Us (2019)

Jordan Peele's much-anticipated follow-up to Get Out is not as overtly political and is much scarier. Peele is an auteur. His horror is not made of cheap jump scares. It is comprised of clever camerawork, pans that create artificial jump scares that are all the more terrifying. I recognize that there is an allegory here, but it's not obvious. And it kills me that I didn't get it. I predicted the twist early on but I don't see the significance of the twist. The symbolism is lost on me. The actors are all phenomenal. Lupita Nyongo is beautiful but somehow horrifying at the same time. With a bigger budget, they spent good money on the perfect music. I know there are people who are going to second viewings to catch things they missed the first time, but I have no desire to ever see this excellent movie again.

Get Out (2017)

Jordan Peele, in his first solo project post-Key and Peele, holds up a mirror to liberal, middle class, suburban white society. Many reviewers have praised the film for capturing the modern zeitgeist of today, but they miss the point. And that is this: sixty years ago, Martin Luther King was saying the same thing (that the problem was and is moderate whites), and still the same holds true in 2017. Liberals may pat themselves on the back for electing Obama, but how much progress have we really made? Peele is simultaneously funny, scary, stylish, entertaining, clever and incisive. He astutely recognizes that horror is the perfect genre to represent the African-American experience. I don't typically watch horror movies, but this one is worth it.