Film

Every Chilling Easter Egg You Might Have Missed In ‘Us’

Extreme spoiler warnings as we try to answer the big questions from Jordan Peele’s brilliant new horror film.

by Cameron Williams  1 April 2019
Us Jordan Peele Easter Eggs

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So you’ve seen Us.

Firstly, take a deep breath and appreciate writer and director, Jordan Peele, has delivered another sublime horror film that certifies his status as one of the most exciting filmmakers.

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A Guide To All The Must-Watch Horror Films That Inspired Jordan Peele's 'Us'

Secondly, see it again, seriously, there’s so much going on in this film and round two is full of rewards.

If you don’t have time for round two but have so many questions and theories swirling around your head, don’t sweat it, we’ve got your back.

We’ve compiled all the questions we had after Us and done our best to get the answers.

Obviously, this is ALL spoilers ahead.

What are the VHS tapes around the TV in the opening scene of ‘Us’?

In the first scene, set in 1986, we see a commercial for Hands Across America and there are VHS tapes stacked around the television. The tapes visible are C.H.U.D, The Right Stuff, Goonies and The Man with Two Brains.

C.H.U.D is the biggest reference because it shares a plot similar to Us (sort of) where flesh-eating humans mutated by radioactive waste prey on the homeless who live underground in New York City.

It’s also a personal shout out because in interview with Polygon, Peele revealed he once dated the daughter of C.H.U.D’s director.

What’s the film being shot on the boardwalk?

In the flashback scene, Adelaide’s mother says, “You know they’re shooting a movie over there by the carousel.”

The film being shot is the vampire classic, The Lost Boys, which was filmed on the same boardwalk as Us. Not only is it a reference to the film but the two Coreys, Corey Haim and Corey Feldman, who star in The Lost Boys.

Peele told UPROXX, “… Feldman, as you well know, I mean, a very important figure for our generation. And Haim, too. These guys are the epitome of cool. They were kids who were as cool as it got. And stories of great duality, sagas of the highest highs and the lowest lows and great tragedies.”

Along with the reference to The Goonies (see above) the two Coreys fit in with Peele’s doppelgänger story.

What’s Hands Across America?

Hands Across America was a charity event in ’86 where Americans were encouraged to form a human chain across the country.

The goal was for participants to raise money that would go to charities to fight homelessness and hunger. Roughly 6.5 million people participated and $65 million was raised. The event was deemed a failure, though, because the amount that eventually went to charities was in the range of $15 million after the cost of running and marketing the event was deducted.

Is there a deeper meaning to the title of the film?

When The Tethered enter the Wilsons’ home, Adelaide asks, “who are you?” Red answers, “we are Americans.”

The title, Us, not only references the films doppelgänger foes but it can also be interpreted as U.S., as in: United States.

Why does young Adelaide pick a t-shirt of Michael Jackson’s Thriller?

Speaking to Mashable, Peele said the Jackson reference is intentional, “Michael Jackson is probably the patron saint of duality. The movie starts in the ’80s — the duality with which I experienced him [Jackson] in that time was both as the guy that presented this outward positivity, but also the Thriller video which scared me to death.”

With the documentary Leaving Neverland fresh in our minds this “duality” now has more a more twisted meaning than Peele ever intended.

What’s the significance of the song I Got 5 On It?

Lunzi’s I Got 5 On It plays in the car while the Wilsons are on their way the beach (it’s also used brilliantly as score later in the film). Peele originally picked the song for a joke, but it then become essential to the film thanks to the song’s hook.

In an interview with EW, Peele said, “ … I wanted to explore this very relatable journey of being a parent [and] maybe some of the songs you listened to back in the day aren’t appropriate for your kids. So that was one level, and another part was, I love songs that have a great feeling but also have a haunting element to them and I feel like the beat in that song has this inherent cryptic energy, almost reminiscent of the Nightmare on Elm Street soundtrack. So those were the ideas that that song hit the bullseye on for me, and also, it’s just a dope track.”

