Taking on one's inner demons

Beyond being a doppelganger horror flick, Us is about self-reflection and contemplation of a culture's collective dark side

Us stars (clockwise from top) Lupita Nyong'o, Shahadi Wright Joseph and Evan Alex, who play a family terrorised by their doppelgangers.
Us stars (clockwise from top) Lupita Nyong'o, Shahadi Wright Joseph and Evan Alex, who play a family terrorised by their doppelgangers. PHOTO: UIP
Us stars (clockwise from top) Lupita Nyong'o, Shahadi Wright Joseph and Evan Alex, who play a family terrorised by their doppelgangers.
Jordan Peele
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In between old-fashioned scares, Jordan Peele's Oscar-winning horror flick Get Out (2017) offered a subtle commentary on racism in America with its story of a young black man's encounter with the family of his white girlfriend.

But the film-maker warns fans they will be disappointed if they look for similar subtext in his follow-up film Us, even though it, too, is a horror story centred on African-American characters.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on March 21, 2019, with the headline Taking on one's inner demons. Subscribe