Liked it, didnt love it. It lacks the overall terror that Get Out possessed, but amps up the horror set pieces. The most successful part of the movie is the second act that is basically a first-rate home invasion thriller. The beginning suffers from meh characters and hokey performances and the end unravels under the weight of its mythology.
It felt undercooked. I compared it to eating a microwaveable meal. Theres a lot on your plate and it tastes alright, but imagine making that same meal without all the sodium and mushiness and with real ingredients? As it is, the movie has a lot on its mind but never takes the time to fully flesh out any one of those ideas and the mythology develops more holes the more they explain it. Either explain everything, or explain nothing. The in-between feels less satisfying than giving the audience zero explanation.
I loved GET OUT but truly disliked US. I can't wrap my head around the glowing reviews. NOTHING made sense about this film. Nothing. You have to have never seen a horror movie (or a movie at all) to not figure out the "twist" 5 minutes into it. And when it's all revealed, if you spend more than 10 seconds thinking about it, the whole thing unravels from a ridiculous amount of plot holes that I can't understand nobody involved with this mess of a film fixing. If I had to say something good about it, I'd say the performances were all very strong and the daughter's kill with the golf club(?) was superb because THAT is how you kill someone in a horror film. Plus the film looks wonderful. It's just a shame the hot mess of a script was greenlit without anyone demanding some major fixes.
My god! I absolutely loved this movie. I think I just loved how Peele sprinkles so many little details. I think my favorite of this was when the mom told the daughter to put on her shoes and your like “but why?” And then later on she has to run away from her “clone.” I didn’t like it as much as Get Out, but it’s still better than most trash that gets released nowadays. Perhaps I’m slow, but I didn’t see the twist until Lupitas character killed that one twins clone. I think this film sets itself up really well for a prequel, where you see the real girls life in the underworld or even how that clone world became a thing.
You mean the real girl who set up the whole escape thing for every “other” but never just left, herself since she obviously knew the way out?
I doubt she knew the way out the whole time. She was unconscious when she was dragged down by her shadow.
I have more of a problem with the concept that every shadow mimics the experience of their aboveground counterpart. Why was it never a thing in the real world until the son backed away from his shadow so it could walk into the fire? Do the aboveground people have to decide to psychically link to control their shadows?
The mimicking thing pissed me off. It was the single most inconsistent “rule” the film set up. There was no rhyme or reason as to when they would mimic them or why.
It TRIED to be meaningful.....but there just wasn't any "there" there. I agree with Jordan''s first post immensely. Far too many holes AND unanswered questions.
Yes, if you like horror films alone, there is lots to like in it....I need a story that is consistent and has closure.
I could have put up with all the inconsistencies and red herrings (the mimicking). I just wished the middle third of the movie hadn't been so damn boring.
I come to a Jordan Peele horror movie with certain expectations: it will push buttons on race and society, it will use the movie camera in new and witty ways, and it will be funny, if creepily so. The first reels of US did this, and the last reel sort of got it back, but boy, that endless middle of the story with the home-invasion/ terrorizing was just repetitive variations on the same witless scares with too little freshness and way too little humor.
Whatever you do, don't bore Nina!
My favorite scene, by far, was the opening. The carnival, the homeless man with the sign, the beach and the approaching storm, the dark hall of mirrors. So evocative and spooky. Superb work by Lupita and the cast aside, the rest of the film just can't stand up to those opening minutes. Ambition and style to spare, but I thought Get Out was far more concise and satisfying.
Updated On: 3/25/19 at 03:51 PMI really liked most of the movie but when it went into the 3rd act, it seemed to fall apart for me. I was like, "I don't get it but hopefully it gets explained" and then the explanation makes no sense and seemed Peele was reaching so hard for a Shamaln twist. I have many issues with how he explained what was happening.
I find it very interesting that the reviews seemed to all be a variation of "This is the best horror film of all time" and the reviews from people who've seen it are mostly "meh".
**SPOILERS**
I think the movie would have been better if he focused on the family itself. I think it started falling apart when we find out that EVERYONE has a double which makes no sense that the government cloned EVERYONE (and all of the kids of these people are EXACTLY the same as their double even though the experiments were shut down when Adelaide was little). And the "Twist" at the end also didn't make sense. Why didn't the real Adelaide leave the facility and fun house since her double did?
NONE of the "twists" make sense when you think about them for more than 10 seconds. And let's be honest - if this were an M. Night film, we'd all be saying it was a total piece of sh*t.
I just found this film to be so well done. Peele does such a great job at making sure every word, shot, movement, lighting, sound, etc in his film all have relevance. He doesn't waste time with things that won't matter. Ill be honest I was so enthralled, that I did not see the twist coming until that very last second. Well done by Mr Peele, especially considering its just his 2nd movie ever.
