Film Review - Nope

Images courtesy of Universal Studios.

Hearing the screams of a terrifying monster, Daniel Kaluuya’s OJ follows the moronic horror-movie rulebook and starts walking towards the sound. However, a snap second later he stops, turns around, and says what everyone in the audience is thinking: “Nope.” The message is clear – much like Jordan Peele’s first two instalments, Get Out and Us, his new flying-saucer-mystery Nope is going to be anything but predictable.

OJ (or Otis Junior) and his sister Emerald (Keke Palmer) are the children of ranch owner Otis Haywood Senior (Keith David), who trains and handles horses for film and television productions. When Otis Senior is struck and killed by a coin that inexplicably falls from the sky, OJ and Emerald are tasked with saving the floundering ranch while solving Otis Senior’s death. The culprit – a mysterious flying saucer that triggers electronics outages and has an appetite for the ranch’s horses – returns as an ominous deadly presence. These are the best scenes in the film, with Peele painting the alien visitor as a stalking predator that’s always just out of sight. Supported by a tense score and some creative cinematography, it feels like something out of Jaws, with the fear of the unknown far more terrifying than a visible threat.

However, when the Haywood’s initial response to this threat is to capture photographic evidence and sell it for money, Peele makes it clear that Nope is less of a monster movie, and more about humanity’s addiction to spectacle. It’s a clear criticism of an exploitative entertainment culture, with many of the other characters sharing the Haywood’s want to monetize a horrific event. Neighbouring theme park owner Ricky Park (Steven Yeun) looks to exploit a tragic event from his time as a child actor, acclaimed cinematographer Antlers Holst (Michael Wincott) only agrees to assist them once hearing of the brutality the UFO can inflict, and the Haywood’s business is built on generations of unacknowledged exploitation. Much like another of the film’s villains – a deranged chimpanzee named Gordy – the UFO represents the danger of treating every living thing as a commodity that can be tamed and milked for profit. The movie is dripping with multilayered subtext, and – as is Peele’s speciality – will have moviegoers clamouring for ‘Nope Explained’ videos on YouTube when they leave the cinema.

With his biggest budget to date (a substantial $68 million USD), there can be no doubt that Peele has created a unique spectacle. The monster is both ambiguous and memorable; the visuals engaging and impressive. However, the film lacks the narrative consistency of Us and Get Out, relying on too many flashbacks and drawing on too many genres (science fiction, horror, western, comedy) to be truly compelling for the two-hour runtime. What starts as a promising ‘intellectual-horror’ ultimately stumbles through the myriad of competing messages to a disjointed conclusion.

With so many social critiques buried throughout the text, it is possible that Nope demands a second viewing to truly appreciate it. And those familiar with Peele’s cerebral gymnastics will come prepared for this possibility. But those expecting a ‘tongue-in-cheek horror film’ will likely leave with more questions than answers.

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Nope is screening in cinemas from Thursday, 11th of August. For tickets and more info, click here.