Nope: I Will Make Thee a Spectacle

A good miracle.

Jordan Peele and Keke Palmer Look to the Sky, July 20, 2022, Photo Courtesy of GQ.

Warning: This piece contains spoilers for the entire film Nope.

Nope is the third project in a sequence of Jordan Peele’s written-directed films that weaves the fantastical uncanny valleys of science fiction and the white-knuckled hackle-raising tensions of horror. Moreover, this is the second film starring Peele’s ingenue Daniel Kaluuya and what magic they make together as a team, especially with tv, cinema, and music veteran Keke Palmer co-starring. Lest we forget, Keke is younger than many of her co-stars but has been working in the industry since 2004. That’s almost twenty years in the business that only a well-rounded magnetic performer could cultivate and baby this is Keke Palmer(’s movie). Additionally, I’m giving a special nod to newcomer Brandon Perea who is charismatic and nails every single scene of horror with aplomb. Oh, and Steven Yeun, my goodness he could charm the water out of a cactus; it’s lovely to see him in another Jordan Peele project outside of The Twilight Zone (2019–2020).

(left to right) Daniel Kaluuya, Brandon Perea, and Keke Palmer. Photo Courtesy of Monkeypaw Productions.

This film also most certainly sets a precedent, with a ‘final girl’ and ‘two final boys’, and joins an illustrious pantheon that writes people of color…