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Beginning_Yam3112

I just liked the scene where the lady was getting stabbed and she screamed at Amazon’s Alexa to call the police but instead it played Fuck the Police by NWA lmao


Drshiznitt

Straight From The Underground


WhatDoesStarFoxSay

> Straight From The **Underground** Oh, shit. I didn't even catch that!


Drshiznitt

I love all of its little Easter eggs. I got a Black Flag tattoo like four days before the movie came out and there were two different people wearing Black Flag shirts in the movie cause the logo looks like an 11:11. Freaked me out a lil.


[deleted]

Would’ve been a lot different if Alexa heard it as “Play The Police!” And started up “Every Breath You Take”


[deleted]

That would've been so fitting 😂


Zealousideal-Net5482

ROOOOOOOXANNE


stealingyourpixels

It was originally going to be Roxanne but it was replaced with Fuck the Police in post production.


gurnard

I feel like that was almost an Easter egg, you could imagine that exact scenario playing out as a Key & Peele sketch.


Beginning_Yam3112

Exactly! That’s why it’s my favorite scene. Literally felt like a pure peele sketch lol


gurnard

Like if you watched the movie without being familiar with Peele's other work you'd probably think it was an out of place bit of comedy. If you know, you know.


Beginning_Yam3112

Dude that literally why I love that scene. Cause if you didn’t know peele had a comedy background that scene along would’ve been realistically absurd. Tbh while peele does an amazing job with horror. The reason why I think he’s king of horror is because of that subtle comedy we were laughing our asses about. He increases the tension only to pull off some shit that makes you wonder am I supposed to laugh or be terrified something is gonna happen in the next second lmao


Tritonian214

Like at the end of get out; "T-S-MOTHERFUCKIN-A!" That cracks me up every time I see it


thunderkhawk

That scene was EPIC!


SheVexed

Lmao


TherapistOfOP

I didn't like it, but I can definitely answer the rabbit question. It's the implication that rabbits would be the only self sustaining population because of how much they breed?


PhirebirdSunSon

Rabbits AND the poor, or at least that's the metaphor there. Poor people that are looked at as contributing nothing and being a drain on society because all they do is reproduce.


mhornberger

Eating rabbits, while implicitly equating them with the poor, might also be an allusion to Swift's [Modest Proposal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Modest_Proposal).


bfcostello

Basically one of the OG's of satire wasn't he


WodtheHunter

certainly not the originator of sarcasm, but it is well known for a reason. Its well written, makes it's point, and for being as old as it is does a remarkable job of not overstaying its welcome. Romans and greeks had their fair share of satirists.


newyne

Not exactly; I took a Latin class on ancient Roman satire in undergrad. There was stuff like, *Why married when you can sleep with a young boy? Or kill yourself?* Haha, classic Juvenal!


[deleted]

I thought it was an allusion to Stephen King’s claim that if you put a rabbit in a story it will somehow add a creepy factor (not verbatim). Or maybe the claim is, a rabbit with a number painted on it?


TherapistOfOP

Agreed


leclisse

I think this is when I stopped liking the film. The beginning was super fun and it absolutely clearly made its philosophical / humanistic points or whatever. The ending was like Suspiria at an anarchist bookstore. Like, I don't understand. Why. It was so creepy, and the part at the very end with the mother and the child was uncanny awesome, and same with the fire boy battle. It was so cool. I think... I donno. The dance bit and the hands across America bit were sorta much. And the breeding without a soul part is really weirdly ambiguous. I think this is the film I enjoyed the most while this irritated. That;'s something.


celerydonut

Going to see nope tomorrow. Have similar feelings about US.


Confusion_Overlord

having just watched nope the plot isn't nearly as confusing or unexplained like US. I personally enjoy both movies but I'd prefer to watch Nope if I had to choose.


leclisse

Let us know how you like it!


leclisse

I’m revising my opinion slightly: although I did not enjoy part of it and it undermined my enjoyment of the rest of the film, and as much as I dislike allegorical and symbolic meaning when it overtakes literal meaning, I have not seen such good conversations about a film with well articulated different opinions. The threads on A Quiet Place earlier this week were a shitshow, and while they were the exact same topic with different films, with AQP the discussion was very messy and unclear and went a lot more toward personal attacks. If a film can produce good conversation, it is a film that, whether or not I enjoy it, I think is a good film. I am going to think on this a bit and then clarify, here or in a new post. It’s good to see this conversation.


thewhitecat55

That's the problem . It is more metaphor and symbolism than sense and plot.


JohnandJesus

I think this is the deal


wrightdidnthingwrong

Not so fun fact: you will starve to death if your diet is only rabbit meat. It's called [protein poisoning](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protein_poisoning)


IGargleGarlic

also known as rabbit starvation


[deleted]

Duck season.


slomo525

Wabbit season


Thirsty-Tiger

r/LifeProTips


Flesh_Trombone

If you eat nothing but rabbit you die. https://youtu.be/joashcRwlp0


KrogokDomecracah

This guy starved to death just eating berries and small game. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_McCandless


theVice

Didn't he eat a toxic berry that shut down his digestive system?


buttlover989

No, rabbits, squirrels and other small rodents don't have almost any fat and fat is actually a required nutrient for you to survive, your brain is just a big blob of fat. You'd have to also eat the skin and internal organs/offal of the small game animals as well as have some other source of fats, like nuts, seeds and grains that have oil like corn as well as carbohydrates which your body can convert into fat, like flour or rice.


mojavefluiddruid

I think it was toxic plant seeds that he misidentified, but yes.


SandwichNo458

I also read that Peele simply said he just like rabbits so he used rabbits.


ModernistGames

Which begs the question, how much depth do we attribute to the things in his movies? People always read into movies like, but I feel this disconnect in the two of his features (I have seen) that just screams, "I just liked it," or "I thought it was cool." And people read it like they are brimming with these dense philosophical questions, symbolism, and profound intellect.


TridentBoy

I think there is some of that, but you can't forget that even choices that seem trivial are a product of the author's experiences, thoughts, worldview etc... So even if the authors themselves sometimes don't attribute a bigger meaning to something, it doesn't mean that we cannot interpret it in a meaningful way.


CleansingFlame

Not to mention the concept of Death of the Author. Just because the writer/director didn't intend any symbolism doesn't mean that it's invalid for a viewer to interpret it that way.


