Jordan Peele's name was not synonymous with the horror genre at one point in time. Jordon is a comedic genius that made audiences laugh for years on end with his sketch comedy and jokes, but when he made his first feature film Get Out, everything changed and Peele allowed all of us inside his mind of horror. With Us telling a dark and spooky story full of scares and violence, Peele has finally delivered his vision of sci-fi horror in such a way that pays homage to those Spielbergian moments that have been cemented in everyone's minds for decades but also furthers the paranoia and understanding of what it might be like to encounter other life on Earth. With his film Nope, the scares are at an all-time high and the tribute to filmmaking and family makes this film stand out above the rest. Nope is a full yes in every category - Scorpion King and all.
Nope effortlessly tells a tale about something mysterious in the sky that is hurting people while staying grounded in its roots of family and making movies. Centering around a family ranch owned by the Haywoods, OJ Haywood Jr (Daniel Kaluuya) and his father work on a horse ranch that trains their animals for film and tv productions. After a freak accident, OJ's sister Em (Keke Palmer) comes to visit where they discover something massive moving in the sky. Soon enough, it's easy to tell that it is something otherworldy and is not friendly whatsoever. In order to alert the world to their find, they want to capture this strange phenomenon on camera, something that UFO hunters have never been able to really do before. They will need all the help they can get to capture that perfect shot that is dubbed the impossible shot - even by a cinematographer's standards.
What Peele does so flawlessly here is to create a super-heightened and creepy atmosphere of the unknown and it works to great effect. He never allows a large image of what's hovering in the sky until much later and it's terrifying in all the right ways. In previous films like Alien and Jaws, less is more to keep those hairs standing on end, never fully revealing whatever monster or creature there is until the right moment. Peele takes it a step further by having multiple people at a time in a large space fall victim to this creature the character dubbed Jean Jacket. Underneath the scares and horror is a story of grief between two siblings who care for one another and will do anything to be the first to capture this momentous occasion, which falls in line with the opening shot of the movie of the first ever recorded movie back long ago of a man riding a horse. It all comes full circle in a parallel way by the end of the film.
It's also of note that Peele is telling a narrative of man vs nature here. Animals are inherently wild, violent, and unpredictable, just how he frames his first scene and the side story of Nope that hovers around a '90s kids show where a family lives with a cute chimpanzee. One day during filming, the chimp has a meltdown and goes on a killing rampage in the studio. As Nope plays out, it's wonderful to see the similarities between a wild animal like a chimp and Jean Jacket high in the sky partaking in the same type of mannerisms. The whole man vs nature element comes to fruition in such beautiful and cinematic ways that it's easy to see why Jordan Peele was born to make movies. It just oozes out his camera shots and dialogue.
Nope is a great horror film that is a welcome and necessary addition to the horror and sci-fi genre. It pays tribute to many aspects of filmmaking while telling its own tale of grief, love, family, and horror. There's nothing quite like it out there and is yet another reason why Jordan Peele is one of the best horror filmmakers out there, telling important and poignant stories.
Vital Disc Stats: The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray
Nope identifies itself onto 4K + Blu-ray + Digital Code via Universal. The discs are housed inside a hard, black plastic case with a cardboard sleeve. The artwork features the three main characters of the film looking up to the sky in horror. There is also an insert for the digital code inside.
Nope delivers a fantastic looking 2160p 4K UHD transfer with HDR10 enhancements.
The color palette is gorgeous, stretching out over the open wild west of Southern California with brown and grey dirt, those beautiful purple mountains, a blue sky, green shrubs and bushes, and of course, a dark and ominous shape hovers overhead. The sequences of the television show with the chimp have heightened colors that resemble a child's birthday, representing bold yellows, reds, and hints of blue. These are striking with an emphasis on the red blood that covers the area. The wind people blowing along the estate are most impressive as well, giving way to the colors of the rainbow.
Orange sweatshirts and a warmer more vintage look inside the house make this modern film old-timey in certain moments. The darker scenes at night bring a haunting blue tint with some delicious, deep black levels that are never murky. The HDR10 allows the other colors to shine brighter in those lower-lit sequences with blacker shadows and corridors. Skin tones are natural as well. There are no signs of aliasing, banding, or heavy noise either. This is an amazing-looking image that outdoes the 1080p version and is the ultimate way to watch the film.
This release comes with a strong and exquisite Dolby Atmos mix that will leave everyone scared. Sound effects are robust, loud, and pack some nice crescendos. The noise of Jean Jacket engulfs the speakers perfectly with a slight low end of bass that rumbles perfectly. When it draws nearer, the bass becomes more intense until there is a fully immersive rattle that is terrifyingly haunting. Other sound effects of a motorcycle revving its engine or some old-school cameras clicking in speed sound wonderful.
Each sound is well-balanced and flows smoothly from one speaker to the next. The height speakers bring forth a ton of noise that includes weather, Jean Jacket's movement, and of course raining down objects, blood, and bodies to a spectacular effect. The score and song selections are excellent and always add to the suspense. The dialogue is always clean, clear, and easy to follow along with as well. There are no audio problems to speak of, leaving this Dolby Atmos track something to marvel at.
There are about 93 minutes of bonus materials included here, all of which are worth the time. There is an hour-long doc about the making of the film that is a must-watch. Sadly no commentary track yet.
Nope is an extraordinary entry into Jordan Peele's ever-growing catalog of horror films that are destined to stick around for a long time. His vision of aliens and UFOs in the sky is unmatched and is scary-as-hell with all of the right pacing, characters, and winks at previous films that make Nope succeed. The 4K image with HDR10 looks impressive and the Dolby Atmos track knocks it out of the park. The bonus features are definitely worth the time as well. Highly Recommended!
