As an avowed sports non-fan, my favorite part of the Superbowl is always the commercials. And in recent years, the Superbowl gods have have always given us a sneak peek at highly anticipated upcoming films. This year proves to be no different, but Jordan Peele has given us a pre-kickoff treat by posting the latest trailer for his horror film Us on Reddit.
The trailer is shorter than the first trailer, but gives us more glimpses of the world of Us and the mind of its female protagonist, Adelaide Wilson (Lupita Nyong’o). In voice-over she says, “You know how sometimes things line up, coincidences? Since we’ve been up here they’ve been happening more and more. It’s like there’s this black cloud hanging over us.”
We see snippets of people huddled in a circle. A homeless man sports a cardboard sign that reads Jeremiah 11:11, with 11:11 is written on his forehead. That verse, if you’re curious, reads: “Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘I will bring on them a disaster they cannot escape. Although they cry out to me, I will not listen to them.”
Oh boy. There’s also the palindrome of 11:11 to consider, which is surely not accidental given that the film is about a family fighting off their own evil doppelgängers.
It feels impossible that Jordan Peele could top his debut film Get Out, a critical and commercial success that has already left an indelible thumbprint on popular culture. The film won Peele the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, a rarity for a horror film. But Us looks just as bracing and devastating as its predecessor. Peele has tapped into something that elevates the horror genre: the intimacy and depth of both his story and his characters are loaded with meaning.
The very best horror, the films that last the test of time, reach into our basest fears and recreate them on the screen. Nothing is scarier than the personal, and that is what Peele excels in. He draws out the personal in his work, making the fear resonate deeply within us. There’s nothing shallow about it, Peele’s writing is rooted in deep-seated panic, paranoia and terror.
It shouldn’t be surprising that Peele is both a gifted comedian and a horror creator. Both genres are linked in an involuntary physical response, be it fear or laughter. It’s out of our control.
All we can say is, March 22nd can’t come soon enough.
(via /Film, image: Universal Pictures)
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