Jordan Peele has become one of the most influential names in modern day horror. His 2017 film Get Out used racial and social undertones to convey fears of isolationism. The 2019 film Us was a shocking and violent thriller using metaphors involving the class system and the war between privileged and underprivileged. His newest release, entitled Nope, is the largest-scale movie of the director’s slate thus far. The film is a massive summer blockbuster showcasing a terrifying discovery made by young horse trainers (played by Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer) for Hollywood. While the trailers gave just a hint of what might be to come, much is left a mystery and the movie is by no means mismarketed.
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There is quite a lot to say about Nope. It is Peele’s most technologically advanced production to date and one of the most cinematic thrillers of all time. It is not one’s average alien invasion movie; in fact, it is so much more. There are social undertones prevalent in the summer flick that reflect the abundance of media and how prevalent it has become in our culture.
What is Nope Actually About?
Universal Pictures
The film is less of a general, three act cut-and-paste structure and more of an all-out experience. In an interview with Today, Jordan Peele describes his ideas behind writing the film:
The movie truly is a spectacle, and that is what drives the story forward. We are invested in the characters OJ (Kaluuya) and Emerald (Palmer) who are overcoming their own adversities after the tragic death of their father played by Kieth David. However, the film is also an exploration of how the modern world views tragedy and spectacle as a whole. When OJ and Emerald get confirmation that what they are seeing in the sky is actually real, their first instinct is to get it on video to show the world. This fact mirrors the story of their great, great, great-grandfather who pioneered motion pictures by way of a complex image of a man on horseback. It shows the idea that seeing truly is believing.
It’s about a lot of things. The first notion that I latched onto when I was writing this movie was this idea of making a spectacle. I wanted to make a flying saucer movie because I just felt… if we could feel like we are in the presence of something… other. If we feel like that’s real, then that’s just an immersive experience of going to the movies.”
Another important character in this film is Ricky ‘Jupe’ Park, played by Steven Yeun. A one-time child star plagued by tragedy has created a brand of his own image and has become a showman. While on set of his breakthrough television series as a kid, featuring none other than a chimpanzee, the horrific events that haunt the grown man ensue. The chimp brutally murders the cast after being frightened by a balloon popping. This brutal sequence is burned into Park’s brain, and it is prevalent as an adult in how he chooses to cope with the trauma… by profiteering. In his studio, Park brings OJ and Emerald to the back section protected by a secret passageway. Before entering, he utters the line:
Park escorts the brother and sister into the secret room filled with memorabilia from the infamous television series. It begs the question: how relevant would the series have ultimately been had tragedy not struck? It seems as if spectacle and tragedy seem to go hand in hand in Nope. They both invoke the same reaction from characters, which is both awe and terror. Ironically, the biggest spectacle of the film is in the form of a giant creature that causes tragedy and horror.
“I usually charge a fee for this”
Where is the Horror in Nope?
Jordan Peele explores a more situational type of horror, diving into subconscious fears that are prevalent in everyday life. The horror in this film is more fantastical, and represents our fears of the unknown… especially when we look up. The sky is a closed curtain that barely gets pulled back. The entity shrouding the farm is hidden behind the clouds in broad daylight. Peele takes his time to establish tension from simply looking upwards into the sky. However, as clear as the sky is during the day, new technology has allowed a perfect viewpoint of the terror of night.
In an interview with Jake’s Takes, Peele describes the groundbreaking night photography and the visually stunning sequences that take place during this time.
The night sequences are crafted in such a sophisticated way that we have honestly never seen before. It truly looks as though we are looking into a cloudy night sky in the real world. Peele also uses long takes where we are looking below the character’s point of view and following them in real time. Peele puts us into the frame of mind of his characters and forces us to feel the elongated tension and suspense.
I think some of the work that we did with [cinematographer] Hoyte Van Hoytema in the night photography is something that we’ve never done here… it’s something that’s never been done. And so what we’re able to do is capture a scope of night and a depth of night that feels like you are outside at night and your eyes have adjusted.
Peele is also a director known for subverting expectations. While this film isn’t one of the more traditional summer horror movies with jump scares galore, he plays up this idea in one specific sequence. Tension is building while the vessel (which turns out to not even be a vessel at all) looms over OJ who comes across creatures stalking him in the barn. This is a terrifying sequence and Peele plays up the suspense as these alien-like figures get closer and closer… until it is revealed that it is a prank by teenagers on OJ and his family’s horse farm.
Peele is almost giving a subtle wink in this scene to audiences who might have gone into this movie expecting a monster-filled gore fest. Fans of Peele should know by now that he is one to defy expectations. He is a director committed to an original vision, supplying audiences with something that is new rather than something expected.
Nope, A Love Letter To Classic Cinema
The main characters are in the film industry but in a role that is sometimes overlooked. No one has ever explored horse wranglers and trainers in film before, and it is just one of the many elements that showcase Peele’s appreciation for the crew. One of the ideas of the film, especially from Emerald’s character, is getting the shot, and how important it is to get the shot. To get a photograph of the alien invader and present it to the world is something driving her and others forward throughout the film.
OJ and Emerald also recruit a tech wiz named Angel, played by Brandon Perea, and a famed cinematographer named Antlers Holst, played by Michael Wincott. These characters working together to set up the stage to capture the “Oprah shot” (as they call it) is the highlight of the film. Seeing crew members working together and painstakingly setting up the cameras and positioning themselves is a more fantastical example of how hard it is to make a film. Peele is truly a lover of cinema and pays homage to the people who make them. In the interview with Jake’s Takes, Peele speaks of his inspirations:
The suspense throughout the first two acts slowly build up in a way that Hitchcock would present. The scenes containing a bit of comedy still have an underlying but of tension. The music is also a compliment to the tension. Peele has made the modern day Jaws, in a spectacle type of way. We don’t see much of the creature haunting the farm. But when we do, it is presented in one of the most realistic ways. The film at its core is a spectacle about the uncertainties of not just alien worlds but out own. It is about generational hardships and doing the work that needs to be done. It also showcases themes of trauma and how different characters might cope. The writer/director has made a third incredibly made original thriller and keeps audiences anticipating what he does next.
“I got a lot from Close Encounters, I got a lot of inspiration from Jaws, and I got a lot of inspiration from Hitchcock and Kubrick. One thing I love about these big directors that take on projects with big scope is they’re using their abilities and pushing film as far as they could possibly do it. I felt like I had this responsibility to go for the big summer blockbuster style film.”