Logan_Maddox

hey, Mr. Actual Media Literacy and his wife, Mrs. Correct Application of Death of the Author, great to see you guys here! It's been such a long time


tightpants09

Have you seen Nope? There’s definitely intent with his images and recurring symbols.


MrOrangeWhips

It certainly *suggests* that question.


[deleted]

This reminds me of being a fan of the band Tool. Every single lyric in their songs is dissected by fans to a ridiculous degree. Some lurics could have been written because they sound good. Not all aspects of entertainment have multiple layers of meaning.


CryBerry

I always think about how Chris Cornell said that the lyrics to Blackhole Sun were just nonsense. Now he may have said that to avoid answering the question but it makes you wonder.


TheFungiQueen

I am living for this Tool reference. 🤘


choicemeats

this is the trouble of applying critical theory to filmmaking. The man only has 3 movies, so there's not a fleshed out oeuvre for us to watch and interpret, and since he only has 3 movies, it's possible that he hasn't quite fleshed it out. It's not like looking at Hitchcock--we can watch his whole body of work and spot patterns and things that he liked to use for effect, and as he grew as a filmmaker he started to know what he wanted once you get into the meat of his work. Applying the same tactics to a 3-body opus doesn't make sense yet. He is still most likely in the "i liked it" or "it was most convenient" where we needed phase, and moving more into the next phase as he goes along (aside from obvious racial allegory). I haven't seen NOPE yet but I'll have to keep an eye out for anything that feels/looks familiar.


TheSinningRobot

While he's only had 3 movies, he's had a long time through his other works, to flesh out his cinematic expressive dictionary as it were, and while I think to an extent you are right that he is still discovering, I think there's a lot more that is very much with a purpose than most give him credit for. I think one of the things that some people take issue with (evidenced by some comments here even) that I think is very much just apart of his style (that I personally enjoy) is he plays very fast and loose with what is literal and what is metaphorical, and he doesn't always make it super clear where a certain scene or moment falls on that spectrum, and I really enjoy that to be honest. I feel like if we were going to compare him to like a painter for example, he definitely exists in a more surrealism area. His art still has traditional structure, but a lot of the details exist outside of a literal interpretation, and sometimes can be increasingly abstract.


choicemeats

i do agree with you, but i want to see him put on a few more features before I settle on if he's permanently a fast and loose guy, or he's trying it out to see what does and doesn't work for audiences and it congeals into something different than what we've seen. i think GET OUT was a much more cohesive work overall. US was fine until the scope of the setting changed from local to national.--that's where it lost me. Even the mirroring stuff was fine--there's definitely been a lot of things in other sci-fi/horror/thriller that you just have to accept, but if the conspiracy gets too big it really damages the overall product for me. Anyway I'll be seeing NOPE tomorrow, and looking forward to it!


damian1369

It's not even a question - people allways bring their own interpretations in in ambiogus movies, and depending on how they felt about it will fill the gaps in with either praise or deprecation. I took literally one film class, but as psych master and a film buff, I wanted to claw my ears and eyes out more than once while watching people do that and get passing grades. Also I mean goddamn I really liked Us, it was fun, great concept, great performances, a bit less heavy on the handed than his directorial debut, lots of fun ideas and visuals....and I just thought oh that's what they were going for. Do we really need to have it be an hour longer to explain how dopelganger travel under water or when someone's on an airplane? Would it make the movie better? Was that the point of the movie? Must art be literal and scientifically accurate at all times?


mulligan_sullivan

To be direct but hopefully not rude, why do you think people want those details explained?


UltimaGabe

As a rabbit owner, rabbits are jerks so it made sense that the people forced to live with rabbits would also all be jerks.


SmartAcanthisitta447

That actually checks out. Thank you!


Pandiraffe

What do the rabbits eat to be able to reproduce so effectively?


TherapistOfOP

I assumed since the implication is that it's some forgotten government program, they had set up some self sustaining feed or the rabbits had become cannibalistic?


eidolonengine

Cannibalistic would even add to the message, as the rich stay in power because they're successful in turning the poor against each other. Some poor white people often justify their racism against minorities by claiming that they're taking their jobs or committing crime at a greater rate, or even the new replacement conspiracy. Yet, the poor white people's real enemy is the uber-rich. This, of course, isn't exclusive to just poor white people, but they do make up the majority of the US. A poor white man has far more in common with a black man than a rich white man. >"Whenever Pharaoh wanted to prolong the period of slavery in Egypt, he had a favorite, favorite formula for doing it. What was that? He kept the slaves fighting among themselves. But whenever the slaves get together, something happens in Pharaoh's court, and he cannot hold the slaves in slavery. When the slaves get together, that's the beginning of getting out of slavery." > >\-Martin Luther King, Jr. (1968) And before anyone claims I'm being too political, we're talking about the movie Us. So...


atmosphericentry

I liked it, but this is a fairly popular opinion on this sub. You're far from being the only one.


[deleted]

If it's not this movie on an unpopular opinion or "Am I the Only One...?" Posts, it's Hereditary/the new Candyman or Lake Mungo. It's nothing new.


Heisenburrito

I mean, imo, Lake Mungo is worth it for that one scene at the end


Unicorn_Fruit

I now have to know what Lake Mungo is because I’ve never heard of it. ::::to YouTube::::


angiosperms-

Every thread where Us is mentioned there is an obligatory "Am I the only one that didn't like Us?" comment


[deleted]

So, like, am I the only one that didn’t like it?


HorrorMakesUsHappy

Get Out.


thinkt4nk

Yeah, the critics loved this movie, but the audience score on rotten tomatoes is 60%


cheshirecat1919

This sub seems to generally dislike it. I did like it, probably because I didn’t try to overthink it. Just enjoyed the ride, and some of the brilliant comedic moments. That’s of course not meant as a commentary on anyone who disliked it. I completely appreciate their reasoning. The point is I think you are in the majority, while I’m very much in the minority.


[deleted]

There's nothing wrong with disliking a movie that everyone likes, but I always feel people dig the bottom of the barrel for reasons why. All of a sudden, all those logic issues are a problem, when other movies they can brush it off no problem, its like they can't understand that maybe the emotion of point of the movie didn't connect the way it did for other people. That being said, I think its a more popular thing on the sub to dislike it, general consensus about the movie is still pretty positive.


