The Reverse Gaze of Nope

“Where’s your phone? Why aren’t you filming this?”

The best horror film of the year so far is a Western in disguise. One of the most fun blockbusters of the summer is, beneath the thrills, a sharp critique of the way modern humanity will watch with glee as our own destruction rains down upon us. 

Over the course of three movies, Jordan Peele has shown a remarkable quality for sly layering: in his story, themes, and even the structure of the movie itself. Get Out promised horror, but also delivered a biting social satire while building up to its bloody payoff. Us, somewhat more rigid in its adherence to home invasion horror, still had commentary on our cultural economic comfort lurking under the surface. Both offered wit and surprising moments of comedy, keeping the audience off balance in thrilling ways.

Peele’s latest, Nope, boasts similar depth and insight, even if it takes a very different direction. Having twisted body snatchers and home invaders to poke at our social and racial inequalities, Jordan turns his attention to one of the most beloved ideas from B-movies: UFOs. 

Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer play OJ and Emerald Haywood, siblings trying to keep their family business afloat months after a freak accident killed their father. Training horses to be used in movies, tv shows, and commercials, the Haywoods are at once insiders and always outsiders in Hollywood. They’re surrounded by people focused on entertainment, people who view the horses as unfortunate means to the end of profit and viewership. The most irksome of these is Steven Yeun’s Jupe, who owns a nearby Western-themed amusement park. The park is small, cloying in its kitsch, but it’s no different than the world of Hollywood—spectacle is king, and showmanship is the path to the throne.

But turning a profit becomes a secondary concern for OJ and Emerald when mysterious occurrences start happening around the family ranch. Horses freak out, the power suddenly goes out, and OJ glimpses a strange object in the sky over the mountains. From there, we’re off at a galloping pace.

Peele’s films have consistently put stellar performances on display, and Nope is no different, even as it’s less focused on one actor. The cast is a delight to watch: Kaluuya and Palmer are fantastic as brother and sister who share both the deep connection and the well trod annoyances of siblings. Kaluuya plays OJ as tightly restrained but still expressive in his exhaustion, concern, and determination. Emerald, conversely, is full of energy and bluster. Yeun has less to show as Jupe, a man whose life—and trauma—has always been wrapped up in show business, but he remains a deft performer. 

Nope is a particular delight in the way it continually morphs. What begins as a UFO film twists into a creature feature (yet another horror subgenre at play) and eventually emerges as Western, of all things. Some may want a more straightforward sci-fi tone, but it’s a blast watching the movie switch genres while keeping up the tension. Plus, it’s all there from the start: From the early moving images to a poster of Sidney Poitier’s Buck and the Preacher to the final shot, the film is just as much an homage to Black Westerns as it is a horror movie. 

And weaving into that, Nope is also fixated on what entertains us. Film and television are a constant theme, from commercials to security cameras to gimmicky photos taken from fake wells. Our entertainment even becomes hubris as we attempt to subject wild things to our wills for the sake of our amusement. But how long can we maintain that order? The desire for the impossible shot; the desire to know, to film, to profit—these may cost us more than we are willing to give, but we may not realize it until it’s far too late. “What’s a bad miracle?” OJ asks, and Emerald can’t give an answer. But the movie posits that spectacle may be the best word. Our insatiable hunger for entertainment drives us until we ourselves are at risk of being devoured. It’s all about “the viewers.” It always has been.

Nope is a blast on many levels, leaving it to the audience how far out (yonder) they want to go. UFO thriller, sci-fi Western, homage to forgotten Hollywood history, and considered reflection on how we amuse ourselves with our own destruction. Get wrapped up in whichever threads you’d like, there’s enough there to chew on. As far as Peele’s directing career goes, well: “There’s another great.”