Terror in the clouds

Keke Palmer (left) and Daniel Kaluuya in “Nope” —PHOTOS COURTESY OF UNIVERSAL PICTURES INTERNATIONAL

For all of its beguiling narrative twists and Spielbergian bravado, Jordan Peele’s crowd-pleasing and gorgeously shot sci-fi-cum-horror yarn “Nope” is neither as terrifying nor as cohesive as “Get Out” and “Us.”

But despite its lapses, what it can’t be faulted for are its cleverness, originality and storytelling ingenuity. It makes its oft-tackled subject matter fresh and compelling.

Starring Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, Steven Yeun, Michael Wincott and scene-stealing Fil-Am actor Brandon Perea, the film, which opened in Philippine cinemas last Wednesday, follows what happens when OJ Haywood (Daniel) and his sister Em (Keke) forge an unlikely alliance with tech salesman Angel Torres (Brandon) and cinematographer Antlers Hoist (Michael) to prove the existence of a flesh- and equine-chomping extraterrestrial being that’s been masquerading as a cloud.

Brandon Perea

For film buffs and horror aficionados raring to see how these characters’ shared trauma plays out in detail, read no further because there will be spoilers ahead.

After the death of their father, OJ and Em are forced to consider selling the cash-strapped family-owned ranch that trains horses for film and TV productions.

Its prospective buyer is Jupe Park (Steven), a former child star who operates a small theme park that ironically capitalizes on the killing spree that happened on the set of his defunct TV series, in which he was the sole survivor.

When Em and OJ realize that there’s more to the increased frequency of fluctuating electricity than meets the eye, they take matters into their own hands.

Kaluuya

The situation becomes even more dire when the profit-seeking Jupe, along with all the members of his audience, vanishes inexplicably during a show!

Can Angel and Antlers help OJ and Em prove that they aren’t just imagining things and pin the blame on the flying saucer hiding in the sky? More importantly, do they stand a chance against the terror lurking in the clouds?

If Peele’s previous flicks tackled the dangers of racism and how man’s xenophobic tendencies bubble to the surface, he builds on those themes even more in “Nope” by utilizing the movie’s extraterrestrial creature to take aim at man’s penchant for the spectacular, the shallow and the mundane.

Steven Yeun

Given this wrong set of priorities, how can we expect people to focus on what’s truly important in life?

Of course you need not focus on the metaphor or the pertinent social commentary underlying Peele’s productions, if that isn’t why you watch horror flicks.

If you’re in it just for the fun and thrill of it, his atmosphere-heavy and mood-driven approach and creepy creatures almost always deliver the goods—and scare the bejesus out of his “happily terrified” viewers.