Universal has released a freaky new poster for Jordan Peele's horror-thriller Us, with the official trailer now set to arrive just in time for the winter holidays. Few would've expected half of Key & Peele to make a modern horror classic, but that's exactly what Peele did last year with Get Out. The film starts out as a pretty basic meet-the-parents scenario before descending into a series of increasingly skin-crawling microaggressions, and finally becoming an all-out nightmare in its second half. Peele ultimately won an Oscar for his writing on the film, which also went on to make a star of Daniel Kaluuya ahead of his roles in this year's Black Panther and Widows.
Peele has only continued to step up his horror game since then by signing on to produce HBO's Lovecraft Country and the Candyman sequel/reboot, in addition to overseeing CBS All-Access' Twilight Zone revival and serving as its narrator. The filmmaker hasn't ruled out the possibly of a Get Out sequel either, but will continue to focus his efforts on directing original projects in the meantime. Up first is Us, a film that only recently kicked its marketing campaign into gear.
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Per its recently-unveiled synopsis, Us revolves around a wife and husband (Black Panther costars Lupita Nyong'o and Winston Duke) who take their kids on vacation to a beach house to spend some time with friends (played by names like Elisabeth Moss) and let off some steam. However, things take a turn for the horrifying when "some shocking visitors arrive uninvited". We'll be getting more insight on the film's plot soon, now that both Peele and Universal have confirmed the Us trailer for a Christmas Day release. Until then, make what you will of the film's quietly unsettling new poster.
Reading between the lines, it sounds like Us follows Get Out's lead and starts off as a (mostly) harmless situation, before evolving into a full blown horror story. The line about "uninvited" guests further suggests the film is a home invasion thriller in the vein of Funny Games, but also one with distinct themes about racism, classism, and possibly even sexism. Get Out set a high bar for Peele to clear here, but it was also his first movie as a director and certainly left some room for him to continue refining his sense of craftsmanship with Us - so it'll be exciting to see how, exactly, he goes about trying to do that.
As for the trailer release date: those who celebrate Christmas might actually be keen to take a break from the seasonal festivities and enjoy a little dose of horror with Peele. Us isn't the first horror-thriller to premiere its trailer around the holiday, either. Those with long memories may recall when Ridley Scott delivered his own Christmas present early two years ago and dropped the red-band Alien: Covenant teaser on Christmas Eve. Happy holidays, indeed.
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Source: Universal Pictures