Huh? How does everything have relevance when none of it makes any sense or means anything in the end?
Swing Joined: 4/3/19
I certainly didn't dislike it as much as Jordan (I did enjoy the film), but I do agree the presence of plot holes is... frustrating to say the least. For example:
How is it she never attempted to escape before, or in the instant she found the escalator?
Why did the "Tethered" have to kill everyone? I'm sure she could have saved herself and avoided this mess of a situation...
Also Jordan, I do believe they explained the mimicking. They "tethered" the humans and their counterparts in body, but they couldn't replicate the soul/mind. I assumed the "tether" was a physical bond... I do agree that we could have used more explanation, but I do think they touched upon it rather quickly.
Even with the plot holes, I did enjoy the film and it is certainly something I'll watch again when it premieres on HBO, or Showtime. I thought the performances were great and it did clip along, although some momentum was lost towards the end.
Also, it's impossible to critique Peele without getting the side eye from the "woke" ones... rather annoying.
Jordan Catalano said: "Huh? How does everything have relevance when none of it makes any sense or means anything in the end?"
How so? Just because of the twist? It still set up the lives of the people around us. I guess my one gripe would be not learning more about the tethered people, and that seems to be a lot of peoples main gripes and I can agree with that. To be devil's advocate, I think explaining everything would make a drawn out movie where we didn't need one. Their motivation was to kill the people in the upper world who were living better lives so they could all get their revenge. Peele likes to make you think. Im not saying right after the movie I was like "Yep got it all!!!" But after I digested the film more I completey understood it. I don't think it was meant to be as thematic as Get Out was, if thats what people are trying to figure out. The movie tackles themes of class, but its not as blatant as a film like Get Out was, if thats what you're getting at.
TotallyEffed said: "I really didn’t get this."
You did, though. There's just nothing there to get.
It just made absolutely no sense.
Where’d they get all of those gorgeous scissors? Is there a CB2 next to the rabbit farm down there?
Jordan Catalano said: "I loved GET OUT but truly disliked US. I can't wrap my head around the glowing reviews. NOTHING made sense about this film. Nothing. You have to have never seen a horror movie (or a movie at all) to not figure out the "twist" 5 minutes into it. And when it's all revealed, if you spend more than 10 seconds thinking about it, the whole thing unravels from a ridiculous amount of plot holes that I can't understand nobody involved with this mess of a film fixing. If I had to say something good about it, I'd say the performances were all very strong and the daughter's kill with the golf club(?) was superb because THAT is how you kill someone in a horror film. Plus the film looks wonderful. It's just a shame the hot mess of a script was greenlit without anyone demanding some major fixes."
I always trust what you say. You are 100000% right!
I think the problem is (and what happens with John Carpenter and Shyamalan lot) is that he wrote,directed, and produced the film so no one was really there to be like "Jordan - this really doesn't make sense."
But I have had friends jump on me and be like "Of course you don't like this........you don't like anything" because I said I had issues with the movie.
spiderdj82 said: "But I have had friends jump on me and be like "Of course you don't like this........you don't like anything" because I said I had issues with the movie."
One of my greatest pet peeves (just behind unprompted comments about my weight) is friends telling me I hate everything just because I have a more critical eye than “I liked this” or “I didn’t like this.” They never seem to ask me about the things I do like. When I’ve said I have issues with the movie but was mostly entertained, the response is “Ugh you don’t like anything.” As though I said I hated it instead of unequivocal raves from people trying to pretend they’re woke by calling it a masterpiece. A masterpiece, it sure as hell ain’t.
I wish society could just accept different opinions lol. I liked it, some people didn't, thats fine. I was trying to explain it a little to help clear confusion for people but I agree, just cause someone doesn't like this doesn't mean they hate film or Jordan Peele. I saw A Bronx Tale this past Saturday and my mom asked if I enjoyed the show, and I did not, and she replied with "Well Im sorry you had a miserable day" like.... did I say I did?
One of my greatest pet peeves (just behind unprompted comments about my weight) is friends telling me I hate everything just because I have a more critical eye than “I liked this” or “I didn’t like this.” They never seem to ask me about the things Idolike. When I’ve said I have issues with the movie but was mostly entertained, the response is “Ugh you don’t like anything.”
Exactly. I put on Facebook that I like movies/tv shows all the time but when I say I had a lot of issues with movies that everyone is praising ("Us" and "Captain Marvel" being the most recent), I all of a sudden don't like anything. I told a friend of mine that I can't just shut my mind off when watching a movie. But it annoys the HELL out of me when people say that I don't like anything when it is, obviously, not true.
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