Rent Us (2019)

Avoid this film - Us review by MC

Absolutely dreadful. A very laboured film that was an effort to watch. It started out well, but descended into caricature and nonsense - we unanimously switched the film less than half way through, and will not be re-starting it. God only knows how this film got any good reviews - if there was a point to the production it was completely lost on me. Bilge.

What was that all about? - Us review by Paul Roffey - Writer

This is a strange film.

Us is the story of the Wilson family; wife, husband, little boy, little girl. They have a nice beach house, they drive a Mercedes; stereotypical middle class America. They return from the beach one afternoon after spending some time with the Tyler family; very cliché rich, selfish, not quite friends. That evening the Wilson’s youngest son spots a family standing hand in hand at the end of their driveway. As they approach the house it becomes obvious that they are clones of the family themselves. However, they each carry very sharp scissors and turn out to be the extreme dark side of happy families.

At this point I was intrigued, especially as the film began with some narrative sentences about how many tunnels there are in the US, and how a large number of them have an unknown purpose. In other words, what could have been going on down there?

The film then continues as a relentless, bloody, violent and at times remarkably senseless killing spree—by both families—the soulless doppelgangers and the American dream. And, at one point, that’s where I thought the film was going; in the direction of a morality tale of the modern day America, a tale of the haves and the have-nots. And the have-nots have risen to overthrow the haves. This was hinted at early in the film by the dark mother figure. She bemoaned how hard a life they had been forced to live, underground, spliced from themselves, and pointing out that they too were ‘Americans’. Interestingly the film is called U.S.

But that’s as far as I got in understanding this convoluted film. To be fair there is a fabulous twist near the end, but even after that I didn’t understand what I’d just watched.

All films, and books, look for resonance in their endings. All creators of art, in fact, want viewers or readers to walk away from their creations still digesting, still wondering. I just walked away confused, and like many a French film I‘ve seen, left wondering what the point was. In defence of French films, they are usually superbly written and shot. The characters are three dimensional, the dialogue sharp and engaging.

This film is poorly written. At times the dialogue is corny, when it should have been nervy and cutting. However, the cast is excellent, especially as each actor is playing both sides of itself, the ego and alter ego. Many times in close combat. Lupita Nyong'o, brilliant in the wonderful 12 Years a Slave, pretty much holds this film together. A mention must also be made of the very good Evan Alex, who played the youngest child. Only 11 years old in real life when the film was released.

If you want fast moving, violent action, then by all means. But if there is anyone out there who can explain to me what the plot is, I’d love to hear it.

paulroffey.co.uk

US vs THEM - Us review by BG

The premise for this horror film has a few parallels with the Irish thriller THE HOLE IN THE GROUND, which concerns tunnels beneath the earth and doppelgangers, but had a few nice touches. The ending might appear illogical, but there's a reference to ALICE IN WONDERLAND, with a white rabbit and going down the burrow. Also some black humour (no pun!) when a dying woman crawls to her dead husband, and the music system plays "Good Vibrations" by the Beach Boys. When she tells the system to call the police, it plays another track instead... One that is derogatory to the police, but would mean a swear word! Horror films usually deal with the fantastic, so viewers shouldn't be too put off by what might appear to be an nonsensical premise. This is well made with an interesting idea and lots of tension.

Classy horror-thriller - Us review by Alphaville

Perplexing story racks up the tension for the first half-hour thanks to beautiful direction from writer/director Jordan Peele. Smooth Kubrick-style camera movements and tense music raise expectations that in a lesser thriller would have someone jump into shot from the side for a cheap scare. This is a much superior film that has you aching for understanding and resolution. And when it breaks out… expect action at a pace that never lets up, laced with black humour. Those of a nervous disposition may wish to look away. The only downside is the unconvincing climax, but that should not detract from what has gone before.

Get Out and Us show that Jordan Peele is a filmmaker to watch. As he says in an interesting bucket-load of Xtras on the DVD, he wanted to make a film that is both terrifying and fun. He has succeeded.

Enjoyable - Us review by RE

Better than a lot of tosh out there. plenty of suspense, a few surprises along the way. Easy (or uneasy) watching old school scary movie.

Quiet at times and diction not too clear when the "Baddies" are talking but this aside a decent film.

Haunting, funny, scary that is Us - Us review by SW

I loved Get Out but this is a different kind of film. Much less an obvious horror film it relies on getting under your skin and asking the bloody awkward question that maybe the enemy is Us. The first half is superb, the second more conventional and less interesting. As with Get Out its also very funny.

Dull, standard horror fare - Us review by GM

I'm sorry, but this was a standard horror, full of the usual tropes & jump scares. Nothing special, and not worthy of the endless rave reviews (unless you've lived in a cave your whole life & you've never seen a horror film before).

No matter how much the critics praise its allegorical messages & say it should be appreciated on that level, that's not going to happen if the film is so tediously dull & predictable to the point that the viewer doesn't even approach a level of interest which would spark that level of care.

A huge disappointment.