Your doppelgänger is creepy enough. What if they were trying to kill you? For Night 11 of the 13 Nights of Halloween Horror, we’re watching Us (2019), Jordan Peele’s chilling horror film full of creepy doubles, hidden meanings, and twists that leave you thinking.
The film follows Adelaide Wilson, who returns to her childhood beach house with her husband and children for a family vacation. But their trip takes a terrifying turn when four mysterious strangers show up outside their home. The catch? They look exactly like the Wilson family. As the night unfolds, Adelaide and her family must fight to survive against their own disturbing doubles.
Like Get Out, Us mixes horror with deeper themes, using eerie imagery, unsettling music, and plenty of suspense to keep audiences guessing. Peele plays with the idea of the familiar becoming frightening, turning the people who know us best—ourselves—into our worst nightmare. And if the creepy doubles weren’t enough, the film’s iconic use of “I Got 5 on It” will make you hear the song a little differently.
Fun fact: The scissors carried by the doubles in Us weren’t just chosen to look creepy. Jordan Peele used them as a symbol of duality—the idea of two things that are connected but can also be separated. It’s a fitting detail for a film where everyone has a terrifying counterpart!
Us is available for members of the American University community to borrow on DVD from Bender Library.
Come back tomorrow to see our pick for Night 7 of the 13 Nights of Halloween Horror.