When all seems lost, a confounding occurrence convinces the siblings they might be able to save the ranch by documenting a recurring supernatural sighting. But after a freak accident sidelines their proud patriarch (Keith David), it's up to eldest son OJ (Kaluuya) and his spirited sister Emerald (Palmer) to save the family business from going broke.
In Nope, that family is the Haywoods, a dynasty of animal wranglers who - according to their hype woman - have "had skin in the game" since the dawn of film.Ī long drive from the hubbub of Hollywood studio shoots, the Haywoods own a sprawling ranch, where they train horses to perform in commercials and movies like The Scorpion King. (One standout terrifying sequence involves a shadowy barn and a man who thinks it's just him and the horses in there.) But beyond iconic scares, these horror hits of yesteryear also share an earnest interest in the character, and a slow-burn terror born from embedding us in the lives of a family. Yes, this means Nope boasts superbly suspenseful sequences punctuated by scares that had audience members (this critic included) screaming unabashedly. Nope pulls inspiration from horror classics like Jaws, The Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Poltergeist. Now, with Nope, he reunites with Kaluuya, teaming the slick star with Hustlers scene-stealer Keke Palmer for a tale of family and fear that has roots in '70s/'80s horror cinema, but a vibe that's uniquely Peele. Then came Us, where Peele's disturbing parable about inequality in America turned Oscar-winning sweetheart Lupita Nyong'o into a mesmerizing menace. With Get Out, Peele and his subdued but sensational (and Oscar-nominated) leading man, Daniel Kaluuya, brought a modern edge to possession horror.
But I warn that Peele has done it again, crafting masterful terror that pulls screams, laughter, and jaw-dropped awe from audience. Fear not: The secrets within this creepy cumulus won't be unveiled in this review. Thanks to Jordan Peele, you're never going to look at the sky the same way again.Īs teased in the haunting promotional poster for Nope, the supernatural horror at the center of the heralded writer/director's third film is a dark cloud, ominously trailing a string of brightly colored flags.