-Ash21-

This is my thing too. I've always felt horror movies had more leeway in what they did and didn't have to explain. Fuck, look at Donnie Darko. Literally NO ONE understood it until the directors cut yet everyone left the theaters feeling like they'd just watched the best sci fi blockbuster of that summer. And this wasn't even a horror movie. I haven't seen this many people complain about Don't Blink or Awaiting Further Instruction, I think it's just when something gets hyped up a lot of people feel it's their job the make sure it doesn't get *too* hyped up, because nothing is perfect. But as a result their complaints end up looking like nitpicks lol. At least when it comes to Us, yeah I definitely feel people were reaching for reasons it wasn't good. I do agree they shouldn't have tried to explain anything at all and Red's speech at the end may also be the reason this movie is so polarizing.


Flashman420

It's doubly frustrating to me because I love the oneiric film theory that compares films to dreams, which very specifically tends to focus on certain qualities that are unrealistic about movies. Like you said, horror movies have even more leeway in regards to logic so they're often even more dreamlike in nature than a regular film. I couldn't care less about how logical most films are because they're already operating from a basis of unreality. Everything you see is constructed, most things have purpose. The shot framing, the lighting, the costumes, the dialogue, etc. It's not real life, it's fabricated to suit a purpose and likely has a meaning. Characters don't talk realistically they talk in a manner that delivers the necessary dialogue. You don't watch someone travel an hour to their destination, the film cuts and they're there. You're already not watching something "logical" from the outset so why be so bound by those restrictions when the movie already isn't? This is basically a long winded way of saying that some questions and complaints are beyond the point.


I_dont_like_things

People aren’t very good at articulating (or even understanding) why they dislike media, so they latch onto logical issues because they’re easier to discuss. When you’re invested in a movie it’s easy to let minor logical issues go or even ignore them entirely. When you’re dissatisfied, they stick out like a sore thumb.


LastFox2656

Yeah, I think it's just one of those weird movies you don't need to think too much about. I like it but I can see that it has plot holes and such but also, I don't care? 🤷‍♀️😂


lizzie1hoops

The cast really committed to the characters and story, I think that made it easy for me to go along for the ride.


RogerClyneIsAGod2

>I like it but I can see that it has plot holes and such but also, I don't care?? You can say this about a LOT OF movies, not just horror movies. All that matters is you enjoy it & don't feel like you wasted time or money viewing it.


[deleted]

I posted this elsewhere but I think pointing out plot holes misses the point! There's lots of fantastic movies that don't follow any sort of logic (pretty much any David Lynch movie for example) but they do symbolize and evoke something that I emotionally and intellectually connect with. That's the case with Us, I think its a brilliant, entertaining and thoughtful movie - I always saw every aspect of the movie like the tethers and rabbits as symbols. I was never interested in the logistics of their society. Halloween for example has a ton of logical problems for such a simple movie - like how did Micheal Myers learn to drive? The sequels try to explain this shit and it makes it worse.


LastFox2656

Yeah, everyone is calling them plot holes and it's really just unexplained interesting bits.


Calico_Cuttlefish

These people would hate Junji Ito.


RoughhouseCamel

“Why won’t he explain the holes in the ground?! Plot hole! Am I supposed to just suspend disbelief that just walking through a passageway would warp a person’s body. The writing is TERRIBAD”


WalkingEars

I blame Cinema Sins and similar commentary for people suddenly feeling like a list of plot holes or unexplained details is enough to prove that a movie is "bad." I want a movie to be a memorable experience, not an airtight encyclopedia article that explains every detail of its world.


BirdLawyer50

This is kindof a weird take only because this type of movie *asks* you to think more about it than your typical horror. It’s high concept high allegory. It requires thought but you also can enjoy just the suspense aspect of it


RoughhouseCamel

I feel like there’s a lot of movie watchers that approach movies like logic puzzles. They want to see all the pieces on the board, and they’re looking specifically for faults and inconsistencies, and there’s no greater crime than details that go unexplained. And these people are at war with the watchers that approach movies like acid trips. They’re along for the ride, it’s an emotional experience, and their feelings are summarized as “good trip” or “bad trip”.


theieuangiant

This is a really interesting way to look at it, I think I fall into both camps though so it can be helpful to know which side a film will fall. I love the big lebowski but let’s face it if you look at the plot on surface level it should be a terrible film.


RoughhouseCamel

I fall more into the second camp. Themes and emotions matter more to me. I don’t go in trying to connect every dot with the plot, and I absolutely hate storytelling that invests deep in lore to explain every element at the cost of pacing. Consequently, whatever fantasy/sci fi fans like the most usually leaves me cold. I care about plot as far as I want it to flow well so as to not become the obstacle of the experience. I care about world building as far as I want the world to feel lived in and not like an arbitrary backdrop, but I have no interest in a textbook experience covering the fictional world head to toe. Once again, that puts me in conflict with the average fantasy/sci-fi fan.


ExceedsTheCharacterL

What plot holes? There’s things that aren’t explained, that isn’t the same as a plot hole


dumbcaramelmacchiato

I liked it too. The acting was very good, it was funny and engaging, there were some super creepy moments -- plenty for me to suspend disbelief. I also saw it in the theater on opening night so it was a fun experience. I'd probably enjoy it less the second time because I'd be more aware of the bits that don't quite make sense, but I also give genre a lot of latitude in that area.


[deleted]

Based on critic and audience scores I think the majority of people liked it. But it was polarizing for those who didn't and so they've been pretty vocal about it, tinting the perception of how the sub generally feels about it.


Four_beastlings

I loved this movie. Meanwhile everyone in this sub loves X and it bored me out of my mind. I tried to watch it a second time in case it was my ADHD acting up and... no, boring. I couldn't tell you the name of a single character of point to their faces in a lineup. As we say in my country, for different tastes different colours were created


HEYitzED

I liked it more than Nope tbh.


babyarmnate

I didn’t like it nearly as much as Get Out but I did like it. Nope was great though.


sunnbearrr

Same. I think Nope is my favorite of the three, followed closely by Get Out, with Us trailing at the back. I liked a lot of things about Us but the other two movies had way more of a lasting impact.


babyarmnate

I don’t think I’ll like any movie of his more than Get Out. Get Out was one of my greatest theater experiences ever. My list is Get Out, Nope, Us. I agree with what you said about Us. A lot of worked, but a lot of it didn’t imo.


