???
 
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