NOPE (2022)
R ‧ Horror/Thriller ‧ 2 Hours 11 Minutes

Written and Directed by Jordan Peele

THE CAST

• Daniel Kaluuya
• Keke Palmer
• Steven Yeun

THE STORY

(In their own words) Caretakers at a California horse ranch encounter a mysterious force that affects human and animal behavior.

THE BEST

BEST things about the film

1. The anticipation
2. Incredibly imaginative
3. Wonderful acting
4. Perfectly timed comedy and terror
5. It has its own genre
6. Great messages underneath

THE WORST

The three WORST things about the Film

1. THERE ISN’T A DAMN THING WRONG WITH THIS FILM.
2. See number one.
3. See number two.

THE REVIEW

Nope is a lot of things. It’s a horror, it’s thriller, it’s comedic, it’s…..a Jordan Peele film. While other filmmakers are out there just crafting new stories, Peele is out there creating his own genre.

This marks director and writer Jordan’s Peele third film and third horror film….with the Peele style. This is easily his best work yet. A clear story, great characters, great performances and underlying themes and messages that will not be obvious to everyone when they first walk away. But there is a lot there. I think this film will be studied and studied. It’s a very layered film. 

The trailers for this film frankly give too much away, and yet, tell you nothing. It’s kind of amazing. I didn’t watch trailers for NOPE since the first teaser until after I watched the film. I’m glad I got fully surprised. 

The film is incredibly imaginative, well crafted, and full of suspense. The film flew by as I was on the edge of my seat from anticipation of the entire film. 

How scary? Like Silence of the Lambs? Gory at all?

I feel like if I say it’s not gory, people will come after me. I think the gore is actually minimal but it is used incredibly and effectively.

I’m not sure how scary it is. I walked in planning to pee my pants. I was pretty tense the whole time.

THE LESSON

Keep your head down.

THE FINAL WORD

Nope is a “yep”. 

THE VERDICT
My 3L system gives me the choice to Love It, Like It, or Lose It. 

NOPE gets a LOVE IT. 

THE TRAILER

THE REVIEWER

When he’s not reviewing films or interviewing people for the Black & A Half podcast, Silas Lindenstein can be found in the greater metro Seattle, WA working as a real estate agent helping people buy and sell homes, or performing stand up comedy to fellow nerds. He has a wife and three children and desperately wants to learn to make the perfect homemade pizza.