Horror Film Wiki
Advertisement


Nope is a 2022 American neo-Western science fiction horror film written, directed, and produced by Jordan Peele, under his and Ian Cooper's Monkeypaw Productions banner. It stars Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer as horse-wrangling siblings attempting to capture evidence of an unidentified flying object. Appearing in supporting roles are Steven Yeun, Michael Wincott, Brandon Perea, and Keith David.

Plot[]

In Agua Dulce, California, the Haywood family trains and handles horses for film and television productions. One day, metallic objects fall out of the sky, and Otis Haywood Sr. is hit in the eye and killed by a falling nickel, which is presumed to have fallen out of an airplane.

Six months later, his children, Otis "OJ" Haywood Jr. and Emerald "Em" Haywood, are fired from the set of a TV commercial after their horse, Lucky, reacts violently to its own reflection in a handheld mirror. To keep the business afloat, OJ sells some of the horses to Ricky "Jupe" Park, who operates a Western theme park called Jupiter's Claim. Jupe also exploits his past as a child actor, specifically when a chimpanzee named Gordy maimed his costars on the set of a sitcom, but left him unharmed.

One night, the Haywoods notice their electricity fluctuating and their horses vanishing and violently reacting to an unknown presence. They discover an unidentified flying object (UFO) shaped like a flying saucer that has been taking their horses and spitting out the inorganic matter, which OJ concludes to have caused their father's death. The siblings decide to document and sell evidence of the UFO's existence, and recruit Fry's Electronics employee Angel Torres to set up surveillance cameras. The UFO arrives a second time and abducts a horse named Clover, as well as a decoy snatched by Em from Jupiter's Claim.

The next day, Em attempts to recruit famed cinematographer Antlers Holst to help them record the UFO. Holst declines, telling Em that chasing wealth and fame is a "dream you will never wake up from." Angel then arrives and reveals to the Haywoods that a cloud captured on camera never moves, which OJ suspects is the UFO's hiding place.

Jupe introduces a live show in Jupiter's Claim and plans to use Lucky as bait to lure out the UFO, which he has been feeding the Haywoods' horses to for months, in front of the audience. The UFO arrives early and devours Jupe and the entire audience. At this point, OJ confirms that the UFO is not a spaceship, but a highly territorial predatory organism. After the creature attacks the Haywood household by marking its territory with the regurgitated remains of the crowd, OJ discovers that it only attacks people who look directly at it. The Haywoods and Angel escape the house unharmed, and OJ devises a plan to record it. Em and Angel are hesitant until the former receives a call from Holst, who now agrees to help Em after seeing TV news coverage of the Jupiter's Claim incident. OJ names the organism "Jean Jacket", after a horse that Em was promised to train.

To circumvent Jean Jacket's effects on electronics, Holst brings a hand-cranked IMAX film camera to capture footage. With Angel, the group devises a plan to bait Jean Jacket, with a field of electrically-powered tube man props to help them deduce its location in the sky. However, a paparazzo trespasses onto the field and is thrown from his electric motorcycle when it shuts down near Jean Jacket, which devours him. Though Holst captures footage of Jean Jacket, his obsession with "the impossible shot" results in him being devoured alongside his camera, forcing the remaining three to flee. Angel survives an attack from Jean Jacket by being wrapped in a tarp and barbed wire, causing the creature to unfurl from its saucer shape to a jellyfish-like form.

OJ intentionally looks directly at Jean Jacket, allowing it to pull him towards its mouth so Em can escape to Jupiter's Claim on the motorcycle. There, she releases the park's large helium balloon mascot of Jupe. Jean Jacket attempts to feed on the balloon while Em uses an attraction's analog camera to photograph Jean Jacket before the balloon pops, killing it. With the picture as proof of the creature's existence and reporters arriving nearby, Em sees an unharmed OJ and Lucky standing outside of Jupiter's Claim.

Cast[]

  • Daniel Kaluuya as Otis "OJ" Haywood Jr., the son of Otis Haywood Sr.
  • Keke Palmer as Emerald "Em" Haywood, the daughter of Otis Haywood Sr., and the sister of Otis Jr.
  • Steven Yeun as Ricky "Jupe" Park, a former child actor and owner/creator of the theme park "Jupiter's Claim"
    • Jacob Kim as young Ricky "Jupe" Park, who plays Mikey Houston on Gordy's Home
  • Michael Wincott as Antlers Holst, a renowned cinematographer
  • Brandon Perea as Angel Torres, a tech salesman at Fry's Electronics
  • Wrenn Schmidt as Amber Park, Jupe's wife
  • Barbie Ferreira as Nessie, Angel's co-worker at Fry's
  • Terry Notary as Gordy, a chimpanzee and star of the sitcom Gordy's Home
  • Devon Graye as Ryder Muybridge, a paparazzo who rides an electric bike
  • Donna Mills as Bonnie Clayton, a commercial actress
  • Osgood Perkins as Fynn Bachman, a commercial director
  • Eddie Jemison as Buster, a crew member on the commercial
  • Keith David as Otis Haywood Sr., the owner of Haywood's Hollywood Horses Ranch
  • Sophia Coto as Mary Jo Elliott, who plays Haley Houston on Gordy's Home
    • Haley Babula as Mary Jo Elliott (adult)
  • Jennifer Lafleur as Phyllis Mayberry, who plays Margaret Houston on Gordy's Home
  • Andrew Patrick Ralston as Tom Bogan, who plays Brett Houston on Gordy's Home
Advertisement