I’m not the world’s biggest fan of horror movies. Even some of the best horror movies of all time are hard for me to get into and appreciate. This is a “me” problem, not an indictment of the genre. However, I recently watched Jordan Peele’s Nope with my Peacock subscription, and I have to admit, it really grabbed me and didn’t let me go. Now I need to consider just why I tend to avoid horror movies.
It Wasn’t My Jordan Peele Movie
Now, I have seen plenty of horror movies in my life. As someone who writes about movies for a living, I’ve always considered it important to my job, even if watching them sometimes feels like a chore. Jordan Peele’s movies and TV shows have never felt that way, though. I loved Get Out, though it doesn’t feel quite like a horror movie to me; it’s more of a mystery than anything else. Us is definitely more of a true horror movie, but still one that had my rapt attention for the whole thing.
The common element of all three, including Nope, is that even when I’m at home watching them on my TV, rather than in theaters, I never get bored or reach for my phone (something I can’t claim for every movie I watch). Even if I do reach for that little black distraction device, I quickly realize that I don’t want to look at it; I have to make sure I know what’s coming next. Peele’s movies reward close watching, and it’s never a chore to get through, just a delight.
Nope Had All The Elements I Love In Any Movie
Oftentimes, especially when it comes to slasher films or ultra-violent and gory horror movies, I get frustrated that they often lack in other key elements that make movies great. Things like character development and interesting plotlines get sidelined in favor of more jump scares or violent fight scenes. The violence doesn’t make me queesy, it just bores me.
Nope sacrifices nothing. There is a well-told back story for the two main characters, OJ (Daniel Kaluuya) and his sister Emerald (Keke Palmer), and their friend/rival Jupe Park (Steven Yeun). There is a great story that is enhanced by the fear, not distracted by it. There is some great comic relief, mostly from Palmer, and there is, most importantly, an interesting twist that doesn’t feel forced. And yes, it still manages to be plenty scary.
I Loved The Way The “Twist” Worked
The twist of the movie is that the UFO isn’t a ship, but a living being, an animal. That twist isn’t played for shock value, but it makes the story so much more interesting than just a standard green beings from outer space doing unthinkable things to humans on earth. It’s like Predator, but without the absurd backstory.
I love that it isn’t forced, as happens in so many movies in the genre. It’s not some kind of big reveal, it’s a much more organic discovery that a wildlife expert like OJ would come to naturally. Peele doesn’t dwell on the twist long either. Instead, we’re thrown right into the plan to take it out.
All of that makes for a much better movie than I am used to in the horror genre, and I think it’s time for me to seek out more movies like it rather than only happen upon them while I’m working on my next story. I’m also really excited to see what Jordan Peele’s next project looks like and can’t wait to see it.