Where have I seen the dad before?

Mr Wilson and his double, Abraham, are played by Winston Duke who you’ll recognise as M’Baku from Black Panther.

Why did Adelaide freak out over the frisbee with a star on it?

Okay, this is a wild one and it involves the film’s major twist: The Tethered Adelaide replaces the real Adelaide when she’s a kid.

In the frisbee scene, which happens before the Tethered come out to play, a red disc replaces a blue dot, so it’s a hint that not all is what it seems in Santa Cruz. While at the beach, Adelaide is on edge because she knows the real Adelaide may be lurking, so everything is making her paranoid.

Who created The Tethered?

The Tethered were created by the government as part of a failed mind-control experiment. Clones of people we made, The Tethered, but for reasons unknown, they were abandoned in underground tunnels and forced to eat raw rabbit and mimic their double’s lives with no free will.

One can assume the goal of the experiment was for The Tethered could be used to control people who lived above because they are linked, somehow. For example, if the government wanted you to vote a certain way during an election, they’d use your double to control how you vote.

Are there tunnels where The Tethered live all over America?

Peele has hinted he has built a backstory for The Tethered — sequel alert — as well as details about their existence in an interview with the LA Times, “As far as the location where they come from, which is called the Underpass, I don’t tell you how large and how expansive it is — and in my mind it is quite large and expansive. I won’t give the borders, but there are … means down there.”

What’s the deal with all the spiders?

Before The Tethered arrive, a spider is shown crawling out from underneath a bigger spider figurine on a coffee table. The tune to Itsy Bitsy Spider is whistled multiple times in the film. Think about the lyrics to the song: Itsy Bitsy Spider climbed up the water spout. The song is a reference to The Tethered living in underground tunnels and emerging to get revenge on those living in the sunshine.

Why did Red have a croaky voice?

When the Adelaide switch happens, you can assume that the real Adelaide, who becomes Red, stopped using her voice to blend in with the soulless Tethered who live in the tunnels.

So, when Red is speaking, she’s using her voice for the first time as most of The Tethered only communicate in moans and clicks as they are never taught to speak. You can also theorise that Red may have taught them to communicate, which is how she coordinated the uprising.

Why can Jason Wilson control his doppelganger?

Jason Wilson is technically the biological son of one of The Tethered; he’s the child of a clone.

Throughout the film you see him actively controlling his double who is the offspring of the real Adelaide. So, the reason why Jason can control his double is because he has figured out how to activate whatever mind-control link the experiment was intending to exploit. Basically, Jason is evidence that the government experiment worked!

What does the Bible verse mean?

The genius of Peele film is that he’s getting people to read The Bible.

In the film a man is holding sign that says Jeremiah 11:11: “Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘I will bring on them a disaster they cannot escape. Although they cry out to me, I will not listen to them.” The verse alludes to the apocalyptic themes of the film because The Tethered represent America’s hidden past coming back to wreak havoc.

Okay, I get the Bible thing but why does 11:11 appear so much?

The numbers are seen on an alarm clock, signs and the score on a sports game playing on a television. One explanation is the numbers represent the four members of the Wilson family and it’s also nods to numbers that kind of look like twins.

What do the rabbits represent?

You can read the rabbits so many different ways: going down rabbit holes (hello, Alice in Wonderland references), rabbits being used in science experiments and rabbits all looking identical.

Peele said he just wanted to creep people out with rabbits, “I think rabbits and scissors, they’re both scary things to me, and both inane things, so I love subverting and bringing out the scariness in things you wouldn’t necessarily associate with that.

Why does Elizabeth Moss’ double cut her face?

When we first meet Moss’ character she tells Adelaide she had cosmetic work done on her face. Moss’ double cuts her face shortly after killing her non-Tethered self. The cut may be a way to undo the cosmetic surgery, which hints that The Tethered are not only linked mentally, but biologically as well.

