Us is a 2019 American psychological horror film written and directed by Jordan Peele. The film features an ensemble cast, starring Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, Shahadi Wright Joseph, Evan Alex, Elisabeth Moss, and Tim Heidecker. The story follows Adelaide Wilson (Nyong’o) and her family, who are attacked by a group of menacing doppelgängers called the “Tethered.”

Characters

Adelaide, played by Madison Curry and Lupita Nyong’o, is the main protagonist, minor antagonist, and the wife of Gabe and mother of Jason and Zora in the film Us. In 1986, Adelaide Tomas and her parents arrived at Santa Cruz, California, to attend the festivities. After separating from her father, who was drunkenly playing the Whack-A-Mole game, Adelaide discovers the housing hall of mirrors. When she leaves the housing hall of mirrors, she’s not the same as before, distancing herself from her parents and not speaking at all. Turns out she was choked and thrown underground and switched out by her doppelgänger. Her character is very important to the movie because she represents the initial encounter with the Tethered and the ensuing plot twist that reveals she is actually the clone Adelaide.

Winston Duke played as Gabe Wilson, the husband of Adelaide and father to Zora and Jason. He also played his doppelgänger, Abraham. Gabe is the comic relief and is the “fun-loving dad,” making this horror movie more lighthearted. In the film, Gabe symbolizes privilege and represents the theme of privilege and its consequences, which is the center of focus in the film. He is shown to be the strong protector of the family, but when he became a victim of the Tethered, he’s seen as powerless, and you can see more of his vulnerability, while his Tethered doppelgänger is more on the aggressive side.

Shahadi Wright Joseph plays Zora and her Tethered doppelgänger Umbrae. Zora is an athletic girl and is initially skeptical of the world and the government. She is protective of her family and demonstrates strength and violence when faced with danger.

Jason Wilson and Pluto (Tethered doppelgänger), played by Evan Alex, is the son of Adelaide and Gabe and also is the younger brother of Zora. In the film, Jason is shown to have a great relationship with his family but does things that his parents don’t approve of, like cussing. His Tethered version (Pluto) is seen as animalistic and feral; he wears a white mask that mimics Jason’s Chewbacca mask. Pluto is the most calm of the Tethered family. Because of this, there are a bunch of theories on how Jason and Pluto were swapped, but that has not been confirmed. At the end of the movie, Jason looks over at Adelaide, and a lot of people believe that he knows that his mom was switched and is the original Tethered (Red).

Film Techniques 

Costumes: In this film Us, the costumes for the Tethered (doppelgängers) are red jumpsuits, brown strap sandals, brown gloves, and a pair of golden scissors. The only costume that’s different is Pluto’s; he wears a white face mask to mimic Jason’s Chewbacca mask.

Doppelgänger scenes: During the scenes with each person’s doppelgänger and the actual person, they went through the exacting process of piecing together parts of different shots, often doing extensive head and face swaps. So in some scenes, you might be seeing a hybrid of, say, Winston Duke’s face with parts of his stunt double’s body. To get all the footage that ILM’s artists would need for source material, the actors had to perform scenes twice, once for each of their roles. Lupita, for instance, would first play Red with her body or photo double playing Adelaide.

Theme

The main theme of Us is about privilege and class. Us shows how privilege and its impact on society, suggesting that those in positions of power often turn a blind eye to the suffering of others, leading to the emergence of an “other” who are oppressed and marginalized.

My Rating

Overall, the movie was great, and I rate it a 9/10. I really enjoyed this movie. I’m not a big fan of horror films, but Us is probably one of the best ones I’ve watched. I like how the writers didn’t start off by telling us that Adelaide was Tethered and switched out with the original. The music choices were spot on to what was going on. Also, I feel that the symbolization of the rabbits was a neat add-on because they represent rebirth, the battle between science and religion, and the exploration of class and societal divides. The rabbits also symbolize the potential for a new beginning or the resurrection of the Tethered, echoing themes of Easter and the resurrection of Jesus. The acting alone was great—not only did the family play their roles, but also the roles of their doppelgängers. I liked the casting, and I believe no one could have played their roles better than they did.

Works Cited:

• wikipedia. “Us (2019 film).” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Us_(2019_film). Accessed 2 May 2025.