There’s a huge amount to dig into with Jordan Peele’s doppelgänger horror Us – so much so that we sat down with the director for a spoiler-filled chat about his hugely anticipated Get Out follow-up. During that conversation, he opened up about one of the film’s most fascinating lines of dialogue, sure to be the centre of debate for decades to come. Of course, this is where we go into spoiler territory, so come back later if you’re yet to see Us.
Still here? Then you’ll know that when Lupita Nyong’o’s Adelaide is confronted by The Untethered, she asks a pertinent question to their identical doubles: who are they? The answer: “We’re Americans.” It’s a startling response that can be interpreted in all kinds of ways, especially considering where the film goes from there. When Empire asked Peele about that fascinating line, here’s what he had to say:
“It’s so satisfying to me in a horror movie when a question is answered, but it only remains scary if the answer raises new questions. You walk into this movie thinking, ‘Is this a supernatural thing?’ And there’s part of it that is supernatural, this idea of the soul and the magic side of it. But I wanted to have a moment where she declares pretty early on, without saying these words, ‘Look, we’re from here. We’re human beings that are from this soil.’ Which, of course, you go on to find out, oh yes they are. They’re just underneath it. The imagery in this movie is based on my fear of the American society. I think Us can apply to anybody, human beings in general, your family, your country. And so for me, it was my country and the duality of our society.”
To hear Jordan Peele’s full Us interview, and the Empire team talking through the film in spoiler-filled detail, listen to the Empire Podcast spoiler special here. Us is out now in UK cinemas.
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