16 Spine-Chilling, But Significant, Details You May Have Missed In Jordan Peele's 'Us'

1. The word 'tethered' is significant right from the start.

You may have missed it, but the word "tether" was actually used in the "Hands Across America" commercial right at the beginning - during the video the narrator says "6 million people will tether themselves together to fight hunger in the US." A nod at what's to come.

2. The VHS Tapes

There are a number of horror movies that are referenced in Us that have played a significant role in inspiring its story. At the beginning of the film, when we see the television surrounded by VHS tapes, there's some titles that stand out: C.H.U.D (1984), which is about mutants living in the sewers; The Goonies (1985), which is about adventuring underground and is later quoted by Red "It's our time now. Our time, up there."; and A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984), whose antagonist is Freddy Krueger. Krueger is mirrored in Us by the tethered similarly sporting a leather glove on their right hand, and Jason's double has a facial disfigurement similar to Freddy's.

3. Itsy Bitsy Spider

Did you recognise that tune that Adelaide whistled in the hall of mirrors?

It's only "Itsy Bitsy Spider," which fits the plot perfectly. "Itsy Bitsy Spider climbed up the water spout," just like the tethered make their way up from the sewers.

Also, adult Adelaide later watches a real spider crawling over a toy one, which illustrates duality and hints that the tethered are coming to life, and they are the spiders making their way up to the surface world.

4. Adelaide can't keep a beat.

One of the first indications that Adelaide isn't who she appears to be happens during the first time the family listen to Luniz's "I Got 5 On It" in the car. She tries to snap her fingers to the beat, but is noticeably out of sync, just like how the tethered aren't perfectly in sync with their surface counterparts.

5. Red can speak English.

Another hint that Adelaide and Red swapped at the beginning is the fact that Red is the only one, out of all the tethered, who knows how to speak English, although it is slightly limited due to the fact that, she joined the tethered world at a young age. The rest of the tethered only communicate through barking, grunting and howling, as they never learned to speak.

6. Ambulance Toy

The ambulance toy that Jason uses to keep the door of the closet open in the Holiday Home clearly foreshadows the Wilsons' later escape from Santa Cruz in an ambulance.

7. Black Flag shirts

Black Flag were a popular punk rock band in the 80's, and that might be why people can be spotted wearing Black Flag shirts on at least three occasions in Us. However, there's definitely a deeper meaning behind these shirts.

Take the scene where the Wilson family are on the beach with their friends, Josh, and Kitty Tyler. One of Josh and Kitty's twin daughters talks to Zora, and we see her wearing a shirt with the Black Flag logo on it. What does the Black Flag logo look like? 11:11.

Later on, at the Tylers' holiday home, the same twin can be seen wearing another Black Flag shirt before she is murdered by her double. This shirt has the cover for their album Jealous Again on it, and this appears to foreshadow how that twin's double is later killed by Zora (with a golf club). Not to mention, the characters on the album cover look like twins!

8. "Thỏ" shirt

Speaking of shirts, did you see Zora wearing that shirt which reads "Thỏ"? The word means "Rabbit" in Vietnamese.

9. Board games

If you look closely, you can spot board games in the closet of the holiday home which hold significance, such as Monster Trap (which involves monsters invading a home) and Guess Who?, the popular face-matching game.

10. The homeless guy's double started the "Hands Across America" line.

Did you figure out that the creepy beach figure that caught Jason's eye was actually the tethered version of the homeless guy who was carrying the Jeremiah sign? He had his arms outstretched on the beach, and later, when the tethered have come to the surface, we see him standing in the same spot, holding hands with the others.

11. Dahlia's Scars

Kitty's tether, Dahlia, has scars across her face, and this is because of Kitty having plastic surgery (she tells Adelaide about it on the beach). As there are no plastic surgeons in the underworld, Dahlia has had to perform the surgery herself. This is also evident when we see her using her scissors to disfigure her face.

12. Rock, Paper, Scissors

I am unsure if this is an intentional Easter Egg or not–but consider this.

When child Adelaide wanders away from her father at Santa Cruz, one of the first things she sees is a young couple playing "rock, paper, scissors," and rock keeps beating scissors.

Later on, when Kitty's tether Dahlia goes to attack Zora with her scissors, Jason attacks her from behind with a large amethyst stone and kills her. Rock always beats scissors? Think about it.

13. The names of the tethered

The names of the tethered each have their own symbolic meaning.

Adelaide's tether, Red–this could be interpreted in a number of ways, but this may be her name because the colour red is a common theme throughout the film.

Gabe's tether, Abraham–Abraham is the patriarch of the three Abrahamic religions, and in Us, he is the patriarch of his family.

Zora's tether, Umbrae–means "shadow".

Jason's tether, Pluto–Pluto was the ruler of the underworld in Roman mythology.

Josh Tyler's tether, Tex–Josh is very materialistic, and so his double's name seems to relate to the quote, "Everything is bigger in Texas."

Kitty Tyler's tether, Dahlia–I don't think it's a coincidence that Kitty's double has the same name as The Black Dahlia, a famous actress who was murdered, and found disfigured with slashes extending from her mouth to her ears.

14. Adelaide has a connection with the tethered children.

When Umbrae gets flung into a tree, and is dying, Adelaide leaves her car to find her and comfort her, as if she were her own daughter. She also appears to show remorse when Pluto walks backwards into the fire. These are again indications that Adelaide is from the same place as them.

15. Pluto's Burns

Did you find yourself wondering why Jason's tether, Pluto, has such severe burn scars? Consider this–it's possible Jason kept doing the trick with the lighter, and when Pluto did it in the tethered world, he messed it up and ended up burning himself.

16. Thriller

Last but not least...

Hints to the Michael Jackson hit are littered throughout the film from the moment young Adelaide puts the Thriller shirt on. The music video for the song is reflected by the tethered, who are zombie-like in their nature and come up to the surface, and Michael Jackson's choice of clothing is copied by the residents of the underworld as they wear red jumpsuits and a single glove on one hand. Red also has a similar role to Michael Jackson in the Thriller video, as she is like the zombie leader who summons the tethered up to the surface world to perform, "Hands Across America."

Oh, and one last thing... the Thriller shirt was prize number 11.