--- title: "Us" year: 2019 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/us" fi1m_score: 78 critics_score: 76 critics_reviews: 21 published: "2026-09-17T09:19:27.027629+00:00" updated: "2026-09-17T09:19:27.276437+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Us (2019) Directed by Jordan Peele · 1h 56m · MPA R · Horror, Mystery **Fi1m score: 78** · Critics 76 from 21 reviews *In a sentence:* Lupita Nyong’o is excellent company until there are two of her > Jordan Peele’s *Us* is frightening and funny, led by Lupita Nyong’o in two unsettling performances. The explanations are less persuasive; horror fans should still find plenty to fear. ## Synopsis Adelaide Wilson (Lupita Nyong’o) returns to Santa Cruz for a seaside holiday with her husband, Gabe Wilson (Winston Duke), and their children, Zora Wilson (Shahadi Wright Joseph) and Jason Wilson (Evan Alex). A childhood encounter in a hall of mirrors makes Adelaide reluctant to be back, while Gabe wants to enjoy the beach. That evening, four strangers appear in the driveway of their holiday home, wearing red jumpsuits and carrying scissors. Adelaide tries to protect her family, but each intruder looks exactly like one of the Wilsons, including her own double, Red. ## Review Jordan Peele builds *Us* around a fear that needs little explanation: somebody with our face wants to hurt us. Putting an entire family through that ordeal gives him room for domestic comedy as well as horror, and the changes between them are often unnervingly quick. This is a good, frightening film whose storytelling becomes less convincing as it grows more elaborate. Its actors keep the threat immediate even when we begin to question the reasons behind it. Lupita Nyong’o makes Adelaide Wilson and Red feel like separate people almost immediately. Adelaide’s fear is easy to believe, while Red remains difficult to read even with that familiar face. We were frightened by the sight of someone resembling Adelaide threatening her family. The resemblance keeps making us look for something reassuring, and the performance makes that a thoroughly uncomfortable way to watch: knowing one woman gives us little help with the other. Mike Gioulakis’s cinematography is most effective when it lets us study those faces; the resemblance needs to register for the threat to work. Kym Barrett’s red jumpsuits help by giving the doubles a recognisable appearance of their own. They are simple enough to remain alarming without requiring us to work out what each detail means. Ruth De Jong’s production design makes the family’s holiday surroundings sufficiently plausible for these figures to feel intrusive. There is an ordinary life here that we can believe the Wilsons want to protect. Winston Duke is useful to that ordinary life as Gabe Wilson, supplying a comic ease that stops the family from existing only to be frightened. Nicholas Monsour’s editing makes the changes from comedy to danger feel abrupt without losing us. There is pleasure in a joke landing just when we have decided to stay tense. Michael Abels’s score sustains the unease through those changes, so the comedy never makes the doubles seem harmless. The humour also gives us a reason to care about the family beyond their immediate predicament. The difficulty is Jordan Peele’s screenplay, particularly when it starts explaining how much the doubles are meant to account for. Its interest in privilege and deprivation is clear enough, and horror is well suited to making comfortable people feel threatened. But the more elaborate the account becomes, the more questions it raises about what we have been asked to accept. We started checking the story’s logic when we ought to have been worrying about the Wilsons. The later exposition interrupts the fear without making the story much more convincing. Judged as a family-under-siege film, *Us* works more reliably. The doubles make the danger personal to each Wilson, and the cast gives the premise enough conviction to keep us concerned about who might get hurt. We do not need every detail settled for horror to work. We do need the explanations we are given to withstand a little thought, and this film sometimes makes uncertainty feel like unfinished writing. Horror viewers who enjoy discussing a film afterwards will have plenty to occupy them beyond these 116 minutes. Those who need every explanation to hold together should expect some irritation. Watch it with someone who can resist explaining it while Lupita Nyong’o is still on screen. *Fi1m score 78, published 17 September 2026.* ## What the critics say Most critics respond warmly to Us, with praise centred on Lupita Nyong’o’s dual performance and Jordan Peele’s control of suspense, shocks and comedy. The reviews repeatedly highlight how Nyong’o gives the doubles emotional weight and a disturbing physical presence, while Peele makes laughter sit uneasily beside fear. Many also welcome the film’s social ambition, finding its ideas about privilege and the underclass provocative even when they resist a tidy explanation. The reservations concern how clearly those ideas develop and how well the plotting holds together towards the end. Responses range from enthusiastic praise to qualified approval, with no outright negative reviews in this selection. Time Out finds the blend of comedy and horror confident but the story short of its promise; The Ringer admires the technical skill while finding the late exposition convoluted. Even among supporters, the allegory’s vagueness and the uneven final act remain recurring qualifications. ### Reviews we read (21) - **The Telegraph**, Robbie Collin (5/5): The critic calls it a sinister masterclass in spiralling terror and a right-on-time sociological knockout. They single out Lupita Nyong’o’s nerve-flaying double performance for praise. