Two siblings, OJ (Daniel Kaluuya) and Em (Keke Palmer), running a horse ranch in California discover something wonderful and sinister in the skies above, while the owner of an adjacent theme park tries to profit from the mysterious, otherworldly phenomenon.

Let it be known that Jordan Peele is a filmmaker with his finger on the pulse. Not only has he re-made comedy television with his revered work as part of cult comedy act Key & Peele, but he’s now taking over the horror genre and has found entirely new avenues to stretch the genre in. With his unique flair, Peele scared the hell out of audiences with his previous two films Get Out and Us, and now he’s ready to do the same with Nope. And this one’s his best yet. With a style all his own Peele spins a deeply suspenseful narrative in what is one of the year’s most original horror features, and this one will scare the hell out of you!

While I can’t dive into any particular deep plot elements of Nope, as this is a film that should be savoured in the showing and is best enjoyed going in totally blind, I will say that its success is down to Peele’s singular vision for the story. Stepping into the realm of other-worldly visitors, Peele brings a considerable threat to his film and his direction has you on a razor’s edge. Mixing horror, science fiction and comedy leads to something unique in Nope and the originality of its presentation strikes a chord with audiences who are seeking subject matter that is different and new. Peele is fine with being edgy, but more importantly, he’s ready to take risks and try new creative ideas and all of it benefits the experience of Nope.

Peele has also been adept at casting his movies and he again absolutely lucks out with Nope. Re-teaming with Get Out star Daniel Kaluuya is again a big win for Peele and Kaluuya brings a stoical, reserved quality to the role of Otis Haywood Jr. or OJ. Kaluuya jumps into the character and you completely buy into his stance as a horse trainer and cowboy. Playing off of Kaluuya’s OJ and being very much the foil is Emerald Haywood or Em (Keke Palmer), his jumpy, ditsy, flighty sister who has reluctantly returned to the family ranch and their Hollywood horse training business. Em is all about the quick buck and is a real juxtaposition to OJ and this leads to plenty of interesting drama that builds between the two characters.

Steven Yeun makes an about-face turn as mercurial showman Ricky “Jupe” Park, a former child star with a very shady past who has decided to profit in some very dark ways, and it’s a very different performance from Yeun than we’re used to seeing. Brandon Perea brings a considerably skittish performance to the big screen with his role as Angel Torres, a technology salesman who jumps into the action with the Haywood’s and his nervy performance adds considerable tension to the story. Finally, there’s the always dependable Michael Wincott who turns up as Hollywood cinematographer Antlers Holst and his appearance in Nope lends the film a moody gravitas.

As an exercise in sheer horror and suspense, Nope will have you on the edge the whole way through. Honing his craft with Get Out and Us, Peele is now a master of the horror genre and he knows how to keep his audiences paranoia geared up. And damn does it make for a very scary watch. Two key factors that add to the suspense of Nope include its use of cinematography and sound design. Best experienced in IMAX the sound design of Johnnie Burn brings a harrowing sense of fear that washes over the audience. Burn builds out a sense of tensuon thanks to his manipulation of sound, and paired with the scoring of composer Michael Abels, Nope is a film that holds you in a vice of fright. Noted cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema adds to the thrills of Nope and his camera work pulls you in deeper to the narrative, particularly during the third act.

Nope is a film that I can describe as being deeply cinematic and it promises the sheer big screen spectacle that audiences have been missing for some time. It’s a complete work from beginning to end, and is a testament to why new ideas matter to the art of cinema and that directors should exist as artists who are ready to push the boundaries of the art form. It strikes a perfect balance between horror and comedy, and when viewed as a sheared audience, it’s cinema just the way we like it. Everything about Nope comes together as a cinematic work and it also happens to be one hell of a rush.

Jordan Peele’s Nope is one of the year’s most fascinating releases. It’s a horror film that will give you one hell of a fright but will also pull you into its fascinating story of otherworldly contact, and intense fight for survival. For audiences looking for some big screen thrills, Nope is a guaranteed awesome watch.

Image: Universal Pictures

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Set in present day along the iconic Northern California coastline, Us, stars Lupita Nyong’o as Adelaide Wilson, a woman returning to her beachside childhood home with her husband, Gabe (Winston Duke), and their two children (Shahadi Wright Joseph, Evan Alex) for an idyllic summer getaway.

Haunted by an unexplainable and unresolved trauma from her past and compounded by a string of eerie coincidences, Adelaide feels her paranoia elevate to high-alert as she grows increasingly certain that something bad is going to befall her family.

