Early Reviews Herald Jordan Peele's 'Us' as a Masterpiece

Making its world premiere at SXSW on Friday night, Jordan Peele’s Us has already started seeing a wave of praise online from critics and audiences ahead of the film’s official release.

Ever since the rise of Peele’s directorial debut for Get Out, which earned him the Oscar for best original screenplay, his follow-up thriller has been met with much anticipation. As soon as the trailer arrived last Christmas, fans quickly started postulating their own theories surrounding the movie’s plot and deeper commentary on society. Centered around a family on vacation, headed by Lupita Nyong’o and Winston Duke, the main characters start seeing terrifying doppelgängers of themselves.

“We are at a time where we fear ‘the other,’” Peele stated during a Q&A session following the screening. “I wanted to suggest that the monster has our face, maybe the evil is us.”

Fans also cited Nyong’o's notable performance in the film. Take a look at some of the early reactions from social media below and catch Us in theaters on March 22.

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

It should surprise no one that US is a very satisfying (and anxiety-inducing) follow up to GET OUT. What’s more fascinating: that a high-concept FUNNY GAMES/Hitchcock/Cronenberg/Bradbury mashup could feel so fresh at the same time. #sxsw

— erickohn (@erickohn) March 9, 2019

It’s official: Jordan Peele is the new Spielberg. #Us is going to be one of the biggest movies of the year. #SXSW

— Ramin Setoodeh (@RaminSetoodeh) 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

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