Nope

‘What if I told you that today you’ll leave here different? Right here, you are going to witness an absolute spectacle.’

Jordan Peele has once again proven his cinematic genius with the much-anticipated, much-hyped Nope. Starring Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, Steven Yeun and Brandon Perea, the sci-fi horror flick is one of the best films of 2022. This blockbuster ambitiously aims high and tackles big themes of spectacle, exploitation, the dark side of Hollywood, greed, and extra-terrestrial life. 

In Nope, the plot focuses on the brother-and-sister duo, the apathetic, hard-working OJ (Daniel Kaluuya) and the wise-cracking, industrious and animated Em (Keke Palmer), who take over the family business of training horses for Hollywood films. Their unique value proposition is that the Haywood family are descendants of the African-American man who trained the horse that was featured in the first motion picture. 

After a failed gig at a studio, OJ and Em return to their ranch adjacent to a new Western theme park run by Ricky “Jupe” Park (Steven Yeun) and each of them is confronted with painful, violent memories. For OJ, his father is killed by a freak accident; for Jupe, he is plagued by a chimpanzee going rogue and brutally attacking his fellow cast members on sit on a hit 90s sitcom. 

It seems the area is haunted by a mysterious, celestial being, camouflaging itself as a cloud which never moves. After it ingests humans and animals, it tips out random debris of keys, coins, plastics and other sharp objects. Perplexed, and on a mission to capture the “money shot”, OJ and Em team up with zealous tech salesman Angel (Brandon Perea) to install a state-of-the-art surveillance system and conjure a plan to provoke the UFO out of hiding to capture the spectacle of it all. 

Nope serves a serious predator v human vibe, reminiscent of Jaws. Overall, the film is quite a thrill. For those who avoid spoiler content, this film doesn’t go where you’d expect. Quite like Peele’s breakout film Get Out. Another theme of the film is the portrayal of a craven Hollywood, one where capturing a spectacle is the pinnacle of art, damned the human – and, in this film in particular – the cost of animal exploitation. This can be seen in the opening scene in the studio with the Haywood horse, the chimp, and in some respects, the otherworldly entity. (Side note: I won’t look at a portobello mushroom the same). 

Kaluuya and Palmer play off each other perfectly, creating a very genuine brother-sister dynamic who are opposites. OJ is a bit of a gruff do-gooder, and Em is confident and shrewd. Perea reminds me of a young Dave Franco and adds much of the comedic value.

Following Get Out and Us, Peele strikes gold in his third feature. The third act of Nope is insane. We say yeah to Nope. Don’t miss it!

Nope
In cinemas now
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