'Nope' film review: UFO thriller chills - even if its themes fall flat

Despite flirting with some intriguing notions regarding exploitation and legacy, Jordan Peele's latest flick 'Nope' (opening in theaters nationwide July 22) is at its best when it cranks up the horror, despite being thin on story and characters.

In short: Sibling Otis "OJ" Haywood Jr. (Daniel Kaluuya) and Emerald "Em" Haywood (Keke Palmer) inherit a struggling horse ranch in remote California - when mysterious phenomenon start to come from the skies above. Steven Yeun, Brandon Perea and Keith David also star.

This review will not reveal any spoilers, but it will discuss in non-specific terms, what works and what doesn't work with Peele's follow-up to 'Get Out' and 'Us.'

First the good news: 'Nope' is a gripping edge-of-your-seat thriller when it leans into its horror-thriller aspects. As OJ and Em begin to suspect something sinister and otherworldly is causing bizarre phenomenon in their remote valley, 'Nope' revels in the long, slow reveal of the threat just outside OJ and Em's ranch house. As OJ and Em workout what is behind the seemingly random electricity blackouts and disappearing animals, Peele superbly lays the foundation for a chilling extraterrestrial film.

The fleeting glimpses of this film's mysterious threat feels like seeing Bruce's shark fin in 'Jaws' or the ground soil erupt in sudden movement in 'Tremors.' Peele seeds the terrifying notion that OJ and Em are living amongst a stalking predatory threat - a monster the defies conventional explanation and one whose hunting behavior may be changing. Peele's judicious and disciplined reveal of the threat slowly cranks up the eeriness and eventually the tension. And any film that succeeds in turning an ostensibly peaceful, cloudy moon-lit night vista into a sinister backdrop where a deadly threat can pop out at any moment is a pretty great horror flick.

Now the not-so-great news: 'Nope' suffers from thin characters, frustrating character motivations and ambitious themes that never quite pay off.

Conventional "monster" movies work because they tap into basic survival notions. The characters are just trying to not die and audiences do not want the characters to die. Often "monster flick" characters are just trying to escape and survive - but "Nope" lacks this one basic motivator. For the most part, OJ and Em are not stuck on the ranch. And they are not compelled merely to survive - their primary character motivation is simply to get clear photographic or video evidence of the unidentified flying object. That's it. Yes they find themselves in situations where they're trying to not get killed - but their goal is first and foremost to document the UFO.

This becomes a bit of a problem for 'Nope' because the mysterious threat is very much a mortal danger to the characters - but the film hinges not on their survival but whether they achieve their goal of snapping a clear pic of a monster. The survival of any one character is almost incidental and secondary to their collective goal. Imagine 'Jaws' - but where Quint, Brody and Hooper merely want take a sweet pic of the shark ... with no intention or plan to stop that bloodthirsty Great White from feasting on Amity Island swimmers.

'Nope' could have avoid this misstep if only the script had more thoroughly connected OJ and Em's goal with one of the film's themes: legacy and erasure. Em claims she is a direct descendant of a Black jockey featured in 'The Horse in Motion,' one of the first motion pictures ever produced in the late 1800s. Em recites a speech her father Otis Sr (Keith David) would deliver just before working on film sets - a speech that impressed that the public at large could not name that Black jockey, who was effectively the first motion picture stuntman and star. Em declares that photographing an alien could make them famous for life in one brief conversation, 'Nope' doesn't connect Em's desire for fame and how history erased her great-great-grandfather's role in motion picture history. The script misses the opportunity to make a stronger statement about historical erasure - one that could have doubled as stronger, more substantial character motivation for Em and OJ.

Exploitation and respect for yet another dangling thematic thread that 'Nope' doesn't quite nail. OJ - who trains horses used on film projects - is seemingly the only character in the film who has any respect for any of the non-humans being exploited for entertainment throughout the film. His soft-spoken, cautionary advice to a film set go largely ignored, resulting in a potentially dangerous situation. And as he learns more about the unidentified threat, OJ displays a growing awareness for the UFO that keeps him alive time and again.

Meanwhile the former child actor (Steven Yeun) who lives next door displays almost no respect for a threat that he underestimates, treating the UFO with almost bemused curiosity. This character's actions are especially pointed because of his revealed infamy history working on a '90s-era three-camera sitcom featuring an animal exploited rather than respected. This multi-faceted theme is underserved by a script that pulls back too much in connecting the inherent dangers of not appreciating potential threats - especially in service of mere exploitation for entertainment.

These missed opportunities for thematic depth leaves the characters feeling thin. None of the characters have particularly engaging story arcs, rendering them with all-but-the minimal amount of character development. Basically OJ is the only character who has anything close to a character arc - and it's basically limited to his curiosity evolving into basic understanding of what triggers the UFO's actions. Keke Palmer's magnetic charm and timing energize 'Nope' with just the right amount of comedy - but her character is pretty one-dimensional.

Final verdict: 'Nope' is a coiled, tension-filled monster flick that plays with some heady notions - but doesn't explore them to any satisfying depth.

Score: 3/5

'Nope' opens in theaters nationwide July 22. This horror-thriller has a runtime of 130 minutes and is rated R for language throughout and some violence/bloody images.