Jordan Peele, a comedian and sketch-show author, transformed into a budding director. His debut Get Out was just a breakdown of the pen in thriller and horror, and when Peelу confidently got back on his feet, he shot his next masterpiece Us. The number of references in this film is simply off the charts (take the title for an example), whether it be religious writings, works of cultural code or cinematic parallels. The whole film is a one big parallel between the real world and the underground, where our doppelgangers live. They are stronger, faster and more accurate in their efforts to topple humanity. Peele makes the point where the doubles may look and act like monsters, especially to theirs, they still have an unacknowledged humanity that brings them a kind of horrible pathos.
I was literally fascinated by this film with a constant sense of inevitability, because wherever the heroes run, they can't hide. Peele directs with a masterful collection of horror-movie tricks – jump scares that actually pay off, a cat-and-mouse game in an isolated place filled with bright lights and deep pools of impenetrable shadow, a throat-closing Michael Abels score full of intense drumming and choral chanting that elevates the action to operatic levels of drama. All the turns of the plot work like a whip, which spurs all the participants in this performance, and the struggle between good and evil turns into a struggle for justice and dominance. And, of course, the ending will blow your mind – thanks to Lupita Nyongo, the performer of the main role, for such an acting gift.