A Filmmaker's Guide to: "Us" (2019)

In this chapter of ‘the filmmaker’s guide’ we are going to explore some of the films that have changed our outlook of the possibilities in cinema in some way, shape or form. These can include, but are not limited to: revolutionary cinematography, narratives that challenge the social structure and the common view, trademark styles of auter cinema, brilliant adaptations of novels and other works, films of philosophical value and films that touch our hearts and souls with their incredible underlying messages and morals. Within each of the films in this chapter there is a certain something that makes them special and a certain something that makes them linger long after we have watched them for the first time. Lasting impressions are difficult to create, but I think that the films we will briefly touch on in this chapter are some of the films we will never ever forget.

“Us” (2019) dir. by Jordan Peele

As you can probably tell, I’m also trying to include some newer movies in this series as many of them are movies of the 20th century. “Us” (2019) is a triumph of psychological horror cinema in which Jordan Peele directs star Lupita Nyong’o in his latest feat of film. Multilayered and containing incredible symbolic meaning, “Us” (2019) is basically what happens when Hitchcock meets Spike Lee. The film’s premise is an amazing nod to appropriation, violation and the need and requirement to ‘fit’ a perceived point of view of what the ‘other’ should be. However, the storyline is also a nod to duplicity and the behaviours of one person that can seem like many different faces all at once. Though the twist is slightly predictable, the film itself is a multifaceted nightmare of race politics and personality disorder. Using cinematography to constantly hide and reveal the truths, using darkness in order to make settings look more threatening, however safe they may seem and using character in order to create tensions between the real world and the ‘tethered’ - Jordan Peele excels in creating what is a universe of psychological torture. One we are completely unaware of, but if we look beneath the surface, we are entirely familiar with and part responsible for letting it unfold.

Symbols throughout the film give way to racial meanings and duplicitous meanings. First of all, we have the rabbits which are obviously the most important symbols in the film. If you would like to read more about the symbols of animals and the breakdown of the making of “Us” (2019) then you can read my articles on the subject. I have written about the movie itself in analysis and documented a review after watching it. I have also penned an article about the use of animals in horror films. You can find them all here:

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But the other symbols that are not too obvious but represent the vitals of the racial account of the film come through in smaller, less opaque ways. For example: the child wearing the “Michael Jackson’s Thriller” shirt, a feat of Black Music and also what some consider to be the beginning of what is now “Black Horror” (horror devised on the basis of the racial injustices suffered by Black people in America). This is an important symbol but most people miss its importance and symbolism. The next example is the use of mirrors in the film. Yes, mirrors may be a small issue but from watching the beginning of the film to seeing how the film progresses, you can definitely see that there is an important meaning to how mirrors are used especially in the family’s holiday home. Finally, we have the fact that they seem to be the only Black family we witness in the film. There is really no other family of colour and this, in today’s world, is incredibly strange and as a person of colour myself - unsettles me very much.

All in all, the film is a near-perfect creation of psychological terror through the use of the things in our own world and order that is still making everyday life more difficult for one particular group of people in a particular space and time. Jordan Peele understands this and uses it to create metaphor and meaning on screen, playing with the minds of his audiences and making us understand the real horrors of our world.

Once upon a time, there was a girl and the girl had a shadow. The two were connected, tethered together. When the girl ate, her food was given to her warm and tasty. But when the shadow was hungry, she had to eat rabbit raw and bloody. On Christmas, the girl received wonderful toys; soft and cushy. But the shadow's toys were so sharp and cold they sliced through her hands and fingers when she tried to play with them. The girl met a handsome prince and fell in love. But the shadow at that same time had Abraham. It didn't matter if she loved him or not. He was tethered to the girl's prince after all. Then the girl had her first child, a beautiful baby girl. But the shadow, she gave birth to a little monster! Umbrae was born laughing. The girl had a second child, a boy this time. They had to cut her open and take him from her belly. The shadow had to do it all herself. She named him Pluto, he was born to love fire. So you see, the shadow hated the girl so much for so long...until one day the shadow realised she was being tested by God...