Us (UHD Blu-ray) review

[David Vaughn]

Studio: Universal   
Release Date: June 18, 2019
Rating: R
Film: 3.5/5

Plot
Set along the North California coastline, Adelaide Wilson (Nyong’o) reluctantly returns to her beachside childhood home with her family and finds that she is haunted by unresolved trauma from her past along with a string of eerie coincidences. As darkness falls after a tense day at the beach, the Wilsons discover four figures standing in their driveway. They soon realize this is only the beginning of their troubles as they find that the four figures are terrifying and uncanny opponents: doppelgängers of themselves.

My Thoughts
First and foremost, this is not my genre of film. Yes, I’m a wimp and I admit it, but I just don’t see the entertainment value of getting scared for two hours and then losing sleep as every household creak and groan has you on edge. With that in mind, I didn’t hate this film. Did it creep me out? Definitely. Was it well done? For the most part, yes, it was, but Jordan Peele doesn’t quite reach the level of ingenuity that he had in Get Out. The suspense in the first two acts is excellent and he does of great job of the “slow reveal” and doesn’t necessarily telegraph where the screenplay is going.

The film was shot at 3.4K but finished in 2K and upconverted to the 4K UHD release. The opening scene of the film looks excellent with a crisp color palette using the nighttime sky as the backdrop. Primary color shine in these types of scenes. In comparing the 4K release versus the excellent looking Blu-ray, there aren’t night and day differences between the two mainly due to the original 2K scan.

The Dolby Atmos track does a great job of drawing you into the film and creates a level of intensity with realistic atmospheric effects. While this isn’t an over-the-top audio presentation, it definitely has its moments.

Video 8.5/10

Audio 9.5/10 (Dolby Atmos)

Special Features:

• The Monsters Within Us
• Tethered Together: Making Us Twice
• Redefining a Genre: Jordan Peele’s Brand of Horror
• The Duality of Us
• Becoming Red
• Scene Explorations
• Deleted Scenes
• We’re All Dying
• As Above, So Below: Grand Pas De Deux
• Blu-ray+ Digital Copy

Conclusion

If you like being freaked out and don’t mind some violence and a bit a gore, then this is the film for you. It certainly isn’t my favorite type of film, but I made it through relatively unscathed until I see my own doppelganger hanging out in my neighborhood! Recommended for fans of the genre.

[AVSCraig]

Sorry - I'd give this a 4.5 rating for sure. Really interesting story, great ending, edge of your seat thriller. I had guests jumping off their seat yelling " whoa " at times. And they all loved it. Even had a movie loving friend drive 30 minutes when he heard I was screening it to watch it for his 3rd time ( he works at a theater and saw it twice there ). Must watch this again soon. Great follow up to Get Out ( which I loved ).

The picture and sound were top notch too!