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Nope

Nope

Jordan Peele is back for his third horror flick, and this is definitely one to watch out for.

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Jordan Peele already proved through breakout horror thriller Get Out and the delightfully eerie Us, that while his auteur signature moves are distinct enough to recognise, his sheer will and determination to keep audiences on their toes will remain intact.

Take "Nope" for instance, his third film, which he, again, has both written, produced and directed. While you might have a clear idea about what Nope is... well, about, Peele will surprise you, and he'll also probably surpass your high expectations too.

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So what's it about? Well, it's about the Haywood family farm, run by Otis Jr. played by Daniel Kaluuya, and sister Emerald played by Keke Palmer out in rural California. They've been supplying horses for Hollywood movies and commercials for decades, but strange circumstances in the area forces them on a sort of scavenger hunt. I want to tell you more, I really do, but it really is better to maintain that blindfold as much as humanly possible, just like it was with Peele's previous films.

Safe to say, it is a movie about aliens, to an extent, a movie about taming the untameable, about control or lack thereof, and it's... it's brilliant. First off, the movie is a seamless blend of recognisable auteur moves from Peele, like Michael Abels' distinct, jarring score, the named acts this time named after the Haywood family's collection of prizewinning horses and the eeriness which permeates every single shot throughout the movie's entire runtime. In Peele's world, there's something wrong, something bubbling below the surface that you at first can't quite put your finger on, but which then gradually rushes upwards for air, until it's too late.

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Conversely, it's also something inherently new, and while the premise itself might need the audience to suspend their disbelief a tad, it's ultimately exquisitely crafted, and laser-focused.

In fact, Peele has actually improved on his craft movie to movie, and while Us was ultimately let down in its final act amidst a fumbling of a one-to-one contextual explanation of what you actually experienced during the tumultuous viewing, Nope remains abstract enough for you to keep guessing, without ever falling into the trap of becoming either too literal, or too whimsical.

Nope

If you need something a bit more tangible, I personally had a knot in my stomach from the first to the last frame, because even though the threat was more physical, and more easily observable than your typical haunted mansion, the omnipresence of it all was so incredibly effective. It's evocative, physical, stomach-churning and thrilling, as I'm sure first time viewers of movies like Close Encounter of the Third Kind felt. But in Peele's world every scary scene is combined with a thick layer of dark humour, which Nope is full of as well, and it all works well almost all the time.

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Downsides? Well, not particularly, but perhaps Peele does attempt to pack the movie a bit too much, and what you end up with, which is so typical for the genre that it could be a rule, is a third act which drags just a smidge as we race towards the two hours and twenty minutes.

Apart from that though, Peele's legacy is secure, and if you need proof that there still are new directors to be found which can handle bigger budgets, bigger stars and larger studios without ever losing the edge that made them particularly interesting from a purely artistic angle? Nope is it. It's quintessential Peele, and it's quintessentially fantastic.

09 Gamereactor UK
9 / 10
overall score
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MOVIE REVIEW. Written by Magnus Groth-Andersen

Jordan Peele is back for his third horror flick, and this is definitely one to watch out for.



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