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/us-review-jordan-peeles-doppelganger-shocker-sinister-masterclass/) - **Los Angeles Times**, Justin Chang (85/100, inferred): Jordan Peele achieves an artful, ruthless balance of horror and hilarity in this tour de force of comic tension and visceral release that weaponizes chuckles against the audience. The movie belongs to Lupita Nyong’o, who delivers a performance distilling emotional layers into scream-queen history. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-us-review-20190309-story.html) - **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (85/100, inferred): The critic finds it a fearsomely entertaining and thought-provoking horror fable that mixes sociopolitical satire with full-blooded chills. They single out Lupita Nyong’o’s commanding dual performance and the physicality of the shadow roles for particular praise. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/mar/24/us-review-jordan-peele-lupita-nyongo) - **Little White Lies**, Kambole Campbell (5/4/4): Peele's ambitious second film uses doppelgangers to explore underclasses and self-reflection, anchored by Nyong'o's dual role. It mixes terror, humor, and social critique effectively, though some seams show in the final act. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/us) - **Radio Times**, Alan Jones (4/5): It's a chilling, entertaining ride juggling comedy and horror, with a great cast led by Nyong'o, though the allegory feels clunky and plotting predictable. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-5gqqtq/us/) - **The Times**, Jonathan Dean (★★★★): The critic finds it a worthy and creepy follow-up that is far scarier than Get Out, with vision that positions Peele as a key figure in horror. They single out Lupita Nyong’o’s terrific performance for praise. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/film-review-jordan-peele-us-minding-the-gap-cw06m6j62) - **Evening Standard**, Matthew Norman (75/100, inferred): The critic finds Us a richly intriguing riot of imagery and ideas that demands rewatching, praising Nyong’o’s dual performance and Peele’s Hitchcockian knack for horror in the mundane, while noting it is not as perfect or focused as Get Out and can stray into vagueness. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/us-review-can-you-face-jordan-peeles-vision-of-the-horror-within-a4098326.html) - **Total Film** (75/100, inferred): The critic calls it a flawed but full-bore frightener that refreshes horror influences and rewards revisits, praising Nyong’o’s intensity and Peele’s genre command, while noting it does not quite stick the landing. [Read](https://www.gamesradar.com/us-movie-review/) - **Screen Daily** (70/100, inferred): Peele delivers an effective chiller focusing on suspense, with superb Nyong'o in dual roles; it avoids sophomore slump with riveting tale, though stumbles near the end. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/us-review/5137870.article) - **Sight and Sound**, Leigh Singer (70/100, inferred): Peele's follow-up expands on Get Out with a doppelganger premise involving the Tethered underclass rising against the privileged. The critic praises the entertaining blend of horror, comedy, and social commentary, highlighting Nyong'o's dual performance, though notes it doesn't fully cohere. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/us-review-jordan-peele-raises-damned) - **Slant Magazine**, Henry Stewart (70/100, inferred): The critic finds Us darker and more ambitious than Get Out though less tidily satisfying, praising its sophisticated atmosphere, suspenseful filmmaking, and thematic focus on economic oppression and the underclass as avengers, while noting its careful construction and ability to mix laughs with dread. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/us-review-jordan-peele/) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, John DeFore (70/100, inferred): The critic calls it a fiercely scary movie whose meaning is up for grabs, praising the intense performances by Lupita Nyong'o, the twists and ironies, and the striking iconography of the red-jumpsuit doubles, while noting the sociopolitical premise is harder to pin down allegorically than in Get Out. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/us-review-1193550/) - **The New York Times**, Manohla Dargis (Critic's Pick): Jordan Peele’s new horror movie is an expansive philosophical hall of mirrors exploring existential terrors through monstrous doppelgängers that stalk an ordinary family. The film is more ambitious than Get Out and in some ways more unsettling as a fun-until-it’s-not shocker. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/20/movies/us-movie-review.html) - **Variety** (70/100, inferred): Jordan Peele veers farther into the dark recesses of America's collective id, implicating us as our own worst enemies through a clever doppelgänger story. The film orchestrates an entire horror movie around the adage that we have met the enemy, and he is us. [Read](https://variety.com/2019/film/reviews/us-review-jordan-peele-1203158604/) - **Time Out**, Joshua Rothkopf (3/5): The film confidently blends comedy and horror with strong performances but lacks the edge of Get Out, with a plot that doesn't fully deliver on its promises. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/us) - **Collider**, Eric Vespe (A-): Peele avoids a sophomore slump with a smart, character-driven horror film that examines our own evils rather than external threats. Strong performances, especially Lupita Nyong'o's dual role, and rich details reward rewatches. [Read](https://collider.com/us-review/) - **Polygon**, Matt Patches (85/100, inferred): A shocking, deranged, and wildly entertaining successor to Get Out that relentlessly deploys horror tropes while sparking conversation with mythology, humor, and social perspective. Highlights Lupita Nyong'o's star power and Peele's command of the material. [Read](https://www.polygon.com/2019/3/9/18257482/us-review-jordan-peele) - **Den of Geek**, David Crow (4/5): Jordan Peele's second film is more horrific and ambitious than Get Out and one of the most evocative horror movies in memory. It is a magnificent achievement that will reward diligent rewatching and debate for years to come. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/us-review-jordan-peele-horror-movie/) - **The Wrap** (80/100, inferred): The review calls the film a powerful follow-up that confirms Peele’s gifts as a genre filmmaker unafraid of social commentary, with uniformly fantastic performances led by Lupita Nyong’o’s master class in dual roles. It notes the effective use of duality as both theme and structure, despite some disorienting or muddled elements. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/us-film-review-jordan-peele-terrifies-again-with-a-chilling-examination-of-duality/) - **Deadline**, Pete Hammond (65/100, inferred): The critic finds the film an intriguing but ultimately standard horror effort that borrows from many influences without matching the social depth or scares of Get Out. Performances, especially from Lupita Nyong’o, are praised as strong, though the overall experience falls short of greatness. [Read](https://deadline.com/video/us-review-jordan-peele-lupina-nyongo-video/) - **The Ringer**, Adam Nayman (60/100, inferred): More skillful and technically virtuosic than Get Out but lacks its dramatic clarity, with too many layers and convoluted exposition in the third act. Praises Nyong'o's performances and integration of shock and humor but notes the strain of following up a classic. [Read](https://www.theringer.com/2019/03/22/movies/us-jordan-peele-review-get-out) ## Details - **Director:** Jordan Peele - **Director:** Jordan Peele - **Writer:** Jordan Peele - **Cinematography:** Mike Gioulakis - **Editor:** Nicholas Monsour - **Music:** Michael Abels - **Production design:** Ruth De Jong - **Costume design:** Kym Barrett - **Producer:** Jordan Peele, Sean McKittrick, Jason Blum - **Cast:** Lupita Nyong'o as Adelaide Wilson / Red; Winston Duke as Gabe Wilson / Abraham; Elisabeth Moss as Kitty Tyler / Dahlia; Tim Heidecker as Josh Tyler / Tex; Shahadi Wright Joseph as Zora Wilson / Umbrae; Evan Alex as Jason Wilson / Pluto; Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Russell Thomas / Weyland; Anna Diop as Rayne Thomas / Eartha - **Runtime:** 1h 56m - **Certificate (MPA):** R - **Release (the US):** 22 March 2019 - **Genres:** Horror, Mystery - **Budget:** $20 million - **Box office:** $256 million - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNCmb-4oXJA ## Where to watch in the US - HBO Max: streaming - Amazon Prime Video: add-on, uhd - The Roku Channel: add-on, hd - Hulu: add-on, hd - Apple TV: rent $3.99, hd - Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, uhd - Amazon Prime Video: buy $12.99, uhd - Apple TV: buy $12.99, hd *Checked 2026-09-17.* Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HU, ID, IE, IL, IN, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, TH, TR, UA, US, VN, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *The Innocents* (1961): Domestic unease and uncertain perceptions, with a lead performance worth watching closely. - *Seconds* (1966): For more dread about identity, bodies and the promise of a better life. - *Cure* (1997): Patient, disturbing horror that makes ordinary encounters feel difficult to trust. - *The Babadook* (2014), Fi1m 86: A frightened parent carries the horror, with family affection under punishing strain. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-babadook.md) - *Parasite* (2019), Fi1m 91: Class resentment and domestic intrusion, with jokes that make the tension worse. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/parasite.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/us