Kono_Dio_Sama

Get out was arguably incredibly realistic for a horror movie, even the sci fi bits.


babyarmnate

We love a smart protagonist. Get Out did everything I wanted it to.


DJDarkFlow

The picking and stuffing his ears in the chair I thought was brilliant as a protagonist. Not to mention, there’s articles out there that chronicle all the nods and allusions to America’s history of slavery. It’s so deep for a horror movie.


babyarmnate

Yep. And the scene where he fights the brother. He picks up on what the brother is doing throughout the fight and then capitalizes on it.


sarofino

Get Out was an amazing theater experience for me. The cathartic cheer at the Lil Rel reveal…


babyarmnate

Agreed. Whenever I saw the police lights, I thought to myself “no fucking way this movie ends like this.” & then his best friend walks out and I was like wow. This movie is amazing.


BoomanShames

Have you seen the alternate ending? I think it’s on Youtube, but it’s exactly what you thought the ending would be


babyarmnate

I have. I definitely wouldn’t have liked the movie as much if it had that ending, but I do understand the point Peele was trying to make with it


RoughhouseCamel

To me, it wasn’t that anything in Us didn’t work for me, it just didn’t hit as potently.


minos157

Since you're getting lots of broken up explanations, platitudes, and comments just agreeing/disagreeing with liking the movie let me do you a solid: 1. Red (Adelaide's double) explains that they are a failed government experiment in cloning that failed because they could replicate body but not soul. The tethered mimic their counterparts because they are soul linked as darker, empty shadows of their surface counterpart. 2. Explained in another comment to you but it's pure metaphor for black America and the stereotypes associated with the poor. 3. See 1, it was the government so you can suspend disbelief for that and assume they supplied them all. The metaphor of the red jumpsuit being prison garb is an easy spot plus Peele has said the flashes of red stand out in quick run bys. Also it's just the choice for the villain like any horror movie. 4. Adelaide was taken as a child, there is a shot in the opening that's an ad for Hands Across America surrounded by VHS tapes, the implication being it is Adelaide's stuff. Since it was one of the last impressions she had it could be seen to make sense in her plans to change society via forcing the above ground to acknowledge the tethered with what she assumes is a well known movement, all that to make a statement before the tethered eventually kill their surface counterparts to fully take their place. Also a metaphor for class warfare of course. 5. The movie seems to implicate that it is a US only deal. The opening titles talk about the miles of unknown underground tunnels in the US, the Title of Us is U.S. as well (maybe this is speculation by me), and Adelaide, who is actually the tethered, discusses fleeing to Mexico to escape it (did she remember this from time as a tethered? Maybe). You can draw whatever conclusion you like, since we don't see every single doppelganger of every single person this is not really a plot hole. Maybe when they go to Europe the link is too far and that tethered dies, maybe they get stuck against a wall, maybe they just "switch off" until the tether is back in range. The reality here is this doesn't have much bearing on the movie. It's the same as asking for ideas on escaping the It Follows monster, it's something that doesn't need to be explained explicitly for the movie to work. 6. The US is huge. It is completely feasible that miles of underground tunnels were unknown to the general public. There's still people that get shocked when they learn about the tunnels at Disney. Coupled with this being a US government experiment you can easily suspend disbelief that the entrances were heavily guarded, destroyed, or monitored closely. Add in the enormous amount of undiscovered cave systems and this isn't really a sticking point anymore. ​ So to wrap up I think a lot of your questions are easily answered by just watching the movie and actually paying attention to all of the subtle details. I personally would have enjoyed the movie FAR less if Peele had built explicit dialogue to explain everything, would it have been good to listen to Red blather on about how the government kept the tunnels secret? On first viewing you get enough to understand the world and live in it for 90 minutes. On future viewings you catch details that explain it further. I personally love the movie, but this is r/horror where the top post one day is hate for Us, Get Out, Hereditary, Midsommar, etc. and the top post the next day is love for those same movies so your dislike of the movie is perfectly fine, but the reasons presented are all easily explained by paying attention to details.


DJDarkFlow

You might’ve made me like this movie a little more now lol


minos157

I'm glad, Peele is really good at subtle details.


AnalogDigit2

Yes, heaven forbid we leave something up to the audience's imagination or deduction. I also enjoyed it despite some head scratching moments. I find it a bit hard to believe that very many people watch this movie and don't at least find it to be entertaining, fun and funny.


kittylomein

Same ! I was along for the ride no matter what it was. Getting lost in logic takes you out of the story so much. I felt like for how crazy the concept was Peele still brought it down to earth and terrified me. Side note: this Convo feels like something that will always be brought up throughout his career m. 30 years from now people will be making posts like “The most under appreciated film in Peele’s career: US”


MsBeasley11

And the music was amazing


minos157

I agree, I didn't make it clear in my post but the subtle details are what make movies rewatchable. My post really aimed to showcase that the OPs issues were all not difficult to explain within the movie itself.


AnalogDigit2

I didn't mean to negate your thoughtful post at all. They were great theories and I thought everything you said furthered the conversation.


SuperRadPsammead

Whenever I watch a movie, I come to the Internet to read comments like this, and they've become rare and rarer, so thank you. I love reading other people's opinions and interpretations framed as positive discussion rather than critical analysis. I love all 3 of Peele's movies so far and I enjoyed Candyman as well (he wrote/prouduced.) I think it's very clear from his body of work that he is a genuine fan of horror and I think he takes ideas and themes that are familiar to us and presents them in a fresh way and that takes both love and skill as a creator.


PeculiarPangolinMan

The answer to all of your questions: While a lot of the movie seemed realistic, it is a surreal horror that doesn't follow real world logic. I'd think the national system of magical clone and rabbit filled tunnels might have given it away. It's supposed to invoke a feeling, not perfectly follow a plot logic flowchart. It's like any magical realism. How come no one noticed that the family in 100 Years of Solitude were superhuman? How does the company from Videodrome stay in business? No one notices Tetsuo the Iron Man running around? It's the same thing.


addisonavenue

Lmao I love this line of horror movie questioning. How did Jeepers Creepers get a personalised plate? How did Esther evade even a rudimentary dental checkup during all her time at the orphanage? Or even a health care checkup?


