Jordan Peele has gone from cable TV comedian to distinguished writer/director really fast, thanks to his incredible directorial debut with GET OUT and its intriguing follow-up US. His latest effort in NOPE, which has been marketed as what looks like an alien invasion film, but is actually something very different than what most might expect. It’s one of those movies that pays homage to many films that came before it, but still manages to do some really unique and surprising things. It’s nowhere near as thought-provoking as GET OUT or multi-layered as US, but the end result is still a blast to watch and highly entertaining.

OJ Haywood (Daniel Kaluuya) is a rancher working with his father Otis (Keith David) to train horses for use in Hollywood productions. OJ is shocked when one day metallic objects like keys, coins, and more begin violently falling from the sky, one of them hitting Otis with deadly force. It’s assumed these items came from a high-flying plane, but it’s the beginning of some unusual and haunting activity in their area. Six months later, OJ is now on his own hoping for help from his sister Emerald (Keke Palmer), who is rather enthusiastic about doing something more within the Hollywood system, though she doesn’t seem to have a serious or realistic work ethic. She comes to stay with OJ for a bit, noticing a Wild West theme park town has moved in next to the ranch, the owner Ricky Park (Steven Yeun) buying horses from OJ repeatedly, which is one of the only things allowing the Haywood ranch to stick around. We also learn Ricky was a former child star on a sitcom about a family living with a lovable monkey, only the show was cancelled when the monkey snapped during filming leading to some traumatic havoc. At night, OJ witnesses something in the sky, and that something may be abducting his horses. Emerald thinks it’s a flying saucer, and hatches a plan to capture it on film so they can sell it for big money. They even enlist the help of a bored local Fry’s Electronics employee named Angel (Brandon Perea) to set up some high tech equipment to assist them. But as they try to accomplish their mission, OJ realizes things may not be exactly what they seem, and they may not be prepared for how to deal with this odd threat.

NOPE definitely plays off the ideas of alien invasion movies and sci-fi tropes, but what Jordan Peele has done here is actually something more simplified and brilliant. I was speaking at my screening to fellow film critic Preson Barta, and we both noticed there are quite a few parallels to JAWS, even some of the characters feeling like spiritual equivalents to the ones featured in the Steven Spielberg classic. It’s also proof that sometimes the old and proven ideas are still viable. Peele smartly creates some wacky leading characters that are not at all smooth or all that likable. These are folks just doing the best they can, trying to get by in a world that feels like it turned its back on them. The Haywoods claim themselves to be descendants of the black man who was the very first person to be captured on film, while riding a horse, making their horse training business feel like it comes from a royal pedigree. But Hollywood doesn’t much care, they just need horses when the script calls for them, and they need them to exist under sometimes unrealistic circumstances. We can see the Haywoods are barely fitting in with the current business model. Then there’s Ricky, the former child star, who now runs this Western-themed old west park, probably because his dark Hollywood past is preventing him from getting any further acting work. There’s also a wonderful character played by Michael Wincott, an older respected director who is barely existing in the ever-changing world of motion pictures. These are characters who are outcasts, and kind of losers, but that’s what makes them feel more real and sincere. In a way, Peele giving us flawed protagonists is the smartest way to tackle the surrounding material. This also may not be the heaviest material these actors have encountered, but I’m betting they realized this would just be a fun movie to participate in.

There are themes in the movie of respecting others, and in particular animals, and also how exploiting a creature can lead to tragedy. You can also see interesting subtle (and sometimes NOT subtle) commentary on racism and not learning life lessons, perhaps using bad judgement out of greed… though a lot of that could be open to interpretation. And since this is Jordan Peele we’re talking about, there are a few twists here that are inspired and at times shocking, going beyond the most obvious of what this film is really about. He manages to surprise us even when we think we’ve got the rest of the story figured out, and it keeps the pacing and intensity strong and confident. At first I felt like this film was a really simple thriller, but realized as it went along that there’s more to it than what’s one the surface, and I respected Peele’s technique which is strong with any material, it would seem. It reminds me of early efforts from M. Night Shyamalan, who also proved himself to be an extremely competent writer/director with his first few movies, though sadly faltered with some of his later efforts. If Peele can keep up this momentum, he will definitely be a director to watch closely for future filmgoers. I can safely say GET OUT is still his best film, but NOPE may be the most fun of the bunch.

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