Nope (2022) Film Review and Summary

SOFT 8/10

So far in 2022, we have seen multiple big time horror films swing and miss in terms of critical reception and box office. Among the indie film community, Alex Garland’s folk horror film, “Men”, was a massive disappointment as it relied on over-the-top shock value and a confusing message. Scott Derrickson’s “The Black Phone” has a great performance from lead man Ethan Hawke, but the film lacks complexity, subtlety and (probably most importantly) creepiness. 

But these films were already going to pale in comparison to Jordan Peele’s newest horror release, “Nope”. Since 2017, Peele has built up an incredible horror filmography, with instant classics like “Get Out” and “Us”. So there was already considerable hype and build-up for his next project. In fact, the Hollywood Critics Association awarded “Nope” as the most anticipated film for the second half of 2022.

It makes sense considering the original plot is something right up Peele’s alley. Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer star as two Hollywood ranch-owning siblings who try to photograph proof of a UFO after it kills their father. The whole film, from beginning to end, is unsettling as it offers an interesting message.

With the Hollywood setting and the obsession with trying to get the perfect shot, it’s safe to say that this is Peele’s movie on movies. This is something that many of the legendary filmmakers have done. Examples include Robert Altman with “The Player”, David Fincher with “Mank” and Quentin Tarantino with “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”.

However, Peele doesn’t use 130 minutes of the viewer’s time to bow at the altar of cinema. Rather, he offers his critical perspective of the industry and society. In “Nope”, Peele is mainly trying to poke at the idea of spectacle and how people incentivize it. OJ (Kaluuya) and Emerald (Palmer) see the UFO as a way to make money instead of something to analyze. Part of their logic makes sense as they are attempting to stop CGI and neighbor Jupe Park (Steven Yuen), a former child star who owns a tourist trap destination, from putting them out of business. 

Nearly all of the characters in “Nope” have this hustler's mindset. They are all territorial. But that’s the biggest case with the spaceship. The UFO, only called “the viewers”, consumes and sucks people away. With a name like that, the UFO is clearly a stand-in for the audience’s constant need for a spectacle and the human characters will fight to provide it to them. Movie audiences are constantly looking for their next big Tom Cruise stunt. So Peele uses this alien ship to show how this obsession harms not only people, but the world around them. 

But the brilliance of the director doesn’t stop there. His films work because they are creepy. Peele has always been a unique horror director because he finds new and creative ways to subvert the genre in order for us to connect to it more. Most people can relate to his scary movies because his characters act like we would act in that situation. In “Get Out”, the TSA agent is basically a person watching a horror movie. The title of his most recent film even comes from that reaction when we watch something scary. Even the UFO in question is a subversion of the typical aliens in horror movies. 

The main point is that Peele offers so much in his newest film that it could take days to dissect it all. This is done in the best way possible and thus Peele offers the horror film 2022 has been waiting for.