Why aren’t The Wilsons killed immediately like the Tyler family are?

The Tyler family are killed swiftly in their own home while the Wilsons are held captive after their first encounter. The reason why the Wilsons survive is because Red (the real Adelaide) wants revenge and will prolong their demise to make her statement.

Even when Adelaide comes face-to-face with The Tethered Tyler family, they don’t immediately attack because they sense she is one of The Tethered, which is similar to the way Sigourney Weaver is left unharmed by the creature in Alien 3 cause she has a xenomorph inside her.

Why are The Tethered so committed to holding hands?

In the same way Hands Across America was meant to be a statement about a country united against poverty in ’86, The Tethereds’ version is a statement of their existence as a united force. After they massacre the population of Santa Cruz, they join hands to declare to the world they have arrived; it’s a chilling statement.

Can The Tethered breathe underwater?

There’s a shot late in the film where the human chain of The Tethered stretches into the water and you can see them standing underwater.

Since none of them are floating, meaning they’ve drowned, there’s an ever so slight chance they can breathe underwater or they have concrete in their shoes. Either way, it’s terrifying to think they may have extra abilities not shown off in the film but your imagination can run wild.

Do The Tethered really have no soul?

We are told The Tethered were born with no soul and are inherently evil but it’s hard to tell if it’s nature verses nurture.

One explanation is they are genetically engineered to have no personality traits which makes them psychopathic. Another theory is they are born normal but become twisted by living underground, treated poorly and forced to eat raw rabbit. The soulless line may have been something scientists told themselves to justify their insane experiment.

When did The Tethered realise they could escape?

The ballet scene is day zero of The Tethered revolution. Peele hints that during the dance it’s Red’s coming out party to reveal to the others she has free will because she’s doing her own dance moves.

Was the experiment only limited to Santa Cruz?

Roughly, 64,000 people live in Santa Cruz, California, and the county has a total population of 274,146. At the end of Us we see the human chain of The Tethered stretch across a mountainous countryside that we know starts at the beach. The population of The Tethered must be in the millions, which means they could cover most of America.

What happens to The Tethered when people get on aeroplanes?

There are walls everywhere underground and the space is limited so it seems crazy to plan for one of the Tethered to mimic someone getting on a plane. Unless there are dedicated lanes underground to accommodate for travel — holy shit — it could explain one of the reasons why the experiment was cancelled: infrastructure.

If you want to get deep into a conspiracy theories, maybe the people who created the experiment also limited the lives of the people they cloned. Think of it like The Truman Show, maybe if you lived aboveground and wanted to go to Paris, the government would convince you why you don’t want to travel, that way, nobody ever leaves the areas covered by the experiment.

Does Jason know his mother is one of The Tethered at the end?

Jason looks at his mother and then pulls his monster mask over his face in one of the final scenes. Yes, in this moment I think he realises his mother is not normal but he’s also acknowledging his own powers as one of the Tethered.

Jason is very anti-social for most of the film, so is his sister (always looking at her phone, even at the beach) so their behaviour explains they are second generation Tethered.

When the Adelaides’ switched, how did the The Tethered Adelaide learn to socialise if she has no soul?

In flashbacks, we see Adelaide’s parents consulting with doctors saying that they want their daughter back; they don’t know about the switch.

Since The Tethered don’t speak, the imposter Adelaide must have learned how to speak or spent time with child psychiatrists to learn how to socialise. She could have even learnt to talk while watching Sesame Street. All this hints at breaking the myth The Teathered a soulless cause if the imposter Adelaide can learn to adjust, maybe they are just messed up clones after all.

Is Lupita Nyong’o going to win an Oscar?

Yes, if she doesn’t — we take to the streets and join hands.

Cameron Williams is a writer and film critic based in Melbourne who occasionally blabs about movies on ABC radio. He has a slight Twitter addiction: @MrCamW.