Yahoo Movies Jordan Peele hailed 'modern day Hitchcock' as new movie 'Us' screens for critics
Critics have compared Get Out director Jordan Peele to iconic director Alfred Hitchcock following the screening of his new movie Us at the SXSW Festival in Texas.
The filmmaker’s second feature-length film stars Black Panther‘s Winston Duke, The Handmaid’s Tale actor Elisabeth Moss, and Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong’o. It follows a family of four who, during a holiday in Santa Cruz, find themselves the targets of sinister doppelgängers.
AwardCircuit‘s Clayton Davis took to Twitter to label the movie a “horror masterpiece,” before going on to say that in “20 years from now we will ask one another what our favourite Peele film is & you will get 10/12 different answers.” He also praised Nyong’o’s performance.
Jordan Peele's "Us" is a horror masterpiece. We are witnessing the birth of our modern day Hitchcock. 20 years from now we will ask one another what our favorite Peele film is & you will get 10/12 different answers. Incredible performance from Lupita Nyong'o! #UsMovie #UsFirst pic.twitter.com/vvHunYqSxd
— Clayton Davis (@AwardsCircuit) March 9, 2019
Elsewhere, Mashable‘s Deputy Entertainment Editor Angie J. Han tweeted that Us is “funny enough to make you laugh” yet “scary enough to make you scream”.
#UsMovie is a heck of an experience. Funny enough to make you laugh, scary enough to make you scream, genuinely heartbreaking in moments, anchored by several incredible dual performances, especially Lupita’s. #SXSW
— Angie J. Han (@ajhan) March 9, 2019
Other critics described the movie as “terrifying,” “unexpected,” “thoughtful” and “f***ing insane”. One even said they were rendered “speechless” by it.
Read more: SXSW Film Festival Preview
It’s no surprise, really, that the feedback has been so enthusiastic considering what lengths some journalists went to to secure a seat at the early screening. On Twitter, many revealed that they had queued for over six hours to make sure they made it in.
Just last year, Peele was nominated for Best Director at the 2018 Oscars for his hugely popular hit Get Out. The film also bagged nods in the Best Screenplay and Best Picture categories; the former of which, it won.
2019 is a big year for Peele. Not only is Us released in both UK and US cinemas on 22 March, the next few months will also see him debut his eagerly-anticipated The Twilight Zone reboot, starring Adam Scott, Kumail Nanjiani, Taissa Farmiga, Jacob Tremblay, Ginnifer Goodwin, and Steven Yeun.
Read more: Seth Rogen joins upcoming Twilight Zone reboot
Based on the cult sci-fi series that originally aired in the 1980s, it is set to see each episode offer up twists, macabre imagery and a moral or two too, all the while concentrating on different stories.
