😱 Horror ☣ SciFi 🎬 Jordan Peele (2022) 🇺🇸

"What do you mean, you couldn't figure out [a remote feed]?" "Um, Holst is shooting on a film camera." "Basically, you forgot about it. Over." "Yeah, well I had my hands full rigging 50 fucking sky dancers to dead people's car batteries. So, yeah, fucking over. Sorry. I'm scared."

It was only a matter of time before a Jordan Peele film would really work for me. And not simply because of the entire scene of Michael Wincott reciting Purple People Eater with absolute gravitas. With one or two small quibbles I won’t have time to address here, Nope was exactly what I was hoping for.

In the back of my mind, it always bugged me that I could never get into either Eggers or Peele. They are well loved, and I had difficulty with both of them. In fact, only a few contemporary directors worked well back in 2021 when I began watching horror.

To be fair, the issue with Jordan Peele’s previous two films was partly me. I didn’t do Get Out any favors by bringing the wrong expectations to it. With every horror film back then, if it didn’t scare me, I was disappointed, and I’d let that sour me on the film. The trouble was, I had worked horror films up to an insane expectation in my mind, which is why I was so scared of the genre. I read reviews for August Underground’s Mordrum and similar now and realize that is what I thought all horror was. No wonder I wouldn’t watch it.

So during the learning curve where I recalibrated my expectations and realized horror was not universally designed to be maximally traumatic, but that it was actually an interesting and creative genre that people watched for pleasure, a lot of films fell through the cracks. Get Out scared me only for a split second, so I assumed it was defective, not my expectations. It deserves a rewatch. And what a great split second scare it was—but I’ll save that for a Get Out rewatch review.

As for Us (2019), I’ve watched it three times. It’s always a good time. But each time I watch it, I can never shake the feeling that the ending dance sequence—the most important moment in the film, really—is wholly derivative of the most original and disturbing moment in Suspiria 2018. They are genuinely identical, and I’ve never seen that anywhere except for those two films. And now, having watched Coherence, the color-coded doppelganger motif also feels derivative. And I’m flummoxed that nobody ever talks about this issue. Those objections aside, I think Us is a good time and has some violence and some frightening moments the first watch, and everyone who asks me to rewatch it with them ends up happy.

Well, with Nope, these problems no longer obtain. First, Nope has to be wholly original, or if it borrows, it reworks the source material substantially. The basic plot I have never seen before, and it’s a brilliant decision. The film is smaller and more focused and it takes its time, it tells a clear and clean story with a small cast of memorable characters, and it doesn’t require the allegory behind it to work to be compelling. It works superficially, and it’s a good time, and also it has something to say about race, economy, human social behavior, our treatment of other creatures, of the environment—this stuff is all there, but whereas Us basically required the allegory to work for the ending to work, Nope is strong either way.

Second, it is not scary to me at all, but I’ve fixed my expectations. While the antagonist is only mildly scary, there are two shifts away from the plot I expected that fundamentally change the material. It is innovative. The art department has done beautiful work as well. Seriously, the opening up sequence late in the film, I’ve never seen something at all similar. Seeing that is worth it. Do I wish I were more easily frightened or there was more that was strong enough to scare me? Yes, absolutely. But I’m not going to let expectations spoil a good time. Waiting and wondering when a film will finally become horror (if ever) just destroys the experience. So I brought my Jordan Peele level scare assumptions, and Nope basically delivered that, but slightly lighter.

But my goodness the storytelling is strong here, and there’s characters for everybody. I absolutely love the cinematographer, Antlers Holst, who at first seems unsympathetic but it turns out he wasn’t mocking anyone, that was just the way he is. He feels so familiar to me. My life is full of that person: skilled, wry but not barbed, direct, kind in his own way, and who, when he finds something he wants to shoot for himself, goes way too far for the perfect shot and faces some… let’s just say consequences.

"The light, it's... gonna be magic soon." "What you mean, Ant?" "It's gonna be all right, Angel. We don't deserve the impossible." [...] "Holst just said some creepy, cryptic shit. Over."

Most characters here are in some way sympathetic and interesting—well, except during the opening advertisement shoot and the paparazzi electric bike episode. No character felt like a plot point or an allegory clothed in human skin. It just worked for me this time around.

Just like, with Eggars, watching The Lighthouse with fresh eyes gave me a point of access to his work and I’ve re-evaluated it, enjoyed The Northman plenty, and am looking forward to rewatching The Witch, I think my coming to this film and finding a different angle that highlights what is strong about this director will make a difference for how I understand Get Out and possibly Us.

Because of how clear it is that I need to rewatch some contemporary horror, I’m putting together a master list for this newer breed of directors, the same as I have for Italian Horror/Giallos. Why not. Obviously I have to systematically revisit this stuff.

In the meantime, yes, watch Nope. If you’re used to horror, just remember that while this is definitely horror, you will likely find it at most very slightly frightening.

Recommended.

Some Lists:

🎬 Jordan Peele
🇺🇸 United States
😱 Horror / Thriller and Similar Master List (Ranked)
🦑 Cosmic Horror Ranked
☣ Science Fiction
2️⃣ 2020–2029
📆 2022
💎 Slightly Hidden Horror Gems and 🌱 Candidates
📽️ Viewing Next 🗂️ Index of Lists

Looking for something different? Consider these:

Event Horizon | Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person | Red Rooms | Requiem | Il gatto nero 1989 (The Black Cat) | Profondo Rosso (Deep Red) | The Boy and the Heron | Deliria (Stage Fright) | La setta (The Sect) | La Chiesa (The Church) | Demoni 1 and 2 | [REC] | The Sadness | Train to Busan | Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key | Sette note in nero (The Psychic) | La terza madre (The Mother of Tears) | ...E tu vivrai nel terrore! L'aldilà (The Beyond) | Black Cat: Gatto nero | All the Colors of the Dark | Tin and Tina