It’s been a slack few weeks for me on the review front. A little bit of writer’s block and a whole lot of uni work. So here are some quick thoughts on Us, Shazam! And Pet Semetary.

Us:

If there was concerns that Jordan Peele was a one-hit-wonder, that are best dismissed now. Clever, strange and unnerving best describe his new masterpiece about a family who are hunted by their doppelgangers. It goes some fascinating places and has a sense of humour as it goes there. Its message is not quite as over as ‘Get Out’ but is probably longer lasting.

Shazam!

The word on Shazam is that it continues the solid but maybe unspectacular run of DC stand alone films. It has a great sense of humour and a big heart perpetuated largely by the casting of Zachary Levi. It is a delightfully fun that actually is moving at times. It has a problem with tone, clearly being aimed at a younger audience while having heavy moments of darkness and scares.

Pet Semetary

Your mileage on Pet Semetary depends on your experience with the original film. The problem is I’m not sure how which way that works. Pet Semetary is an effective horror film which is a long meditation on grief and the great lengths we will go to avoid it. It is a fairly humourless affair and it borrows heavily from its preceding movie source material, both for scares and then for playing was originally done. It’s fine but maybe a rental stay in option.