By Steve Crum
“It all means something” is an advertising catchphrase of Jordan Peele’s latest horror film, Nope. While the viewer tries to figure out what all the terrifying commotion is about, the movie’s 130 minutes escalates from a deadly “accident” to an unmoving cloud to mass murdering range war. Director-writer Peele clearly knows the business of suspending disbelief. I say “yup” to Nope.
Beginning with 2017’s brilliantly creepy Get Out, Jordan Peele has become this century’s horror movie king. Adding Us, released in 2019, justifies such praise.
In Nope, the alien types are again living near us. Specifically, the bad things are alive in the clouds over a small ranch located in the boondocks of Agua Dulce, California. That is where the Haywood family of three train
their horses for movies and TV shows. Then one day outdoors, father Otis is killed while sitting in the saddle of 
one of his horses. Odd that he would die from a small object falling from the sky. As the story progresses, that oddity is explained multifold.
“Odd” could aptly be the subtitle of Nope, since there are a variety of weird—and often bloody—happenings. There is Ricky “Jupe” Park (Steven Yen), a former child actor on a TV sitcom who carries nightmarish memories of the time a supposedly trained ape savagely turned on cast members during a taping. Now Ricky owns a Western theme park, Jupiter’s Claim, not far from the Haywood ranch.
Then there is Angel Torres (Brandon Perea), a tech who sets up a security camera system at the Haywood’s home since strange things are occurring 
on the premises.
Figuring in most importantly are the main stars, Daniel Kaluuya (Otis “OJ” Haywood) and Keke Palmer as Emerald “Em” Haywood. They are superb as siblings still dealing with their late dad’s 
death. OJ is quiet and unassuming. Em is in-your-face talky and given to song.
There is obvious UFO activity afoot (actually a-sky, per se), and the trio wants to capture the culprit on video.
Meshing together the superb visuals of cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema, Michael Abels’ score and editing by Nicholas Monsour, the end product is convincingly a nail biter. What was once hidden in the clouds finally shows itself. Chaos results. With a horse involved, it resembles an Old West showdown at 50 paces.
By the way, at one point in the midst of attack (look for it), OJ wisely utters, “Nope.” Ah yes, the birth of a film title.
Throughout Nope, we never know the “why” of what is happening, but who cares. Just relax—if possible—and enjoy one of cinema’s all time thrill rides.
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GRADE on an A-F Scale: A