The Shining, Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street—all movies I have successfully viewed with zero residual effects. Jordan Peele’s latest existential crisis inducer, Us, gave me my worst nightmare in years. I asked around, and I’m not the only one who experienced this. So, how can one horror film stick out from all the rest, to the point of REM disruption?
One especially eerie variable of Us is the music. While the tracks featured in the movie give them a whole new feel (“Good Vibrations” will never sound, well, good anymore), the score, composed by Michael Abels, pushes the film over the edge, way beyond goosebumps territory. Abels also scored Peele’s previous film, Get Out, which also felt creepiest in its musically heightened scenes. In the opening credits, a choir excels the impending doom, children’s voices pointed and sharp like daggers.
Us teems with anxiety, and finds its crowning moments in the not knowing. The normal, sometimes mundane rules of horror are kicked to the curb, Peele finding the scariest options. When Zora must put her track and field skills to the test, and has a face off with her tether, Umbrae, we expect Zora to find her doppelganger waiting under the car, but Peele places her on top of the car, reminding us how the tethered always have the upper hand– when above ground.
Just as Peele left viewers post Get Out, Us leaves the audience with a spiraling flurry of questions. The sheer thought of the tethered existing is horrifying. Moreover, the thought of a human following through with an experiment resulting in the tethered is Human Centipede level scary. Perhaps that is the strongest factor behind Us’ terrifying effect is the unanswered questions—with modern science already as ahead of its time, the potential of human clones is not that far out of the question. But even more grappling is the thought of coming face to face with your doppelganger. Would we even stand a chance?
You can see Us at Nitehawk Cinema in either Williamsburg or Prospect Park. Showtimes and more information here—and be sure to try their Us inspired cocktails and dinner special! Keep up with Nitehawk showings and events via their website and Instagram.