The residents of a lonely gulch in inland California bear witness to an uncanny and chilling discovery.
Movie fans came to admire director Jordan Peele’s work in 2017 when he first teamed up with actor Daniel Kaluuya in “Get Out.” Peele, who also directed “Us” in 2019, seems to be a master at putting together science-fiction-themed horror films with uniquely creative angles that are both frightening and entertaining. “Nope” appears to be the same type of film; however, the basic foundation of this film is the discovery of aliens that threaten to take over a horse ranch in Santa Clarita Valley that was previously run by Otis Haywood Sr. (Keith Davis), who was a master at handling horses for the film and television industry.
When the film opens, the senior Haywood is out in the field talking with his son about things that should have been done around the ranch. As they go back and forth, a storm appears to be brewing in the midst, and suddenly, something similar to a piece of metal drops out of the sky and strikes Otis Sr., and although his son immediately puts him in the vehicle to go to the hospital, he doesn’t make it. Shortly after, O.J. (Daniel Kaluuya) tries to get over the shock of it all by throwing himself into his work and trying to continue his father’s legacy. When he realizes he doesn’t have the charisma that his father had, he calls in his sister Emerald (KeKe Palmer) for help because she has a lot of personality that would help keep things running smoothly. Although they don’t get along too well, they come together so they can figure out how to keep the historic ranch going and find new ways to build a stream of income for the property. When Emerald invites herself to one of the business meetings with O.J. and Jupe (Steven Yeun), who runs Jupiter’s Claim Theme Park and Petting Zoo, she starts snooping around and gets Jupe to tell his story about a wild chimpanzee who went on a killing spree. Little do they know at the time that Jupe has some secrets that he isn’t telling, and he also has a stake in profiting from the stories about aliens in the space around his business and the Haywood ranch.
As the film progresses, a universal theme comes together to show how a photograph created by Eadweard Muybridge in 1887, titled Animal Locomotion, Plate 626, depicts an unknown black man riding in perpetuity, has suspicious ties to the Haywood Ranch and the aliens who are trying to take it over. In trying to sort out these ties and capitalize on the value of photographic proof of the aliens, Emerald, O.J., a random Fry’s Electronics employee named Angel Torres (Brandon Peres), and a local cinematographer named Antlers Host (Michael Wincott) all work together to try to diffuse the electronic forces that the aliens are using to spy on them, reverse the process and lure them into a photographic that will bring in the money needed to ensure the ranch will thrive and retain its place in the annals of history.
The plot to confuse the aliens and reel them in was a success, and although there was lots of collateral damage, the pictures of the alien attacks captured by unique processing were instrumental in the Haywood Ranch recovering from the difficult position of losing its historical value. While Jordan Peele does an excellent job of matching personalities with the roles and keeping his artistic creativity at a peak, there are so many intertwined stories and strange events that it is difficult to follow the plot, divided in too many unlikely directions. In hindsight, O.J.’s defiant responses of “Nope” that were sprinkled in at uncomfortable intervals were only a constant reminder of the things that he characteristically would never commit to, given all options considered.
Now available on Digital HD and on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray™, & DVD October 25th
