Following up his hit horror comedy, Get Out, Jordan Peele’s newest film Us hit the theatres this past week with a lot of excitement built up around it. Known for the subtle symbolism in his films, Peele once again aimed to construct a plot that reflected modern day issues while maintaining an interesting story. However, the delivery was weak and overall the movie was average at best.

Peele’s strong suit is his comedy, and I think he should stick with it. The characters were well developed, and made the audience captivated with each of their unique personalities. There were plenty of moments throughout the movie I found myself snickering at witty lines, and the irony of the scenes. This is where Us was at its strongest. Once it ventured away from the comedy and realism; the movie really lost its steam.

It was missing many of the factors that make horror movies so great: jump scares, suspense, and that certain creep factor that leaves you checking around every dark corner once when you get home. The movie was filled with enough bloody fight scenes to make it feel like a Rambo movie, but that was about as far as the horror went.

Another major selling point for Us was the “mystery”. Although in the end they pieced together the storyline, there was not a big “ohh!” moment. The entire storyline was lackluster and was missing most of the puzzle pieces to make it a successful mystery.

The storyline served almost as an anchor at the end of the movie slowing down the pace to an almost unbearable speed. In an attempt to further the complexity of the plot, a variety of unnecessary and confusing scenes were added. The movie could have easily ended fifteen moments earlier and the audience would leave feeling like it was just as, if not more, of a complete film.    

If you really enjoyed Get Out then I think you will find a comfortable amount of similarity in Us, however; be prepared for a slower pace, less interesting plot. If you have not seen or are not a huge fan of Peele’s past work, then I would tell you there are far better options if you’re looking for a good thriller. My take away from seeing both films: we need a Jordan Peele comedy on the big screen.