The horror genre has slowly begun to creep back up to the forefront of cinema partly thanks to Peele’s previous two movies, Get Out and Us, but while Nope may not be as great as those two films, it is most definitely an amazing adventure movie that feels like Peele’s most mature. It is also evident that Peele took a lot of inspiration from legendary director Steven Speilberg’s Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind as well as director M. Night Shyamalan’s Signs. But despite what similarities can be drawn from those films, it’s safe to say Nope as a whole is one of the most original pieces of cinema I have ever seen.
Many complain nowadays of a lack of original and unique ideas, but Nope is a perfect example of original cinema and is something that the big screen has never seen before. Additionally, if you get the chance to see this in theaters, make sure to sprinkle the extra five-to-ten dollars and see it on the IMAX screen, trust me it’ll be worth it.
Bouncing off that, the cinematography is undeniably breathtaking and Hoyte van Hoytema is firmly establishing his name as one of the best cinematographers working today. What he was able to achieve with some of the shots in this movie was unbelievable. The film had many scenes taking place at night, but for one of the first times I can remember, I could always see what was going on in the dark. I genuinely don’t know how the lighting was achieved in this movie, and whenever I’m able to say that, I know the film’s cinematography was special.