Jordan Peele's foray into horror is still getting expanded and explored as he continues to release more unique films that surprise and terrify. With Get Out, he took a traditional route that managed to tell a justifiably scary story that plays on grounded fears of isolation and the unknown. Meanwhile, Nope was a movie that explored exploitation and the idea of awful things getting used for entertainment. But in Jordan Peele's Us, a much more mythic tone was used that took its main antagonist and compared her to none other than Jesus.
Us followed a family that went to a lake for a summer vacation. But as night fell, things began to take a turn as doppelgängers in red jumpsuits carrying golden scissors appeared and began to kill their lookalikes. Known as the Tethered, they were led by Red, the only one who could speak as she got taken to where the Tethered were by Adelaide, the protagonist, when she was a young girl. Throughout the movie, the religious undertones surrounding Red were evident and well hidden visually and verbally as this film tackled larger concepts. But according to an interview with Peele, these concepts carried a massive weight "tethered" to Red.
Peele stated that one of the film's most important themes was the rabbits that inhabited the underground. Narratively, these rabbits were sustenance for the Tethered and eaten raw, contributing to the animalistic tendencies of these people. But Peele explained that thematically, they carried a larger weight; "..The main connection to me was Easter. [Us] is a dark Easter of sorts..." And this connotation of rabbits and Easter was given a larger scope when viewed through the perspective of Red.
The interview later explained that Red represented a Messiah that had risen from the whole where she got left for dead. With her, she also brought a revolution where the oppressed would now take back what they felt they deserved with violence. Red acted as their savior, much like Jesus, and led her people to newfound salvation. But this parallel is made more evident when compared to the constant presence of Jeremiah 11:11.
In the bible, the quote spoke of the Lord bringing evil upon the people they can't escape, and their screams for help would go unheard. Similarly, Red did the same with her evil that took the form of the Tethered. It's a powerful concept that perfectly blended into the idea of class, privilege and making real change versus the illusion of change. But it couldn't have happened without Red, who was their chosen one.
As the only one who could speak and understand the world above, Red was the only option to give the Tethered the freedom they never knew they deserved. And tying it to a larger concept of religion and Jesus further showed the parallels of right and wrong in Us and the theme of duality. Both Red and Adelaide fought for freedom, yet Adelaide proved that one act could change the world forever. In this case, it turned Red into a martyr and the face of a revolution that possibly needed to happen.