Similar to Jordan Peele’s last feature (Us), Nope opens with a subplot – the aftermath of a series of brutal attacks involving a chimp on a children’s television show. We aren’t given too much, just enough to make us feel a bit unnerved, and then we move on to the main story.
After suffering the loss of their Father due to a bizarre “accident”, siblings OJ (Daniel Kaluuya) and Emerald (Keke Palmer) take over the family business, the Hollywood Haywood Horses Ranch. Not only is the movie industry not all it’s cracked up to be without their Dad to take the (literal) reins but the Haywoods also seem to have a visitor in the form of a mysterious sinister cloud that doesn’t seem to move…
The initial pacing of this feature is perfect, not relying on jump scares but instead making you double take which causes you to feel well and truly unsettled. The open ranch setting adds a sense of vulnerability and exposure, as it’s harder to hide from whatever kind of Unidentified Flying Object may be lurking in the clouds.
As OJ and Emerald’s investigation progresses, the suspense builds before we are met with exactly what kind of creature they are dealing with. And this is done through a horrific and yet gorgeous scene in which we witness the downpour of what can only be described as a BLOOD MONSOON over a house – a sequence which could very well have earned its place amongst most memorable horror movie moments.
The only problem is, we’re only two-thirds of the way through at this point in time and this is pretty much where the story reaches its peak. After this, the feature kind of trails off, becoming less scary and instead has a tone which isn’t too dissimilar to 1990’s Tremors, before delivering us an acceptable conclusion but definitely not a satisfactory one.
Despite this, there is still a lot to love about this feature. The characters are strong, there are some really clever themes, genuinely jaw-dropping moments and – from zoetropes to Akira homages – Peele demonstrates his love and knowledge of cinema throughout, wonderfully. Not to mention, we are met with a refreshingly new portrayal of a “visitor” like you’ve never seen before.
Behind The Scenes of ‘Back to the Future’
Back to the Future, easily one of the biggest staples in the world of cinema. Marty McFly, the coolest kid in the […]
Jacked In Recommends ‘Don’t Look Up’ (2021)
Based on real events… That haven’t happened… Yet. Don’t Look Up tells the story of two minor league […]
Jacked In Recommends ‘The Santa Clause’ (1994)
A movie responsible for a generation of adults spelling Santa Claus wrong, we have The Santa Clause. The story […]
Behind The Scenes of John Carpenter’s ‘The Thing’
A story of psychological horror and isolation, featuring scares like you’d never seen before with its […]
Jacked In Recommends ‘The Butterfly Effect’ (2004)
Evan Treborn (Ashton Kutcher) has reached his adult years being a constant sufferer of blackouts which have caused […]
Jacked In Reviews ‘Uncut Gems’ (2019)
Similar to the Safdie brothers previous feature, Good Time, this movie does not take its foot off the pedal from […]
Jacked In Reviews ‘MaXXXine’ (2024)
We first dropped down into the the late seventies with Ti West’s X, before journeying back to 1918 to see the […]
Jacked In Recommends ‘Predestination’ (2014)
Predestination follows a temporal agent’s (Ethan Hawke) journey through time and space as he attempts to capture a […]
Jacked In Reviews ‘Aldbrough’ (2023)
Gail Smith’s Aldbrough gives us a grainy, 8mm window into the past with archive footage of a town long gone.
Jacked In Reviews ‘Oh No, Guano!’ (2023)
Dan McGee’s Oh No, Guano! tells the story of an individual (Christian PK Reeve) trying to reach a job […]
Jacked In Recommends ‘The Pagemaster’ (1994)
The Pagemaster follows the life of an over-cautious boy, Richard Tyler (Macaulay Culkin), who buries himself in […]
Jacked In Recommends ‘Flight of the Navigator’ (1986)
Flight of the Navigator follows the story of David (Joey Cramer), a typical 12-year-old boy in the year 1978. After […]