Film

The Best Reactions To Jordan Peele’s New Horror Flick ‘Nope’

Spoilers ahead.

by Millie Roberts  12 August 2022
Jordan Peele Nope

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Jordan Peele’s third horror flick Nope finally hit Australian cinemas on Thursday, a month after dropping in the States.

— Warning: Spoilers for ‘Nope’ ahead. — 

The widely anticipated movie takes a detour from explicit race relation conversations, instead making more covert commentary on animal instinct, territory, exploitation, documentation, trauma, and black erasure — carried by powerhouse leads Daniel Kaluuya (who plays OJ — but not that OJ), and Keke Palmer (in the role of his sister, Emerald).

In Nope, Peele dips his toes into sci-fi and the Western, offering a refreshing depiction of alien lifeforms on Earth through parallels to a family-owned horse ranch, and a sitcom chimpanzee who finally snaps on air.

The reviews for Nope have been mixed: the Sydney Morning Herald said Peele’s ambitions fell flat with a damning 2.5 star rating, while ABC Arts called it his “most visually accomplished film yet”.

But online, the director’s die-hard fanbase have thrown full support behind Nope, embracing the nuance and unique storyline — including the cloud in the movie that never moves. Look up, sheeple!

Central to Peele’s cinematic universe is representing black protagonists beyond historical genre stereotypes and tropes, which still acknowledging how they’d act differently in spooky circumstances in comparison to white people.

The most notable example of this is when OJ slowly opens his truck door to assess the danger during a UFO ambush, only to immediately close it, shake his head, and say ‘Nope’ — yes, just like the movie title.

The subtle horror in Nope — outside a jump scare or two — came from the horrifying, claustrophobic consumption of the entire Star Lasso experience audience as they get mashed up inside Jean Jacket’s orifice.

People have also latched onto the main subplot in the film; childhood actor Jupe who witnesses a horrific animal attack, inspired by the real life Travis the chimp incident. It follows a renewed focus on live audience family sitcoms set in the ’90s, which have proven a fruitful ground for uncomfortable retrospectives — from ‘Horsin’ Around’ in BoJack Horseman, to ‘Gordy’s Home!’ in Nope.

Perhaps the best part of any Jordan Peele film is the time spent unpacking afterwards by researching hidden messages, lore, and theories after the credit scenes roll. Peele spoke to IndieWire last month to breakdown his balancing act of suspense, horror, and levity — but here are some other details you might have missed: