US

             Is Jordan Peele the new M. Night Shyamalan?  After a terrific debut with "Get Out", Mr. Peele's sophomore effort, "Us", despite much promise at the beginning, falls apart in the last act much like many of Mr. Shyamalan's films.

              With a creepy prologue that sets up an interesting premise, the film settles into a standard horror story setup. The initial moments of terror are genuinely unsettling, if not downright scary but it doesn't take long for the unnerved feeling you've gotten turns to disbelief at the ridiculous explanation for what's happening. There are some twists and turns, one in particular, that try to keep things interesting but  the film really loses any credibility as it moves into the final act.

                Mr. Peele wrote, produced and directed the film. As a director, he does a masterful job. The film is well paced, his actors are terrific (more on that in a moment), his camera work is interesting and both lighting and music blend together for great effect. Mr. Peele does an admirable job balancing the suspense with comic relief.  His downfall is the script. His lofty idea turns ridiculous as the film goes on.

                 The film stars Lupita Nyong'o and Winston Duke as a married couple on vacation with their kids played by Shahadi Wright Joseph and Evan Alex. Their friends are played by Elisabeth Moss and Tim Heidecker. Ms. Nyong'o is brilliant in a double role as is Ms. Wright Joseph as her daughter and Mr. Alex as her son, also in double roles. Mr. Duke provides some comic relief even as he is trying to protect his family.

                  Every aspect of the film works so well except the failure of the script to finish the job it so beautifully sets up in the first place. Mr. Peele continues to show great promise as a director. Let's just hope he doesn't fall into the Shyamalan trap as a writer.