Nope (2022) Review

“I will cast abominable filth upon you, make you vile and make you a spectacle.” Nahum 3:6

This strange and threatening quote from the Bible appears at the opening of Jordan Peele’s latest horror Nope. It could be related to the terror that the main characters will be put through or a reference to the horror lurking at the centre of the whole story.

It could also be a statement of intent from the fantastic film maker determined to once again take his audience on a demented ride into his wicked and warped imagination something he has more than managed to achieve in all of his magnificent movies.

Alongside the sensational Get Out and the equally amazing Us it already feels like Peele is a master of the genre who has be scaring us for eons due to the calibre of horror he has created in such a short time and it is hard to believe that including Nope he has only directed three movies.

Obviously he has honed his craft as a writer with comedy like the TV series Key and Peele, which often included brilliant horror sketches, and more recently he developed the reboot of The Twilight Zone where he featured as the narrator as well as co-writing the creepy and cleverly crafted 2021 Candyman rejuvenation.

What sets Peele out is the originality of his voice and the sheer amount of creativity that he injects into every project. Nope is no exception with its 2 hours and 10 minute running time packed with wonder and terror, anguish and excitement, the sublime and the absurd all in equal measure.

The story sets off after a jarring opening by following straight laced and sullen Otis “OJ” Haywood Jr. (Get Out’s Daniel Kaluuya) the son of a ranch owner and horse trainer who has been working in Hollywood since his ancestor a black jockey appeared in the very first moving image in the 1880’s.

When his father dies in a mysterious incident OJ inherits the business and along with his energetic yet chaotic sister Emerald (Scream: The TV Series star Keke Palmer) the pair do their best to honour their family legacy although times are tough.

After getting kicked off a job the duo end up selling one of their horses to their neighbour Ricky ‘Jupe’ Park (Steven Yeun from The Walking Dead) a child star who used his earnings to set up a small Western theme park called Jupiter’s Claim.

Leaving his strange tourist trap the siblings argue over the increasing reality that they may have to sell their entire business to Ricky to survive however that night OJ witnesses something otherworldly which snatches up one of their horses into the sky. Convinced he has seen a UFO he and his sister set about trying to capture footage so they can sell it and secure their future’s.

Setting up an extensive system of surveillance cameras with the help of Angel Torres (Brandon Perea) an over enthusiastic employee from the shop they bought the kit in, they begin to watch the skies. Soon though they realise that by training their electronic eyes onto the freaky phenomenon it has turned its eye to focus back on them.

With a tense and disturbing atmosphere injected from the start Nope builds brilliantly, drawing what seem like very disparate elements together into a cohesive story that is surreal but extremely satisfying. The characters are all expertly observed, even the much smaller roles, with stand out performances across the board all of which heightens the realism within the strange and scary tale.

Nope’s imagery is stunning and Peele manages to make even the mundane menacing from a simple cloud to a single child’s shoe. In fact one of the most terrifying scenes of all is actually nothing to do with the main plot and could have been a standalone movie all of its own which just goes to show the depth of imagination and talent on display.

Dealing with voyeurism, spectacle, exploitation and the monetisation of tragedy Nope, like all great horrors, taps into something deep within us all engaging and unnerving the viewer at the same time.

Its simple yet brilliant title which so succinctly signifies the grounded and rational reaction to some of the insane and horrendous events that play out is uttered a number of times bringing much needed humour to the most horrifying moments.

In fact in the screening I saw the audience echoed these impassioned announcements of “Nope” as well usually just before screaming and I am sure you will too.

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