Us is a horror movie seemingly designed for repeat viewings. There’s a lot to unpack there, especially in regard to that WTF twist ending. Thanks to writer-director Jordan Peele, we finally know what was really going on there.
SPOILERS: The first half of the movie is a very slick and disturbing take on the home invasion thriller, as Adelaide (Lupita Nyong’o) and her family are held captive by their murder-y doppelgangers known as the Tethered. In the end, Red — Adelaide’s Tethered self — is revealed to be the “real” Adelaide. And the top-side version of the character we thought was our hero was actually a clone that swapped places with herself to live outside the confines of the Tethered’s network of underground tunnels. (Yeah, our heads hurt, too). Thanks to a recent interview on the Empire Podcast, Peele helped break the ending down for us:
“This movie’s about maybe the monster is you. It’s about us, looking at ourselves as individuals and as a group. The protagonist in the movie is the surrogate for the audience, so it felt like at the end of the day, I wasn’t doing my core theme any justice if I wasn’t revealing that we have been the bad guy in this movie. We’ve been following the villain. I say ‘villain’ lightly because I think there are many experiences of the film, and I think a lot of people go through a question of what is good and evil? Does that even exist? Both characters are lovable and terrifying, based on the lives they’ve led they’ve just sort of inverted the paths.”
The only thing that sparked more online discussion than that clutch-the-pearls reveal is the look Adelaide shares with her young son, Jason, at the end of this horrific ordeal. It’s a small moment loaded with subtext and questions — which was Peele’s intent.
“Adelaide and Jason sharing that moment at the end, I’m purposefully leaving it a bit vague as to what exactly he knows or how far he’s come in figuring out what, if anything, he’s figured out,” Peele said. “I think the little smile she gives him [says] a lot of things. I think it’s a connection to the evil smile she once had as a little girl, but also a sort of understanding that her family unit was stronger from this experience.”
Got all that? Us is a complex, bloody horror movie with a lot on its mind that keeps audiences talking about it long after the credits roll. Leave it to Oscar-winner Peele to make sure that conversation keeps going. Now if you’ll excuse us, our doubles just appeared in our driveway holding scissors…
