Nope

NOPE (15)

D: Jordan Peele

Universal / Monkeypaw (Ian Cooper & Jordan Peele)

US 🇺🇸 2022

130 mins

Science Fiction/Horror

W: Jordan Peele

DP: Hoyte van Hoytema

Ed: Nicholas Monsour

Mus: Michael Abels

Daniel Kaluuya (Otis ‘OJ’ Haywood, Jr), Keke Palmer (Emerald Haywood), Steven Yeun (Ricky ‘Jupe’ Park), Michael Wincott (Antlers Holst), Brandon Perea (Angel Torres)

Jordan Peele continues his trend of horror movies with a social message theme with this horrifying science fiction neo-western, and if ‘Get Out’ was the writer-director’s ‘The Sixth Sense’ and ‘Us’ was his ‘Unbreakable’, this is almost certainly his ‘Signs’, not that comparisons to M. Night Shyamalan’s works are relevant, but more that this is an alien invasion style film that is bound to split audiences.

Daniel Kaluuya & Keke Palmer star as a brother & sister who inherit their father’s horse ranch following his suspicious death, attempting to keep the business successful as a training centre for film and television productions.  Some horses go missing, and they soon discover an otherworldly object hidden in the clouds above their land, a revelation that is exploited by a local businessman who runs a western-themed tourist attraction and museum.  The brother and sister duo also see the opportunity for some fortune by hiring a pair of photographers to capture evidence of the unidentified flying object, but it doesn’t take long before they realise the hostile intentions of what is hidden in the skies.

Writer-director Jordan Peele relies heavily on symbolism and mis-en-scene rather than gore and violence, and though the horror elements come across incredibly well, the social justice message is a little more messy.

For most, it will be a metaphor for celebrity, fame and the media’s unrelenting obsession with tragedy, but there’s also some tribute to unsung heroes of the film production business, such as animal trainers, cinematographers, and others who might go a little too far for their passions.

It’s probably a film which has to be subjected to multiple viewings to fully appreciate, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but really shouldn’t be a necessity, it certainly helps if you enjoy the film initially.

In short, would I recommend ‘Nope’? Yep, I most certainly would.

7/10