I'm always blown away by Peele's layered motifs, which I feel I could dissect for hours.

The characters in this film feel fleshed out and interconnected; I couldn't help but start putting the puzzle pieces together to derive my own interpretation of the meaning/s of this film. Through each character we as an audience witnessed the different kinds of relationships they had with trauma and spectacle.

I loved the main characters so much, and really adored how they all felt well rounded and received incredible arcs. OJ filling his father's shoes and even surpassing him in a way by giving his sister the encouragement and support to carry out her "breaking" of Jean Jacket. Emerald finally being treated to that level of trust, allowing her to follow in the footsteps of her ancestors in earnest. And Jupe, who most heartbreaking of all, finds his untimely demise after becoming overconfident with a wild animal, having either not learnt his lesson the first time with Gordy, or being drawn to the same circumstances because of his past trauma.

And the god damn alien. Wow. The horror of being consumed, the detail of the sound it makes as it moves sounding like screams, only to be revealed that it IS the screaming of people being digested alive. Fucking terrifying, and I'm sure there's an excellent metaphor in there somewhere to link it to spectacle in the modern age that I am just not big-brained enough to explain. The final design was so gorgeous I felt my opinion on the alien (aka Jean Jacket) changing; turning from this crude hole into an Iris van Herpen-looking design, absolutely breathtaking, a final metamorphosis that reminded me of Tartt's line: "beauty is terror".

There are so many little details I'm sure I've missed, and I've come to realise a few in the hour since leaving the cinema. I think this is definitely one of those movies you can rewatch multiple times and pick up on something new each time.

Peele is a fucking master writer and filmmaker. I feel eternally lucky that I am alive right now to witness firsthand his incredible craft. This film made me feel a whole flurry of emotions, which I sorely needed right now.

I'm going to go listen to Dionne Warwick's 'Walk on By' and cry, now.