The scene: “There’s a Family In Our Driveway”
Horror fans are split on whether Jordan Peele’s Us is a match for his debut feature, the Oscar-nominated and ground-breaking Get Out, or whether the film itself manages to sustain the tension of its first act as its story expands. But few would argue that the initial visit of the Wilson family’s mysterious, red-jumpsuit-clad doppelgängers (their Tethereds) to their vacation home is not among the most well-orchestrated and suspenseful home-invasion scenes the genre has ever given us. It’s not just the expert build-up of tension, as Winston Duke’s Gabe suddenly realizes he may need to get a little “crazy” with the strange quartet who’ve come a-knocking, but Peele’s ability to sear instantly iconic images onto our brain, from the shadowy figures holding hands in the driveway to Lupita Nyongo’s Adelaide clutching tightly to her children and, as the sequence settles, the first appearance of those golden scissors.
