Last Friday I went to see Nope with my family. It was a personal milestone for me because it was the first horror film I’ve seen in theaters and as someone who’s deathly afraid of scary movies this was a huge achievement. But I was determined to see this film because Jordan Peele is forging a path in the horror industry that is always fresh, new, and exciting. And this movie, a horror sci-fi flick, seemed like the type of story I had to see in IMAX.

Nope, thankfully, wasn’t one of the scariest horror movies I’ve seen and yet it just might be one of the most disturbing movies I’ve watched in a while as well.

From the literal first scene, Nope is not the movie that you think it’s going to be. The story then plays out in chapters broken up by the reveal of animals’ names important to the narrative of the film.

Peele’s genius is his originality. When you watch his film there’s a good chance you’ve never seen anything like it and the same can be said for Nope. Despite the incredibly original plot twist of the film, it’s the second half of the movie that ultimately became quite boring.

The movie, after a while, feels like it’s going too long. Like maybe ten minutes could’ve been shaved off to retain the film’s intensity from the first half. The film’s scariest scenes come in the first half of the movie, providing some rather disturbing imagery that’s not for the faint-hearted. The second half unfortunately devolves into something a bit more action-packed and predictable.

While I personally came away from the film disappointed and confused I am appreciative of its original approach to the science-fiction genre. And I definitely can see why some people enjoyed this movie a lot.

After this film, will I watch another Jordan Peele movie? I don’t think I will, actually. There was a scene in here that was so unnecessarily disturbing that I don’t think I want to venture into the mind of Peele again. I couldn’t finish Us because after a while it got tedious and boring and I wasn’t enthused about Nope. But I am excited about what new ideas he will bring to the horror industry.

I’m giving Nope 85 out of 100 and 3.5 out of 5 stars.

I thank you for reading and I hope you have a lovely day.