Nope

A brother and sister realize there is something sinister lurking in the skies above their California horse ranch.

Nope is a story about the creative process.

It’s also about legacy, the hunger for fame, the eager exploitation that defines Hollywood, the damage it can inflict on the people involved, and the willingness of those same people to be destroyed, to destroy themselves, to sacrifice everything just to “get the shot.” Nope is about the desire to create, to leave your mark, to be known, and how that desire means you will either end up a hero, or you’ll get chewed up and spit out.

I loved it.

Nope is about a family, long lingering on the fringes of Hollywood, who decide to make one last play for fame by proving aliens exist, after an “alien shark” apparently decides that the valley where their horse ranch is located is now its new home, so it moves in and starts eating the locals.

And being that this is a movie about the creative process, it’s fitting that this strangely beautiful, ethereal, impossible, and dangerous monster is finally brought down by a bunch of hot air and a bursting bubble, its remains falling back to earth to be devoured by the waiting world watching enrapt from below.

But having read the reviews, I can’t help but notice how viciously dismissive and outright angry a lot of (white) critics were upon seeing this film. It almost seemed like they had it out for Peele this time, with a discerning eye revealing the sting they felt upon watching Get Out very apparent between the lines. A lot of them seemed to feel they were unable to complain about Get Out’s meaning without looking like a huge racist (because that’s what they are, and that’s why they were complaining), so it seems like they took this chance to lash out in retribution, hiding behind the charge that Nope was either “not scary” or, what they obviously believe to be an even worse crime, that is was a “message” horror film! GASP!

Dickheads.

So, while it’s true that Nope is a bit loose, closer maybe to Peele’s sophmore effort than it is to his debut film, still… it’s fun, it’s tense, full of great moments and better characters, and quite frankly, terrifying in multiple places. I honestly don’t know which part will stick with me longer… the chimp on the set of the tv show, the distant sound of screams as the creature passes overhead, or the blood rain.

The chimp. The screams. Or the blood rain.

The cast is incredible too. Daniel Kaluuya is just fantastic as a taciturn cowboy determined to protect his homeplace just like a hero stepping off the screen from the industry’s golden years. Steven Yuen oozes desperation as the former child star, now broken and cast aside, scratching at the industry’s edges, hungry for a return to fame at all costs. Keke Palmer as the young star waiting to be discovered is nothing but charisma, and she even gets to do the Kaneda slide. And who doesn’t love Michael Wincott, appearing here as the true artist, a man willing to give it all for his art? Certainly not me.

With Nope, Jordan Peele is now three for three. He is a king of genre movies, and a modern cinema master who will be remembered with the greats.

Nope is great stuff. Big thumbs up.