Merry Christmas!
Also, Boo!
That seems to be the idea behind picking today of all days to premiere the first trailer for Jordan Peele’s next movie. After Get Out, what’s the premise for his next social thriller, Us? We are our own worst enemy – literally!
[Leaves to check to see if the U.S. federal government is still shut down. Looks at the imploding stock market. Checks to see if Britain is still completely and utterly screwed and unprepared for Brexit. Remembers absolutely none of this actually needs to be happening. ]
Ok. He has a point, but he doesn’t mean it necessarily in a geopolitical context. His film has to make the argument feel more personal.
So, as seen in the trailer when a well-off black family of four led by parents/old Black Panther co-stars Winston Duke and Lupita Nyong’o goes on vacation with some friends (Elisabeth Moss! And she’s a total lush!) they soon find themselves in a The Strangers/Straw Dogs/The Purge situation. A group of silent, masked strangers appear on their doorstep, seemingly setting up a familiar family under siege narrative.
But, wait, there’s a twist: the strangers look just like them! Plus, unlike Spock in the Star Trek mirror universe, these doppelgangers don’t have easy-to-identify goatees to help us tell the evil versions of the characters from the good.
That’s…interesting. Reminds me a bit of the second half of Channel Zero‘s No-End House season (if you don’t get the reference, please put Channel Zero on your watchlist immediately!). However, it doesn’t quite jump out as having the instantly obvious metaphorical power of Get Out.
There’s a reason for that. As Peele told The Hollywood Reporter, “”Very important for me was to have a black family at the center of a horror film. But it’s also important to note, unlike Get Out, Us is not about race. It is instead about something that I feel has become an undeniable truth. And that is the simple fact that we are our own worst enemies.”
So, again, Merry f’n Christmas.
Us is due March 15, 2019, and while following up Get Out will be a tall task let’s all agree to not expect another global blockbuster with Oscar potential and just accept a creepy-looking horror movie. If it ends up having more to it, which it almost certainly will since Peele talked to the press about a monster in the film which isn’t in the trailer, then all the better. You can buy your tickets now if you want to. No, seriously, you can. As the trailer announces, pre-order tickets are on sale now.
What’s your reaction to the trailer? Let me know in the comments.
We Minored in Film 
Yeah, I just looked at it as a good little horror movie. I’m not looking for accolades beyond that point. If they happen, fine, but that’s not why I’m hyping it. I like the actors in it, and I like the premise of a very twisted sort of home invasion/not a home invasion type story. Also the trailer was very effective on me. I got chills. Seriously. Now I’m walking into the theater with my fingers crossed and hope it’s a good as Get Out.