I mean it was fairly obvious, was it not?
You’ve likely seen Us, Jordan Peele’s follow-up to Get Out, by now.
The film quickly proved a gigantic box office smash, raking in just under $87 million worldwide in its opening weekend.
A couple of weeks on, it’s currently at just under $183 million, with plenty of critical acclaim under its belt, too.
It seems that Jordan Peele can really do no wrong at the moment, even if Us definitely has a few problems.
One such problem is the ending. While a great many were impressed, others (hello) found the film’s conclusion to be wildly overwritten and a bit silly.
If you haven’t seen Us, maybe back away now as we’re going to get into spoilers.
During the closing moments of the movie, we get an extended ‘here’s what’s really going on’ section that feels a bit like a Bond villain entering into a typical monologue.
And then there’s a big twist that doesn’t make any sense when it is revealed that the character we’ve been following for the entire story is actually someone else entirely.
Throw in a closing shot that feels like something out of a student film and, well, it could have been sewn up a little easier.
Still, many people enjoyed the blood-soaked ride. Others didn’t really know what was going on.
Whatever camp you fall into, Jordan Peele is happy to explain what the ending of Us means.
In a new, spoiler-laden chat with the Empire Podcast, Peele laid it all out.
“Maybe the monster is you,” the writer/director offered.
“It’s about us kind of looking at ourselves as individuals and as a group. The protagonist in a movie is the surrogate for the audience.
“So it felt like, at the end of the day, I wasn’t doing my core theme any justice if I wasn’t revealing that we have been the bad guy in this movie. We’ve been following the villain.”
As for the final exchange between a mother and a young son who may see that there’s something dangerous lurking beneath a smiling surface, Peele says:
“I think the little smile she gives him is a lot of things.
“I think it’s a connection to the evil smile she once had as a little girl, but also a sort of understanding that her family unit was stronger from this experience.”
So there you have it. We’re the real bad guys. Duh.
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