Movie Review: Nope (2022)

Nope (2022) written and directed by Jordan Peele

Otis Jr. (Daniel Kaluuya) is working with his dad on their horse farm when a freak fall from the sky (of what seems like pocket items) kills the dad. The farm is Haywood Hollywood Horses, a firm that provides horses for movies, television, and commercials. Otis tries to keep the business going but he does not have the sales skills of his father. His sister Emerald (Keke Palmer) shows up and tries to help out but she is more interested in pitching her own career schemes than in helping keep the family farm going. She hangs out at the farm long enough to realize there's something weird going on--a UFO might be causing their problems. The neighboring farm is a struggling tourist attraction run by "Jupe" (Steven Yeun), a former child star of a popular kids western in the 1990s. Jupe believes in the UFO too, though he, like Emerald, wants to cash in on the phenomenon, not figure out what it is.

The movie has a weird vibe that fits with its science fiction/horror core. Moments are unsettling and odd. Peele is good at setting up tension by telling different parts of the narrative out of order, creating intrigue through editing. He provides a nice twist in the final third that freshens up a story that gets bogged down in mechanics and a slow burn that's a little too slow. Maybe if Peele could have streamlined the story or tightened up the editing, it would have been more fun and exciting. I was not bored by the film but I was not wowed by it either.

Mildly recommended.