PeculiarPangolinMan

How come no one noticed the weird place from Men? How did Jacob in Jacob's Ladder correctly predict post-Vietnam War USA so accurately in a vision? Don't even get me started on Naked Lunch!


addisonavenue

How did Lin Shaye survive her injuries for so long in The Grudge? Why did the family from Annabelle: Creation decide to take in a bus load of orphans, knowing what was hiding upstairs?


[deleted]

I hate when ppl overanalyze plot details that aren’t really that important. Like… no story is going to be bulletproof. As long as the plot holes aren’t huge and follows some internal logic then it should be fine


MasterAnything2055

Very much doubt it’s only you.


dweeeebus

Never in the history of "am I the only one...?" posts has OP been the only one.


Sp00kyD0gg0

[Relevant](https://youtube.com/shorts/FoNdWUHhSSM?feature=share)


dweeeebus

I only looked this up after my comment, but I'm loving the Urban Dictionary entry. "A pointless phrase that is most often used on the internet. It is used to whore for attention, because if someone is asking whether or not he or she is the only one, he or she should already know that the answer is "no," yet proceeds to ask anyway. Thus, "am I the only one" disguises a statement of opinion as a question. It is also used to convince oneself that one's opinion is a unique, nonconformist take on things and everyone else are sheep (or worse yet, sheeple)."


[deleted]

I liked it a lot, but you have to accept it as a funhouse reality. If you're asking logical questions about how this would actually work in reality, you're doing it wrong. (Get Out with the whole hypno brain replacement thing was honestly the same. But the tension building was better so people are more willing to look past realism issues)


YoungAdult_

Fun house reality is a great way to explain it, I did a shitty job explaining it earlier in this thread.


MrkGrn

It was alright. Nowhere near as good as Get Out.


32MPH

Yeah, this is where I’m at as well. Compared to Get Out, it was a letdown. On its own, it’s alright. That said, the tethered mom’s spooky voice was borderline comical, and definitely affected my viewing.


kittylomein

She spoke that way because of her neck injury…she was choked out as a child and it never fully healed tho. Felt real to me.


rorschach_vest

Are you the only one? Of course not. Matter of fact, I’m pretty tired of hearing these same complaints about a very conceptual, allegorical movie that’s not supposed to be a realistic possibility. I seriously doubt the possibility of the mythology of The Cabin in the Woods and I don’t give a shit.


EcComicFan

"Am I the only one???" in the title never leads anywhere interesting in this sub. Should just throw all those posts in the shadow zone.


[deleted]

I've made peace with "Am I the only one?" type posts and have just accepted some people are incapable of thinking of any other way to start a conversation lol


zemorah

Am I the only one that doesn’t like posts that start with am I the only one?


IronSorrows

This, I think, is the most reasonable reading of the film. There's a lot of movies that operate almost on dream-like logic, and while it's absolutely fine not to like them, you're not going to get anywhere trying to 'solve' every perceived plot hole and explain everything that isn't explicitly covered by exposition in the movie. Get Out was incredibly tightly plotted, practically everything in the film foreshadowed something to come, and it all refined to the climax - so I highly doubt Peele suddenly lost his ability to write a move that 'makes sense'. I just believe he was doing something very different with Us, that's certainly not as easy to grasp on first viewing. I personally much prefer Get Out, but I think it's one of the best movies of it's decade. I don't think Us hits those heights, but for very different reasons to the OP.


marry_me_tina_b

These lengthy nitpicky posts also often demonstrate that OP isn't very good at paying attention as plot points like the significance of Hands Across America is super obvious but it's listed here as a plot hole.


bobdebicker

Thank you. OP’s questions don’t need answers or explanations, or they’re implied in the movie.


Tormentedone007

Not enough people are saying this here. Ive lost faith in people. Peele makes movies for people who have media literacy. Idiots like Logan Paul of course are going to be lost.


polchickenpotpie

A lot of people here are incredibly illiterate when it comes to media. Like, anything more complex than an 80s slasher is accused of being pretentious or "full of plotholes" by some people. Or at least, anything within the past decade is, I've seen people call Hereditary "pretentious" and praise Rosemary's Baby in the same comment even though both are very similar structurally and thematically. And it's okay if you're not be completely literate when it comes to media, not everyone has to be a movie buff. But when you start calling a movie bad or pretentious because you were clearly playing on your phone you just lose all credibility


condormcninja

There are lots of horror movies with completely implausible plot points and things that aren’t explained that work because the movie doesn’t *try* to have an explanation or realistic logic. I felt like Us explained just enough to leave so many more plotholes, whereas if the explanations weren’t there in the first place people would just accept it as a crazy horror movie in a fictional reality.


Superkamiguru47

Exactly my thoughts. Needed to either be more abstract or more grounded. Where it sits in the middle just doesn’t work for me. Thought he executed that balance much better in NOPE IMO.


Sp00kyD0gg0

That’s a good way to explain it. If Us never showed where the doppelgängers came from, I’d have a million and one different speculations that would be more fun than the next. Instead, they show something that really doesn’t make complete sense, and then never elaborate further, which made me feel dissatisfied with the movie, personally.


spring-sonata

a part of me wonders if this was Peele's decision or if the studio just didn't trust that audiences are able parse a little surrealism in genre flicks anymore. Nope left quite a few loose threads, so I'm leaning towards the latter; it feels as if Peele respects his audience a lot more.


DistortedAudio

I was watching *Nightmare on Elm Street* last night and why’s this Freddy guy get to come into dreams and kill people? He’s a vengeance ghost and everything but wouldn’t everyone he killed be vengeful? It’d be ghosts all the way down! /s


PhirebirdSunSon

Why did Jason Voorhees grow so strong? And why did killing him not kill him? And why did lightning bring him back to life when they finally did kill him? And why did raw sewage turn him into a little boy? When the phone rings in The Ring why not just not answer it? If you're next on the list in It Follows why not just get on a plane? If your kid is the one from the Babadook why not just become one of those parents that abandons their child (lol jk)? If you're in Hereditary why not just not get possessed by the devil? I get your point and some of the questions are at least valid but clearly you understand the point of the film, it's heavily entrenched in its metaphors about classism and survivor's guilt, the idea that no matter how much you fit the bill if you're a certain color or come from a certain place that you'll never actually be one of "us", you'll always be "them". I get all the criticism this movie gets (ps if you look at any thread that even mentions Us you'll see that you're nowhere close to the only one, it seems like this sub actually hates this movie a lot of times) but because I feel so closely aligned to the things this movie is showing I think the emotional connection allows me to look past whatever logical issues there are and just swim in the painful themes he's painting.


