Jordan Peele delivers again with thrilling 'Us'

Two years ago, Jordan Peele used horror genre mechanics to craft a penetrating story about race in “Get Out.” The movie was a phenomenon, eventually earning Peele the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.

His follow-up, “Us,” cements Peele as one of the most exciting filmmakers working in horror or any genre. Armed with a larger budget, Peele showcases his visual prowess behind the camera, and his screenplay reaches into even more ambitious territory.

The movie begins as an efficient home invasion thriller, first introducing the Wilson family on their way to a vacation house near Santa Cruz. Mother Adelaide (Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong’o) seems to be holding onto a past trauma (some of which we see in the film’s freaky opening scene), while patriarch Gabe (a hilarious Winston Duke) spends all his time making dad jokes. The kids have distinctive voices too, anchored by strong performances by Shahadi Wright Joseph and Evan Alex.

Then come the doubles. Another family of four arrives in the Wilsons’ driveway, and before long they’ve broken in and taken the Wilsons captive. They are doppelgangers, played by the same actors, but only Nyong’o’s Adelaide double has the ability to speak (albeit in a freaky, throaty tone destined to give you nightmares).

What they want and why they’re there dives into the movie’s broader story and themes. But take those long, sharp scissors in Doppelganger-Adelaide’s hands as a serious warning. There will be blood.

Tasked with playing two versions of their characters, the core cast is terrific, led by an especially astonishing lead performance by Nyong’o. The Adelaide vs. Adelaide conflict serves as the key anchor in “Us,” and Nyong’o’s approach to both sides is intricate and distinctive in both broad and specific ways. Nyong’o won her Oscar for “12 Years a Slave” back in 2013 but hasn’t really had a showcase role since. “Us” will hopefully open the door to the kind of star roles she deserves.

Once the doppelgangers appear, “Us” never lets off the gas, and Peele crafts effective suspense sequences without resorting to cheap jump scares. Tension builds through character interactions and striking visual cues — the way the camera lingers on certain disturbing elements contrasts greatly with the rapid-fire editing of many other horror movies.

Just as in “Get Out,” Peele’s comedy background comes into play in “Us.” The early interactions between the family are authentic and funny, and Duke’s overall depiction of Gabe as a lumbering goof serves the movie well as everything else around the family becomes deadly serious.

“Us” is objectively a better-made movie than “Get Out” (that’s coming from someone who declared “Get Out” as the best movie of 2017), though some viewers will find the sprawling third act to be too opaque. While the movie provides definitive answers to the origins of the doppelgangers, Peele purposely withholds some of the broader universe details. It’s a tricky balance, as some audiences like answers to everything these days, but the movie chooses to remain focused on the emotional journey of its main characters, leaving the broader implications open for interpretation.

The thematic messaging of the movie can lead to all sorts of different conclusions, most of which take aim at the intrinsic inequality of human nature, and most specifically in American culture. Peele makes some bold choices here, and the last couple of minutes recontextualize those themes in a way that essentially demands a second viewing.

“Get Out” (acknowledging again that it’s anchored by a perfect screenplay) makes a more linear thematic statement. “Us” might leave more people bewildered, but Peele seems to be reaching at something larger that implicates everyone who watches it. The “Us” isn’t just the title.

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Tyler Wilson can be reached at [email protected]