Jordan Peele's "terrifying and traumatising" Us is a smash hit with critics after SXSW premiere

Jordan Peele's Get Out follow-up, Us, has had its first screenings at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas - and the critics are hailing it as a "terrifying and traumatising" masterpiece.

The thriller, in which a family on vacation - led by Lupita Nyong'o and Winston Duke - are haunted by alternate reality versions of themselves, is Peele's second feature after his 2017 Oscar-winning horror, and it looks to be a similarly effective genre flick backed by serious political and social themes.

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With reviews dribbling in overnight after Friday's premiere - the film will be released in the UK later this month - it's already got a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 10 reviews, and a whole lot of praise is pouring in on social media from the lucky ones who have seen it already.

Among those are popstar/actress Janelle Monae and Russian Doll writer/director Leslye Headland.

"I just saw US at SXSW and screamed/laughed so much I lost my voice," Headland wrote. Monae was mostly speechless, sending out a tweet containing one OMG and lots of @ signs, exclamation points and dollar signs. She later added that Lupita Nyong'o's performance is the best of the year.

Others were equally impressed, and expanded on their thoughts.

"Went to see Us," US TV presenter Sunny Hostin wrote. "I'm still dazed and confused. And scared. And exhilarated. Modern day Hitchcock. I will see it again. And again. And maybe will never use scissors again."

The promo for the film is getting some heat, too. And to be fair, it looks amazing:

Us is released in UK cinemas on 22nd March 2019