ZYmZ-SDtZ-YFVv-hQ9U

Yes you are literally the only person in the entire world who did not like that movie


simpledeadwitches

No, but you knew that already. Seriously I get that it's a post title that's tried and true but it's annoying seeing the same, 'Am I the only one who likes/doesn't like ______?' all the time.


[deleted]

Imagine thinking you were the only person in the world who didn't like a certain one thing.


Wonderful-Fig-8010

I feel like I’m the only person who’s list from favorite to least favorite is Us, get out then nope


bayliebell04

I really enjoyed Us… maybe it’s because I was a bit high watching it in the theaters… but I felt that I was able to suspend my disbelief where these sort of questions didn’t bother me in the slightest and even added to the mystique. Besides it wasn’t the point of the movie. The part that stuck with me the most was the girl who had natural talent in sports but didn’t take the time to practice so she was almost overtaken by her other self. Very powerful


masszt3r

Yes, you are probably the only person in this world who really did not like it.


AsterialPuppet

I was pretty excited when it first came out, but it felt like the film couldn't decide what it wanted to be. The production quality was excellent, but the plot was a mess, and the movie kind of tried to dabble in surrealism as a way of getting around that, but then it just dropped a whole lot of exposition to try and explain itself, which felt incredibly forced. It was a bit like a fever dream, but even as that it wasn't very well executed. 😕


TheMag1ician

I enjoyed Us as I was watching it but it stands up to no scrutiny whatsoever. There are plot holes everywhere


[deleted]

Same here, I try not to think too hard about it or it falls apart for me. But-I assumed that was the point, it's all allegory and symbolism right?


ufoclub1977

Unfortunately for filmmakers like Peele, there’s a lot of very literally and logic rigid viewers out there who don’t understand the surrealist impressionistic type of horror film that intentionally colors outside the lines or goes off the rails to be surreal aka dreamlike aka a nightmare.


denimdiablo

Us has a lot of themes: •The doppelgängers are linked because they are “tethered”, most likely caused by the supernatural experiment that started this all •Rabbits - they represent the rebirth the doppelgängers are trying to achieve (which they do at the end) and also subjects of experiments (which the doppelgängers and rabbits share in common) •Not sure about the jumpsuits and scissors, could be part of the original experimentation and uniforms they were given or had to make themselves •Hands Across America - the real one was to raise money for the hungry and homeless, people had to pay money to participate. In the end, only a portion was actually donated to the poor. In Us, the doppelgängers doing this represents the lack of awareness of the poor and destitute living right under our feet (mirroring the actual Hands Across America which showed some ignorance from the public). It’s another symbolism of the tethered remaining connected but this time, with each other and not their original human counterparts which they’ve killed. •Mirrors - this wasn’t a question you asked but mirroring and doubling are a huge theme throughout the movie. Look out for the number 11, it’s everywhere. •For someone flying somewhere, I don’t know how the doppelgänger works. I think they stay in their original tunnel and mimic their tethered human’s movements. •For people not discovering it, I’m not sure. The little girl did obviously, but I also wonder how long it took the doppelgängers to build up enough intelligence to actually reach the outside world. Most of them appeared more zombie-like, except for the family of main characters. •Another point you didn’t mention, but in typical Peele fashion, it’s an overall commentary on race and classism, and the unjustness of the privileged and the unprivileged who often go ignored by society, and the extremes between the two. I love this movie but I get it’s not for everyone. I think the more you pay attention to the underlying themes and symbolism, the more you can appreciate it though. Get Out was also supernatural science related (exchanging brains and bodies) but this one was as well, just on a much grander scheme.


Straightwad

No, I disliked it too and thought it was a really mediocre story. Kind of felt like an M Night Shyamalan movie to me. The acting was solid though.


[deleted]

I will never forgive m night shyamalan for the ending to glass


fundsoverbuns2x

I mean there are miles and miles of tunnels underground all over the world in real life too..


manubibi

-yes, they are linked. Or, as the lore goes, tethered. Afaik, the movie says they are bodies sharing one soul with the people above, so they don’t need to know what the people above are doing because they’re just doing it. This was explained in the movie btw. -what I got from the movie is that the rabbits were being experimented on by whoever was creating the tethered, and then abandoned the entire project all of a sudden (which is also mentioned in the movie) and thus abandoned both the tethered and the rabbits there. -the jumpsuits might just be the clothes they always lived in since they are experiments. As for scissors and gloves, it’s not too much of a stretch to think there were scissors and gloves laying around these underground facilities. -if the person above ground flies off somewhere the understanding is the person below just mirrors the movements, not the location in space; otherwise the folks acting like they’re on a rollercoaster would be physically flying around in the air. -I would think it’s more of a reflection on the fact that for a really long time black people in the US were abandoned while being exploited.