After spending a tense beach day with their friends, the Tylers (Elisabeth Moss, Tim Heidecker, Cali Sheldon, Noelle Sheldon), Adelaide and her family return to their vacation home. When darkness falls, the Wilsons discover the silhouette of four figures holding hands as they stand in the driveway. Us pits an endearing American family against a terrifying and uncanny opponent: doppelgängers of themselves.

If their is one man who is redefining the horror genre through his own vision then it is most definitely Jordan Peele. While he may have made his name as an all around funny man, he proved himself to be extremely fluent with the horror genre, and the result was 2017’s lauded Get Out. Now the esteemed writer/director returns to the cinema screen with another twisted gem with Us, and this time he’s raising the stakes with terrifying results.

A word of warning, Us is not Get Out Part Two. This is a brand new and completely original horror film and where Get Out veered toward the psychological horror genre, here in Us, Peele goes for his audiences jugular with plenty of hack and slash gore. Fresh, original and totally unique, Us is loaded with symbolism and plenty of edge of your seat scares and the resulting picture is something that will lead you to suffer nightmares for many nights to come.

Without wandering into spoiler territory Us could best be described as a hostage movie that finds normal middle class family The Wilson’s consisting of Adelaide (Lupita Nyong’o), Gabe (Winston Duke), Zora (Shahadi Wright Joseph) and Jason (Evan Alex), who come to meet their terrifying alter-egos in an event that leads to a full-on game of cat and mouse. And the resulting action that explodes from this twisted confrontation sets your heart into overdrive in a film that is pure fight or flight.

Balancing a contemporary script, that is tinged with Peele’s love for 1980s horror, Us comes across as a very personal movie from Peele. While it carries thematic elements related to contemporary American society and the issues that are present within it, the film is an absolute love letter to classic horror from the genre’s zenith, the 1980s, and the result is a film that will have you on edge. In terms of shear scares, I’d outline the film’s first act as being the scariest, with everything coming to a head when the Wilson’s confront the antagonistic Tethered for the first time, and from there the film rolls forward into a full-on slasher movie with plenty of gore to treat the horror hungry amongst the audience.

Giving a scene stealing performance is Lupita Nyong’o as the film’s central character Adelaide Wilson and her nefarious doppelgänger Red. As Adelaide, Nyong’o comes across as your everyday American mum, who soon has to rise to the challenge and except and face her own fears for the very safety of her family. Her performance as Adelaide is tinged with everyday normality and realism, and thus she’s the perfect character to take the audience with her on this twisted journey into a very savage heart of darkness. And that’s when Red arrives on the scene. A jagged mirror image of Adelaide, and leader of the Tethered, who has decided that it is time to take back what is there’s. As Red, Nyong’o really gets under your skin, and her hallow facial expression, bloodshot eyes and shrill voice present the picture of a hungry monster who is possessed of a crazed bloodlust….and she damn well scared the hell out of me.

Offering Nyong’o a good helping of support in the film is Winston Duke who sheds his alpha male Marvel persona, and instead goes full dad bod as Adelaide’s husband Gabe, and his monstrous doppelgänger Abraham. Seeing Duke in such a dramatically different role was real fun to watch, and really gives him a vehicle to show off his all-around talent as a performer. Between Gabe’s fake heroism and Abraham’s carnivorous brutality, Duke also shines through with plenty of humour. His wisecracks in the most unexpected of places break the mounting tension, and add to the satirical nature of Us and help shine a light on director Jordan Peele’s unique frame of view for horror cinema.

Thematically, Us is a very interesting study of the Shadow Side, an idea that has become a key tenement of Jungian psychology, and which here takes literal physical form thanks to the Tethered. But while these red-jumpsuited villains are prone to terrible actions, Peele also takes the time to showcase their own point-of-view and it is an interesting thing for a horror movie to do. By taking the time to get to know our villains, and in essence our darker selves, Peele is able to examine the human condition and the line that exists between good and evil.

Added to this unique philosophy is Us’s very own slasher movie fun, and for those who like their horror movies scary, well, you’ve come to the right place. From the tightrope bound suspense of the film’s first act to the rapid fire slice and dice chase that bursts onto the screen thanks to the arrival of the Tethered, Us will have you jumping out of your seat again and again with all of it’s chilling moments.

So, if you’re looking for plenty of blood curdling nightmares then Us is the horror movie that you’ve gotta line up for. Original, clever, funny and freakishly scary, Us is horror cinema done right.

Image: Universal Pictures

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