Jordan Peele’s Us should cement his status as a master of modern horror

Enlarge / Lupita Nyong'o stars as Adelaide Wilson, whose family encounters their own evil doppelgingers in Jordan Peele's new horror film, Us. (credit: Universal)

A family is terrorized by their own doppelgingers while vacationing in Santa Cruz in Jordan Peele's new film, Us. With its spot-on writing and pacing and fantastic performances from its ensemble cast, the film should cement Peele's status as a master of modern horror.

(Mildest of spoilers below, because anything more would spoil the fun.)

Us is the much-anticipated follow-up to Get Out, Peele's surprise box office hit that earned more than $250 million and snagged Peele an Oscar for best original screenplay-the first time the award has gone to a black recipient. Get Out is a subtle exploration of racial tensions that quietly builds to reveal its horrifying premise and inevitably bloody conclusion. In Us, the theme isn't so much racial tension-it's exploring, in Peele's words, the myriad ways in which "we are our own worst enemies."

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