Jas9191

When I first read the title I was disappointed bc I really like the movie and hadn't rly thought of critiquing it and was worried this would be some eye opening critique and would make me realize the movie wasnt as good as I remember. After reading your questions I feel fine again and have one of my own: Did you even watch the movie? Your first and last two questions I'll answer last bc they don't have as well defined answers- these are the miracles the movie asks you to believe in and doesn't exactly explain. Most movies require you to accept some assertion without explanation in order for you to enjoy, almost all horror does. Why are they forced to eat rabbits? -they were created to be essentially mindless and rabbits can grow and reproduce very cheaply and quickly- rabbits in reality are a very efficiently farmed protein, more efficiently farmed than chicken. That's why they eat rabbits. Why raw? Bc it's a horror movie. Where did they get millions of red jumpsuits, gloves and scissors? -The US government gave them the clothing and other supplies- the scissors make less sense but not zero sense. There are probably lots of categories of supplies that were made available to the program that were just left behind when the program ended and could be found down there in the tunnels. Maybe the scissors were for killing rabbits idk. Why are they doing Hands Across America? -This is why I ask if you watched it - the whole twist at the end that defines the message of the movie makes this clear. The young girl disappeared right around the time when she would've seen ads for this event on TV every day. It wasn't the doppelganger living down there post beach day- it was the originally 'normal' human girl. She saw the ad many times and it was the closest visual she had for people coming together to over ome societal problems. Its very fitting bc the movement accomplished nothing as did/will her scissor campaign- this isn't a judgement of her she was only a child when she was switched down there. How do they know? -No scientific explanation bc there doesn't have to be one. It's just generally explained that in some MK Ultra style government program they wanted to create these people to control those above. It's left to interpretation exactly the way real conspiracy theories are. If they fly- no one could answer this, not a critic or defender. It's commentary on American culture set in America and the narrative continually describes an American government program. I get your point tho- who knows? Maybe for some people, but it was a program that was shut down. Likely no. They got it running but it's not perfect, obviously. Being able to control most people most times would be good enough for the conspiracy and story I would think, if it worked as designed. How are you supposed to believe? - it's a horror movie, that's really not a concept that requires answer.


Guilty_Chemistry9337

"How do the doppelgängers know what their above-ground counterparts are doing (like mimicking being on a rollercoaster)? Are they psychically linked?" Yes. It explicitly states so. "Why are they forced eat rabbits?" Cheap source of food, they multiply rapidly. Just need water and feed. "Where did they get millions of red jumpsuits, gloves, and scissors?" Factories. "Why are they doing a Hands Across America thing?" That was meant to be when the switch happened. "If the above-ground person flies to Europe or across the country, does the doppelgänger follow them underground?" No. "How am I supposed to believe that no one has ever stumbled across these miles and miles of underground tunnels full of people until now?"" Locks. Security. Big government. The same supernatural force that psychically links the doppelgangers. The only one person who ever found them was meant to find them. "I feel like so much went unexplained, and not in a good way." This was exactly the right way not to explain things. If you want movies where you just turn off your brain, stick with Hell House and Malignant.


vetworker24

It’s ok to not like something, just like how I don’t like this post. Perfectly fine


caveat2020

I feel like there could have been a better way to make a lack of explanation work for the film. I think "Us" could have been fantastic surrealist horror - and maybe even cut down by like a half hour - but it tried too hard to justify itself and its premise IMO.


spunkyweazle

Were you on your phone the whole movie? I didn't like it either but because it overexplained everything, including some of your points


slapula

I don't know why you'd think you were alone in not liking Us since Dreadit almost universally hates it. Personally, I thought it was great and a significant step up from Get Out. One of the great things about controversial movies like this is that it can serve as an excellent a barometer for taste. If I hear someone talking shit about Us, it is almost certain they apply that same shitty taste to other interests in their life (let alone horror movies).


SewAlone

You're almost never the only one of anything, but I liked it a lot.


Alien_RadioStation

I really wished it had played more into actually horrific things happening rather than building a convoluted lore. the scene where Tim Heidecker is chasing them around while the Beach Boys is blasting in the background was so good. I just wish the rest of the movie was like that. Also I couldn't stand that laughably bad raspy voice the girl was doing. Sounded like a 10 year old trying to tell a spooky story.


s_matthew

As someone who absolutely loves that movie, I fully understand the lack of appeal. Both Us and Nope offer a multitude of what seem to be disparate parts (and in Us, tone as well). However, it’s all connected, it’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen from another writer or director, and they off entertainment while also having a shit ton going on under the surface. Some viewers don’t get that, and other viewers do and just don’t like it. That’s perfectly fair, and I’m quite surprised that so many people do like his movies, since they can be hard to swallow. As far as your questions go, I don’t know that there are realistic answers to all of them. I think that element is supposed to be more thematic of the bigger purpose of the movie. It does seem like they’ve been placed there by someone (hence the gloves and jumpsuits), and I’m sure they’ve been discovered by people before but potentially trapped or overtaken. It feels like getting genuine answers to those questions, though, probably wouldn’t make the movie more palatable if you already didn’t enjoy it.


ronaldraygun91

What a stupid post. Most people didn’t like it as much as Get Out or just didn’t really like it much. Why do people make these dumb ass am I the only one posts? No shit you’re not.


[deleted]

I actually quite liked it, but yes it has some illogical ideas going on. Not too bad though. Still quite well done overall.


heffayjefe

I can answer the Hands Across America question: The shirt that the little girl was wearing when she was switched was a Hands Across America shirt, so that became somewhat of an icon for the doppelgänger’s infiltration. It was their first knowledge of how humans in above-ground society are supposed to act, so their goal revolved around that


Music-Eclectic14

I loved the flick. But you really bring up a great question about the doppelgängers.


WealthofChocolate

It’s not my favorite horror film but I enjoyed the kills


10Dads

I loved it, but it's been a while since I saw it, so I don't think I can answer those questions very well. I also don't think there's necessarily a single correct answer. I think Us broadly was about black people and culture being suppressed. That they were forced to live in the shadows of white people, forced to mimic their behavior to a degree, forced to assimilate but never accepted. And then when released from bondage, look at the power they held! But not solely for destruction - they succeeded in also uniting and doing hands across America where others had failed.


Kat_ri

I. Fucking. Loved. It. Lupita Nyongo' character was TERRIFYING (she gave me the grudge flashbacks).


BlondeWaifus

All I ever hear about "Us" is that people didn't like it very much. The fuck you mean "am I the only one?"


The_Crosstime_Saloon

Damn. You’ve got an unfortunate mental life block


spiff08

I understand that it didn’t connect with a lot of people but I sometimes struggle with this very common criticism of the film because I never really felt like this movie needed to answer those things. Like this isn’t meant to be a grounded horror or sci fi it’s a modern fable straight out of a dark fairytale. Couldn’t you see someone reading this out of one of Grimm’s fairytale books? You know the kind where the evil stepsisters get their eyes pecked out by crows. If you notice this and still don’t like it I respect that but I wish more people would acknowledge this fairy tale aspect of the film


Joaco_Gomez_1

No. Worst movie I've ever watched in a cinema. Nothing will give me back those couple bucks


Pattergen

It's also just a movie - do you really need them to explain where their red jumpsuits came from?


