Uncharted territory makes people uncomfortable. If we’re going there, that territory is the concept of Black children being creepy. The actress who plays young Adelaide (Madison Curry) at the beginning who is brilliant, but definitely one of the aspects of the film that genuinely freaks me out.
Oh, I love that.
Creepy children in horror are typical but not Black children. The very notion of the creepy Black child sends chills down my spine in a good way!
I mean, that was a very conscious decision. In that first scene but that at first scene is I wanted to evoke this feeling that is “The Shining” meets “Moonlight.” A huge piece of the pantheon of horror tropes is the creepy kid. I get to make movies where I can put the idea out there. I wonder why have we not been invited into that space?
Well, I can think of a variety of reasons, but one that comes to mind again is there is a high level of discomfort and even some confusion when it comes to seeing Black bodies used in this way, even if it’s just fiction.
Exactly, but for me, when I see a vacuum of sorts, I see an opportunity to have fun and to provoke a reaction like yours, which is like, “Oh, this is not right. It’s not supposed to be like this.” It all comes from me being an actor for so many years and feeling like I was relegated to specific narratives. I love playing ugly roles. I love playing despicable characters. I couldn’t find that opportunity to save my life as a young actor. Now I want to give opportunities to play roles people never, ever get a chance to play.
My niece who’s 12 is a huge fan of your comedy and horror work. And while, it’s may not be appropriate, I want her to see this “Us” because I want her to see another side of Black childhood. I could really connect with those characters, and maybe she could do the same.
Hearing your questions, the way you’re talking about it, and how the film affected you—you’re raising points and ideas, and I hadn’t thought about. After making “Get Out,” I realized, I can build in the layers, I can build in the connections with thematics, I can put the imagery together. The other piece of the puzzle is how it affects people, and the conversation that they have.
Is that what you hope to accomplish? That it creates conversation beyond the theater?
I’ll just say I am fortunate to be in a position where people are now ready to connect how they feel to what they see on screen have conversations and discuss theories together. It’s really wonderful to hear you talk about how that affected you and how that scared you, because I think when something scares you in a horror movie, it’s for a reason, and I think that is a form of us dealing with fears about ourselves—which is the goal of this film—fears of things that you have or have not felt comfortable expressing. That level of catharsis, I think, is something that has been denied us as Black Americans in this genre. I’m here to bridge that gap—that’s totally my shit.
“Us” opens in wide release nationally, this Friday, March 22.