Film Review: Nope (2022)

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SYNOPSIS:

The residents of a lonely gulch in inland California bear witness to an uncanny and chilling discovery.

REVIEW:

Director Jordan Peele is hot on the trail to be the next voice in horror. Rightly so, his latest film titled “Nope” is the 3rd creation to emerge out of his psyche. This time it deals with something in the sky

Whether your a fan of “Nope” or just dismissive of it being not up to par, it is an original piece that offers a original vision. Peele has style that you can’t ignore. His own personal experiences in life have brought him to a place where he can create unique film works that offer something new and exciting.

For me, I was a big fan of “Get Out” and less a fan of his sophomore effort “Us”. So when “Nope was announced I knew that Jordan had to bring something that was a bit of a different a step forward from each of those films. Out of that need to entertain, comes another unique vision that comically wears the simple title of “Nope” (an often heard expression sounded off when we reacted to something that is out of the ordinary).

From the get go, most of the viewing audiences out there knew that it was to be a film based on something seen in the sky per a rather engaging first trailer that was mass promoted. Jordan was going to take on a horror science feature this time around.

“Nope” was to combine the thrills of something seemingly alien with the old west in a modern take on an unidentified object in the sky. The movie is set within a rather large ranch owned by Otis Haywood Ses who handles and trains horse for use in films. His legacy is passed forward when an unfortunate foreign object pierces into him leaving him for dead. His children Otis “OJ” Haywood Jr. (Daniel Kaluuya) and Emerald “Em” Haywood (Keke Palmer) become the new inherits of the family business and ranch.

Horses begin to vanish and odd things begin to appear in the sky. OJ, suspects something unnatural as he studies the clouds overhead while his sister Em leans more towards denial.

Nearby a western style theme park called Jupiter’s Claim conducts local dial performances making profit off of the areas rather dark past. It’s a slow boil build up of circumstances and a questionable sky overhead.

The story builds as soon they have good reason to suspect something alien overhead. They call upon a local documentarian (Michael Wincott) Antlers Holst to film the days ahead in hopes of getting featured on Oprah. The events progress and in the same fashion as a M. Night Shyamalan movie as we are revealed the truth about what has been disturbing the area and swallowing up horses.

I don’t want to give away too much here as that seems to be the strength of this film. It wears its hat in a almost cult-ish flavor using a cast of strong characters and situations that grows over time. In response, I will have to say I was engaged “most” of the journey here but was sightly disappointed in its finale which could have gone in a few directions.

Audiences should keep in mind that while this may not be the summer’s showstopper, it still offers a pretty good time and a story that feels like it could be “Signs” (but is actually far from it).

There is a scene that is pretty violent for children eyes so be forewarned that this is an adult film and should not be regarded as a Sunday family feature to group up and enjoy popcorn around.

Writer and Director Jordan Peele gets points from me from just getting out there and trying new things. He has the mind and directing chops to do great things, so as horror fans we should welcome his visual experiences and achievements along the way.

We’ve had a great run of iconic horror directors come and go that have left their distinct styles embedded in films of our era. On this note, I welcome Peele for his unrelenting efforts to bring new thrills to audiences.

“Nope” got mixed reactions and reviews from critics across the globe.

In short, it’s a edgy horror film and a good one at that. Those on the fence should take this one in and enjoy the journey that Jordan has set out for us. Not to be cheesy, but I will anyways…….”Nope” got a “no” here and there ……………..but gets a “yep” from me!