So, I guess it’s hip and trendy to refer to Jordan Peele as overrated. Granted, he has received nothing less than a tsunami of praise for all three movies he has released, and I can see how people could get sick of him so quickly. Sometimes, the hype behind a particular entertainer can get so loud that we ignore why they are in the position they are.
How does one character conjure this kind of hype with just three features? Well, the first feature has to be groundbreaking, and of course, GET OUT was exactly that. Many critics will point to GET OUT as Jordan Peele’s best movie… But some of us know better. Jordan Peele’s masterpiece thus far is his second film… US.
Not only is this a film showcasing how dynamic Peele is as a director, but it’s also the film with Lupita Nyongo’s greatest performance ever. It took me a while to conclude that her performance in this movie may be one of the most criminal Oscar snubs of the last 20 years. The two characters she plays in this movie are so starkly different and completely engaging. It’s the stuff that Oscar-nominated performances tend to be, no matter the genre.
This movie sticks the landing very well in the 3rd act. The ending of this movie is, well, pretty messed up and chaotic. BUT IT MAKES SENSE. Unlike 90% of American horror films, the conclusion to US makes sense and does not exist to give you one last jump scare. With this film, nothing feels cheap or gimmicky.
You will not find a movie with more pressure to live up to heavy fan-generated hype than this film. Even if you didn’t like it as much as GET OUT, you should at least respect it for making things bigger, creepier, and stylistically bolder than what came before.
Jordan Peele is not overhyped. He’s like an athlete whose first two or three seasons are so good that it becomes easy to see something special going on.
In a world filled with trashy, CONJURING universe jumpscare fests, we should come to appreciate films that are trying to push the genre forward, such as this one. There aren’t many horror directors in the game trying to do that.
US is available to stream on Peacock.
