Nope

The third and most spectacular Jordan Peele joint is a whole lot of movie. Set largely on a western ranch in a dusty California valley — an iconic location Peele utilizes to the max — the film flips between cowboy iconography, sci-fi plotting and horror set pieces, all recast through the prism of race. OJ (Daniel Kaluuya) and his sister Emerald (Keke Parker) are trying to make a go of the family business they have recently inherited, renting horses out to Hollywood. But mysterious incidents back at the ranch have them oscillating between fear and opportunism… Meanwhile their neighbour Jupe (Steven Yuen) has his own ideas about how to capitalize on the moment.

Peele’s crew here includes DP Hoyte van Hoytema (Interstellar; Oppenheimer), sound designer Johnnie Burn (Poor Things, Zone of Interest) and composer Michael Abels (Get Out)… Together they weave an incredible multi-coloured blanket from bits and pieces that no one has thought to put together before. Nope has Spielbergian scale but vicious intensity and wit, juggling ideas with incongruous abandon.

A sci-fi thriller shot through with elemental admonition, it celebrates the wonder of staring at spectacle while shuddering at the terror of what’s coming at us.

Peter Howell, Toronto Star

There are some fascinating internal tensions within the movie, along with impeccably managed suspense, sharp jokes and a beguiling, unnerving atmosphere of all-around weirdness.

AO Scott, New York Times

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