By Motlagae Konyana
* This article contains spoilers for the film “US”
A horror movie with a black family that doesn’t get killed in the first scene, now that’s a first so we had to watch “US”. Writer-director Jordan Peele offers a fierce, sharp interpretation of the terrifying power of human connection and the strange ties and bonds. Relationships are not what they seem while other connections are weird but they do exist.
A stellar performance by the “Black Panther” and “12 Years a Slave” star, Lupita Nyong as Adelaide Wilson and her doppelgänger Red. “US” opens with a flashback to 1986, the year that Adelaide’s nightmare began. A young Adelaide/Red experiences a mysterious trauma at a fun house on the Santa Cruz boardwalk, a trauma that will affect her for the rest of her life.
Adelaide grows increasingly concerned that something bad is going to happen. She is paranoid about something happening to her children since something bad happened to her when she was young.
During her visit to Santa Cruz boardwalk, her worst fears soon become a reality when four masked strangers descend upon the house, forcing the Wilsons into a fight for survival. Her loving, funny and goofy husband, played by Winston Duke, who is well known for his role as M’Baku in the Super hero movie “Black Panther”.
We spent moments laughing at some of the great references of other scary movies such as “Home Alone”. The classic scene on that drive is soundtracked by Oakland duo The Luniz’ smash 1995 track “I Got 5 On It,” before slipping into an strange.
We were not ready for the twist. Maybe we’re gullible, but we didn’t see it coming. Loved it. Kind of brilliant, the whole thing. And it all really does seem to make sense except, how did Adelaide not remember what happened?
This is really a must see, incredible cast and lots of scary moments that kept off our seats and our eyes on the screens.
*”US” is currently showing in all cinemas in South Africa
