Nope

“Nope” is the latest movie written and directed by Jordan Peele and I feel it is his best so far.  He has put together a top-notch horror movie, that is about more than you expect, and will leave you thinking.  The movie’s first shocking scene will make you wonder what it has to do with the rest of the movie, but by the end, all will be clear.  The basic premise is that brother and sister horse wranglers run a stable in an isolated, high desert-like area of California. Odd things have happened.  There are strange power drains, horses are running away and they soon find something very mysterious is happening up in the clouds, which may or may not be an alien presence.  Emerald Haywood (Keke Palmer), the extroverted sister, is sure it’s UFO’s, and wants to get pictures in order to become famous and make money.  Her introverted brother (Daniel Kaluuya) is more interested in the well-being of the horses than the  notoriety, but reluctantly agrees to help.  Other people who are interested in this possible UFO are Steven Yeun as a former child actor who is living on the past notoriety of a family tv show gone horribly wrong; Brandon Perea, an unhappy electronics and tech expert who becomes a key member of the little team they establish, and Michael Wincott as an older and supposedly wiser photographer they need to capture the phenomena on film, whatever it might be.  I have tried to tiptoe around the plot, because I don’t want to give too much away, and it is so much fun to speculate about what is happening.  This movie will keep you wondering for the entire 2 hours and 10 minutes.  It is well-written, superbly acted, and highly suspenseful.  The lonely, solitary stable evokes an atmosphere of impending danger and helps build the fear. If you see it, I would love to hear what you thought in the comments.