Post the episode Twilight Zone that inspired the movie Us by Jordan Peele

Nowadays, the available streaming options and contradictory recommendations are so numerous that it's hard to see through all the bullshit you could watch. Every Friday, The edge & # 39;s The Cut the Crap column simplifies the choice by sorting out the overwhelming multitude of movies and TV shows on subscription services and recommending just one perfect thing to watch this weekend.

What to watch

"Mirror Image", an episode of the first season of The twilight zone, originally aired on CBS on February 26, 1960. Written by series creator, Rod Serling, and directed by John Brahm, "Mirror Image" stars Vera Miles as Millicent Barnes, a traveler stressed in an almost empty depot, waiting for a late bus. When the old ticket agent complains of disturbing him too much, Millicent sees evidence that she has a doppelganger at the station – perhaps one of many in an alternate universe, replacing his counterparts on Earth of Millicent. Soon, the heroine and another exhausted bus passenger, Paul Grinstead (Martin Milner), actually encounter these doubles, smiling at them gently and with horror.

Why look now?

Because the new film by Jordan Peele We opens in theaters everywhere this weekend.

The screenwriter-director's follow-up of his unexpected blockbuster get out is another mix of supernatural horror and slyly disturbing social commentary – though, as Peele himself has stated in interviews promoting the film, he is more interested in a terrifying audience than in piquing his awakening. Lupita Nyong'o and Winston Duke co-starred in a happy and successful married couple who takes their kids to the beach to visit two old friends, played by Tim Heidecker and Elisabeth Moss. The family is then disturbed in the middle of the night by the arrival of doppelgängers dressed in red, who move suddenly, make strange noises and seem to want to kill them. Where do these people come from? Is there a metaphor for the junk society … or maybe something that these relatively affluent characters have tried to leave behind?

It is not surprising that Peele's career as a filmmaker has been so far (which also includes the co-production of Spike Lee's award-winning feature film, 2019 BlacKkKlansman and co-writing, co-producing and starring in the 2016 action-comedy movie Keanu) has been so focused on racial identity, class and professional issues. Peele and long-time partner Keegan-Michael Key have regularly pressed this type of button during the five seasons of their hit series Comedy Central. Key & Peele. However, few of the fans on this show expected Peele's work as a filmmaker to be so infused with the horror genre.

Maybe Peele is following in the footsteps of Rod Serling, who forged his reputation in the 1950s by writing socially relevant dramas during the heyday of live television, and then had enough of arguing with advertisers and network leaders for its political content. In 1959, Serling creates the sci-fi anthology / horror The twilight zonebelieving, quite rightly, that he could speak more about American prejudices, paranoia and greed if he populated his stories with aliens and monsters. A big blurred area episode freaks onlookers on then makes them think.

Peele co-produces and is currently hosting a new version of The twilight zone, starting April 1st on CBS All Access. Speaking of We, he openly admitted that the film was partly inspired by "Mirror Image" from the original series – more for the central image of harmful look-alikes than for any specific message. The socio-political content in Sterling's storyline for this episode is actually much lower than usual, although it does take into account some factual observations about the sexually casual ways people treat a young professional woman. More importantly, the episode subtly attacks a common anxiety: feeling like an unworthy impostor who could be the victim of a usurpation.

For whom is this?

People who like to have spiked thorns and chilled bones.

The most memorable moments of "Mirror Image" are frightening almost primitively and are difficult to articulate. Once Millicent has seen the suitcase of her doppelgänger sitting around the station, she looks at herself in a mirror and sees the woman herself sitting on a bench and looking straight into her eyes. Later, Paul is about to lie down to take a nap when he sees his double, coming out of the deposit in the dark of the night, smiling enough air. These interlacers are both irritating and inevitable. Millicent tells Paul that they look like kudzu suffocating healthy plants, in a metaphysical case of "survival of the fittest." Or – even more disturbing – Millicent and Paul may be the weeds.

Serling never explains exactly what is happening or what it means. Brahm and the actors work together to highlight the inherently troubling elements of this particular scenario: the clandestinely populated bus station, the anguish of a late arrival on a rainy night, the frustration of being patronized useless employee , and the fear of being completely alone in the middle of nowhere when everything starts to go awry. That's what the best blurred areas – and so many of the best horror movies – do so well, transforming ordinary spaces into scenes of strangely familiar nightmares.

Where to see it

It might be easier to say where do not to have The twilight zone. This is the rare classic TV show that has been widely used under license by several streaming services, instead of remaining exclusive. Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime Video all offer The twilight zone subscribers. The same goes for CBS All Access, where the new version of Peele's show will premiere.