One of 2019’s most anticipated films, Jordan Peele’s Us, just had its world premiere at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas and already the reactions are popping up online.
The film is about a family (headed by Lupita Nyong’o and Winston Duke) who go on holiday and end up being stalked by doppelgängers of themselves and their kids.
The trailers look scary as all hell — but, after Get Out, no one is quite sure what to expect from Peele. After just one film, we’ve already come to expect the unexpected.
And the reactions seem to suggest that was the right way of thinking. Overall, people loved it, but seem scared, confused and hungry for more. Here are some specific reactions from critics and fans alike.
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
Ok, so #UsMovie is fucking terrifying. #SXSW19
— David Fear (@davidlfear) March 9, 2019
#UsMovie was a bloody bash. #JordanPeele #SXSW pic.twitter.com/GHave7uVLH
— Leon Brill @ SXSW (@LeonBrill) March 9, 2019
#UsMovie is a super thrilling follow up for Jordan Peele. There are so many puzzle pieces to put together along the way. And of course Lupita Nyong’o is an acting force. You haven’t seen anything quite like this. #sxsw pic.twitter.com/cKafg6lyPj
— James C. Clay ???? #SXSW (@WordsByCole) March 9, 2019
I will not for a minute claim any real understanding of what I just watched but it was comfortably a top ten lifetime movie going experience. #USmovie
— Franklin Leonard (@franklinleonard) March 9, 2019
#USMovie is @JordanPeele’s definitive love letter to the Horror genre. The lovable family, the terrifying slashers, the spine-tingling score, the buckets of blood, and most importantly a hell of an experience that will put a permanent grin on your terrified face. ✂️ pic.twitter.com/MaBQgllqW5
— Zomboy Productionz @ SXSW (@ZProductionz) March 9, 2019
#US #UsMovie is terrifying, bizarre, and creepy as hell.
It has a bit of Michael Haneke’s “Funny Games” vibe to it but @JordanPeele @UsMovie is on a whole other level of bonkers.#SXSW2019 #SXSW #SXSW19 pic.twitter.com/uzRUmnFPlv— Rama’s Screen @SXSW (@RamasScreen) March 9, 2019
So #UsMovie , is a good time. REALLY. Winston Duke is fantastic, and assumes Peele’s humor well. Lupita is a carnal whirlwind. Shades of Jaws, Stepford Wives, the Shinning. Could have been shorter and maybe tries too hard to be a statement, like GET OUT. But def. a win. #SXSW
— Robert Daniels @ SXSW (@812filmreviews) March 9, 2019
My god, #UsMovie . Winston Duke plays corny dad pitch perfectly. Lupita Nyong’o did THAT with such a chilling performance. I’m not looking into a mirror anytime soon #SXSW pic.twitter.com/gQplTPPQW9
— Joi @ SXSW (@jumpedforjoi) March 9, 2019
It’s safe to say that #UsMovie further proves that @Lupita_Nyongo is one of the finest actresses of her generation. #SXSW
— Matt Dentler (@MattDentler) March 9, 2019
#UsMovie just cemented Jordan Peele as the greatest horror mastermind of the decade. A terrifying, funny, smart, thoughtful movie with a phenomenal cast. Between this and Little Monsters we are living in the year of Lupita Nyong’o!
— Rafael Motamayor @ SXSW (@GeekWithAnAfro) March 9, 2019
Ok @UsMovie is amazing. Holy hell. So much going on. In a good way. So damn good. #SXSW2019 #UsMovie
— Morgan Jon Fox (@morganjonfox) March 9, 2019
What. The. F$%!. #UsMovie proves #JordanPeele is a master of suspense and horror. Seriously intense film. Prepare yourselves! pic.twitter.com/TuPx0IMNSV
— Ashley Menzel @ SXSW (@AshleyGMenzel) March 9, 2019
#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
Us is real good. It’s unfair to compare it to Peele’s first film, but it does share the same sense of smarts, attention to character work and combining scary stuff with humor. I will say it does make me look forward to his Twilight Zone even more than I was before.
— Eric Vespe (@EricVespe) March 9, 2019
Jordan Peele’s #Us is absolutely nuts! Deliriously horrific, incredibly inventive, it has elements of the home invasion & zombie movies, but it is unlike anything I have ever seen. Wildly captivating from start to finish. #SXSW pic.twitter.com/vATBSUhD7e
— Erik Davis (@ErikDavis) March 9, 2019
Us: Jordan Peele has done it again. This is blistering terror, original horror, and a biting observational humor. Plus. Lupita delivers a jaw dropping performance that is instantly iconic. #SXSW2019
— Kristy Puchko (@KristyPuchko) March 9, 2019
Well, #Us is a solid follow-up to #GetOut. More of a traditional horror effort that proves Jordan Peele can craft a scare (or twenty). One moment actually made me scream. Nyong’O is the MVP. Holy hell what a performance(s). Moss is also superb in her limited screen time.
— Trace Thurman @ SXSW ????️???? (@TracedThurman) March 9, 2019
#Usmovie HOLY SHIT, what a horrific, messed up, f***** insane and overall AMAZING. @JordanPeele has done it again with another AMAZING horror story, every performance is outstanding. I cannot wait to see what Peele does next HOLY SHIT #SXSW #SXSW19 pic.twitter.com/uPJ49epZHt
— Zach Pope ➡️ #SXSW ???????? (@popetheking) March 9, 2019
#usmovie wow – a lot to process. Lupita Nyong’o is just an absolute treasure – she can do EVERYTHING. Winston Duke is hilarious. The kids were superb. Direction, so tight. Music, unique and perfect. Very different from Get Out, but as unexpected. can’t wait to see it again!
— Manon de Reeper @ #SXSW (@manondereeper) March 9, 2019
#UsMovie is undeniably good, but I left it wondering whether I missed something, or if the script was lacking. The performances and Jordan Peele’s directing are top notch, though.
— Josh Kurp (@JoshKurp) March 9, 2019
#UsMovie is a house of horrors. More terrifying, but as fun as GET OUT. And what it says about our divided country also shows that @JordanPeele is a new master of suspense. The enemy is — and maybe always has been — us.
I’ll never listen to “Good Vibrations” the same way again. pic.twitter.com/WV7vUzmYOr
— Frank Pallotta (@frankpallotta) March 9, 2019
US: Well, that was…DIFFERENT! Engrossing, scary, intense & unnerving, but also weird & bizarre! A bold, ambitious, *unpredictable* dark comedy, but what’s it all mean? A peculiar film, not sure what to make of it, need to see again! That’s a good thing…right? #USmovie #SXSW pic.twitter.com/0sBEg2P0Y9
— Scott Mantz (@MovieMantz) March 9, 2019
We’ll have much more about Us, including a full review, soon. It opens in cinemas March 28.