Following his Academy Award win for the superb "Get Out", Jordan Peele returned to horror with his sophomore feature. However if you were hoping for the same psychological horror of his debut, well it gets gorier this time however there is still psychological terror to found. This does not take away from the excellent story that Peele has crafted this time.
Following a normal young African-American family: timid Adelaide (the wonderful Lupita N'yongo), goofy husband Gabe (Winston Duke being both hilarious and serious when the time comes), technology-loving Zora (Shahadi Wright Joseph) and the troubled Jason (Evan Alex who is quite unsettling), who venture to their summer home for a vacation. However Adelaide struggles with a traumatic experience from her childhood where she might have found her double in a hall of mirrors. One evening the family spots ominous figures on their lawn at 11:11pm (a prominent plot point) which unfortunately turns out to be their doubles (played by all four actors; only N'yongo speaks, but with a chilling grating voice). Will they make it or not? No spoiler here.
The cast is brilliant as they each must inhabit both their average Joe characters and their silent (except for Nyongo's Red) counterparts who make their intentions clear to toy with the family and then kill them all. Lupita N'yongo is obviously the most standout as her counterpart is the only one who can speak English and that voice is haunting to the core as Red almost clicks as her voice cuts off momentarily before she finishes her sentences. The explanation comes at the film's climax once Adelaide goes to confront her double to save Jason after Red nabs him, but that's why you must see the film to know why.
While the film's narrative is quite compelling and straightforward, most critics have voiced their displeasure with the ending sequence of the film. I can agree that Red's monologue to Adelaide is long-winded and preachy; probably due to Peele taking advantage of being the sole writer. While others bemoan the final twists of the film I actually found myself surprised at who was actually who and the implication of the final shots were haunting for its real world implication.
Following a normal young African-American family: timid Adelaide (the wonderful Lupita N'yongo), goofy husband Gabe (Winston Duke being both hilarious and serious when the time comes), technology-loving Zora (Shahadi Wright Joseph) and the troubled Jason (Evan Alex who is quite unsettling), who venture to their summer home for a vacation. However Adelaide struggles with a traumatic experience from her childhood where she might have found her double in a hall of mirrors. One evening the family spots ominous figures on their lawn at 11:11pm (a prominent plot point) which unfortunately turns out to be their doubles (played by all four actors; only N'yongo speaks, but with a chilling grating voice). Will they make it or not? No spoiler here.
The cast is brilliant as they each must inhabit both their average Joe characters and their silent (except for Nyongo's Red) counterparts who make their intentions clear to toy with the family and then kill them all. Lupita N'yongo is obviously the most standout as her counterpart is the only one who can speak English and that voice is haunting to the core as Red almost clicks as her voice cuts off momentarily before she finishes her sentences. The explanation comes at the film's climax once Adelaide goes to confront her double to save Jason after Red nabs him, but that's why you must see the film to know why.
While the film's narrative is quite compelling and straightforward, most critics have voiced their displeasure with the ending sequence of the film. I can agree that Red's monologue to Adelaide is long-winded and preachy; probably due to Peele taking advantage of being the sole writer. While others bemoan the final twists of the film I actually found myself surprised at who was actually who and the implication of the final shots were haunting for its real world implication.