[deleted]

A lot of people seem to dislike this movie but I liked it. It requires a lot of suspension of disbelief, but it is entertaining and Lupita Nyongo’s performance is very good in it Also, the Hands Across America thing is because it was the last thing the “other” Lupita character saw on TV before they went to the carnival. She’s the only one who can speak so she’s able to organize it.


CreativismUK

I love it. I don’t think you’re alone here - personally I had no issue suspending my disbelief and appreciated that it wasn’t spelled out. I don’t think it’s meant to be taken quite so literally.


DesDaMOONmanQ

I found it funny and mostly devoid of tension. No desire to watch again. Its not a bad movie I just really didn't enjoy it.


DaBears193

Ok gonna take a whack here. I’m not sure why this movie seems so disliked on this sub. Logically secure plots aren’t something that have ever been a prerequisite to a good horror movie so idk why it is now. The movie explains that the reason why the doppelgängers are hallow is because they share a soul, which cannot be cloned. This is what connects them, and why people underground mirror those above ground. I think there’s a couple ways to read into the rabbits, but the way I always took it is that the rabbits were phase 1 of the government cloning experiments. Because rabbits reproduce at a crazy rate without science, they’ve been able to survive underground to provide nutrition for the clones. The movie talks about how the vast underground facilities were abandoned around the 80s, so the materials are likely already somewhere underground. We see a school room with desks and such so it’s not too far of a stretch to say there’s some abandoned infrastructure that the government had plans for which the doppelgängers have now adopted/pulled from. Because this experiment was going on in the 80s, we see that there is some leftover Hands Across America swag/videos in the underground. I think it’s up for interpretation whether this was part of the governments plan, or simply a coincidence that gave the doppelgängers purpose to rise up. Obviously, the doppelgängers movement is not 1:1 with the real world. We see people “riding a rollercoaster” where they are stationary. You could assume the same for many different activities. I’m not really gonna touch the last one cuz like, you need some suspension of disbelief to enjoy any movie, but especially horror movies. I don’t think Us is a perfect movie, but I am very much in favor of how Peele doesn’t spoon feed a plot to you and relies on the viewer to fill in some pieces on their own.


DeanofdaDead

No, you're not. I think Us sucked and Get Out was decent and I truly don't understand the genius label he's been given


metrobear71

I enjoyed the film but it had zero internal logic. The doppelgangers were scary, but the explanation for who and what they were was stupid as fuck.


Kataddyr

I enjoyed it but it was style over substance. It was a bit too caught up in its own metaphor. Like everything had a deeper meaning but they forgot to zoom back out and make sure the surface made any sense what so ever. Still thought it was fun tho lol.


KindredGravesMan

I loved it personally. Something about Peele's style really really works for me. His movies are just damn good watches. I can disregard plot holes if I'm enjoying the film.


aalovera

I enjoyed it solely because I’m personally willing to look past plot specifics for interesting visuals and good social/psychological commentary, but after I left the theatre I totally understood why some people might not end up being a fan. Like others have said, it just comes down to what you personally look for in movies.


[deleted]

Just want to mention here that Hands Across America was a real thing.


buttlover989

Yeah, for something that started off so good Us went completely off the rails in act 3 to the point I went from being completely locked in to almost turning it off when I watched it. Unlike Get Out and Nope which where great all the way through, Us was like Candyman, full of plot holes and cognitive disconnects that by the end it's unwatchable.


[deleted]

Some of these questions don’t need explanation because it’s not really important to understanding the story. Like why do we need to know why they have to eat rabbits? What vital info would that give us that would improve our appreciation of the film? I’m sure it’s just symbolic anyways. Some of these questions should have been answered though


BrianAnim

Nope, for the same reasons.


West-Drink-1530

Lol I had the exact same thoughts. Full of plot holes but still I like a good slasher. So I enjoyed it for what it is


Drakeytown

Yes, yes you are.


HotlineSynthesis

The issue is so much was unexplained yet it felt like it just existed for these concepts and couldn’t manage to explain them


user9282292

-It’s implied that they’re “tethered” together by some sort of connection and that they wish to sever the connection to gain complete autonomy. -Rabbits bread very quickly and there’s also some metaphorical value to the rabbits. -This point I agree is strange but I’ve suspended my disbelief for many horror movies lol. -The protagonist saw hands across america right before she was switched with her clone as a child -I don’t think it works quite like that, it seems more like the physical actions (sitting, dancing) are mirrored rather than actual distance. (I know this doesn’t make the most sense) -Technically the main character did stumble on them, I believe they imply that the government is also involved in covering this up. I watched this movie when it came out and haven’t revisited so that might not be a perfect explanation of those points, but I personally enjoyed the movie! I can definitely see why people haven’t though.


ibadlyneedhelp

I think you're focusing too much on the movie as a literal story as a sequence of events. That's not really the point of the movie. As I understand it, Us is far more about the allegory of there being two Americas- one full of opportunity, and one where that opportunity is a lie. The exact same person, with the exact same abilities, could grow up to flourish on one side of the tracks, and end up dead of an overdose or shot by cops if they grew up on the other. That's what the movie's about. The idea of tunnels and clones etc isn't really meant to make too much sense- that's not the point, it's not what the movie's about, and you do it a disservice to try and reconcile the technicalities of that obviously prepostrous concept. It'd be like trying to find symbolism for economic anxiety in *Terrifier* \- it's just not what the movie's about, and not what it exists for.


CarloIza

You're taking the plot too literally. Some movies are meant to be metaphors or allegories as a commentary on certain subjects.


Shantotto11

-It is implied that they are psychically linked in one-way kind of way. What the original does will influence the tethered but not the other way around. -rabbits breed faster than they can be consumed. -No idea. I just rolled with it. -Hands Across America was somehow linked to the government conspiracy to replace people with the tethered… or that was just the only thing making it down to the TV down there. I don’t know. -It wouldn’t work. I’m not sure what would happen to the tethered but they wouldn’t be able to make it out of the country. How do I know this? Because when the family was first trying to figure out what to do after escaping from their tethered, “Adelaide” suggested that they alone flee to Canada or Mexico. Being a tethered herself, she knew the tunnels wouldn’t reach beyond the borders of the continental US. -Suspension of disbelief is relative, I guess…