---
title: "Nope"
year: 2022
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/nope"
fi1m_id: "nope"
imdb_id: "tt10954984"
tmdb_id: 762504
wikidata_id: "Q107176162"
fi1m_score: 77
critics_score: 71
critics_reviews: 28
published: "2026-09-30T21:42:01.814091+00:00"
updated: "2026-09-30T21:42:02.487285+00:00"
region: "US"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Nope (2022)

Directed by Jordan Peele · 2h 10m · MPA R · Horror, Science Fiction, Thriller

## Identity

Nope

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/nope
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** nope
- **IMDb ID:** tt10954984
- **TMDB ID:** 762504
- **Wikidata ID:** Q107176162
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10954984/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/762504, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q107176162

**Fi1m score: 77** · Critics 71 from 28 reviews

*In a sentence:* The scariest thing in it is a chimpanzee; the second scariest is a cloud that will not move

> Jordan Peele’s third film is a flying saucer picture built the way Spielberg built *Jaws*, and for an hour and a half it is the most frightening thing he has made. The last stretch is a plan and a chase, and it is less frightening than what came before.

## Synopsis

Agua Dulce, California, in the scrub hills north of Los Angeles. OJ Haywood (Daniel Kaluuya) and his sister Emerald (Keke Palmer) inherit Haywood’s Hollywood Horses, a ranch that has supplied trained horses to film sets for generations, after their father, Otis Haywood Sr. (Keith David), is killed by a nickel falling from a clear sky. The business is failing, and OJ has been selling horses to the neighbour, Ricky ‘Jupe’ Park (Steven Yeun), a former child star who runs Jupiter’s Claim, a western theme park. Then the power starts cutting out, the horses bolt at night, and one cloud over the gulch stops moving. Emerald wants footage she can sell; OJ wants the horses safe. They buy cameras, and the technician who installs them, Angel Torres (Brandon Perea), refuses to leave.

## Review

Jordan Peele has made a flying saucer film, the kind with a lone ranch, a wide sky and a thing in the clouds, and asked what anyone would do if one turned up. They would reach for a camera. OJ Haywood (Daniel Kaluuya) and his sister Emerald (Keke Palmer) run Haywood’s Hollywood Horses in Agua Dulce, north of Los Angeles, training animals for film sets, and they are losing money. In the opening minutes their father (Keith David) is killed by a nickel that falls out of a clear sky. Soon the horses are bolting, the power is cutting out and one cloud above the gulch has stopped moving. Emerald wants footage she can sell. OJ wants his horses safe.

Hoyte van Hoytema shoots it for the biggest screen there is. The frame is mostly sky, the ranch a strip along the bottom of it, the Haywoods two small figures looking up. The night scenes are lit so the whole valley stays visible, silver and cold, which is what you want when you are trying to spot one dark shape among others. Ruth De Jong builds the Haywood house on a rise with one road in, and next door Jupiter’s Claim, a plywood frontier town with a stage and a wishing well, run by Ricky ‘Jupe’ Park (Steven Yeun), a former child actor who buys OJ’s horses one at a time. Alex Bovaird keeps OJ in one faded orange hoodie for most of the film and puts Jupe in rhinestones, a cowboy hat and a smile that has been photographed too often.

Kaluuya plays OJ almost without speaking. Chin down, eyes up, hands loose, a man who is good with horses and would rather deal only with them. Palmer talks for both of them; her safety speech to a film crew about their horse Lucky is a small comic aria delivered while he stands there in silence, and it tells you everything about the pair. Brandon Perea’s Angel Torres, the shop technician who installs their cameras and then will not leave, is the comic relief and turns out to be more than that. Michael Wincott’s Antlers Holst is a cinematographer who speaks in gravel and shoots on a hand-cranked camera, and every line he has sounds like something Peele saved up for years.

Here is what we felt. A night in the stables, where something walks slowly up the aisle towards OJ, had us watching through our fingers; we will not say what it turns out to be. Then there is the flashback to a sitcom set: a chimpanzee in a party hat, a shoe standing upright on its heel, a boy under a table. Peele keeps the camera low, mostly on the boy, and lets us hear the rest. We were more horrified than we have been in a cinema for years, and he showed us almost none of the violence. It is the one scene where the film’s idea, that staring at a wild thing does not tame it, is on the screen rather than in the dialogue.

The trouble comes late. Once the thing in the sky has been seen properly, the film turns into a heist: a plan, a bicycle, a row of inflatable tube men and a great deal of sky. Nicholas Monsour cuts it cleanly and we always know who is where. Michael Abels’ score swells from nervy strings into a western theme with brass. But the dread has gone, and we noticed. The Gordy story and the saucer story are laid side by side and asked to explain each other, and the film says the connection out loud twice in case we missed it. We had not.

[*Get Out*](https://film.one/film/get-out) (2017) had one idea and a locked house. [*Us*](https://film.one/film/us) (2019) had one idea and doubled it. *Nope* has three or four and the widest sky Peele has had to work with, and it is the loosest of the three. It is also the one we would most like to see again, on the biggest screen we can find, because at home the sky shrinks and the cloud looks like a cloud. It runs 130 minutes and carries a 15.

*Fi1m score 77, published 30 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics come away impressed. The word that recurs, in praise and complaint alike, is “ambitious”: this is Jordan Peele attempting a full-scale blockbuster with a critique of spectacle folded inside it. The praise clusters around the look and sound. Hoyte van Hoytema’s wide-format photography of the skies and night-time valleys is singled out repeatedly, as is the sound design that makes empty air feel threatening. Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer are widely admired, with Steven Yeun and Brandon Perea picked out by a few.

The reservations are almost all structural. Even admirers concede that the ideas outrun the storytelling, that the pacing sags and that the final act does not tie the strands together. The spread is wide: full marks from the Evening Standard and Little White Lies, while Polygon calls it Peele’s weakest film. The Guardian and Variety both find it less than the sum of its parts, and the dissenters are not fringe voices.

## Straight answers

**Is Nope worth watching?**

*Nope* is worth watching for anyone who likes a flying saucer picture built slowly, and we scored it 77. For an hour and a half it is the most frightening thing Jordan Peele has made; the last stretch becomes a plan and a chase, and the dread goes out of it. See it on the biggest screen you can, because at home the sky shrinks and the cloud looks like a cloud.

**How long is Nope, and what is it rated?**

*Nope* runs 2h 10m and is rated R by the MPA in the US. It is a horror and science fiction film.

**Where can I watch Nope in the US?**

*Nope* is streaming on Netflix in the US, and it is also available to rent from Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video from $3.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is Nope, and is it suitable for children?**

*Nope* carries a 15 in the UK and an R in the US, and it earns them through dread rather than gore. The worst of it is a flashback to a sitcom set with a chimpanzee, where Peele shows almost none of the violence and left us more horrified than we have been in a cinema for years. It is not for children, and the squeamish should know the stables scene is watched through the fingers.

**How does Nope compare to Jaws?**

*Nope* is built on the template of [*Jaws*](https://film.one/film/jaws), a lone place, a wide space and one monster kept out of sight, and Peele follows Spielberg's pacing closely. The earlier film is the tighter of the two: its suspense holds to the end, where *Nope* has three or four ideas and loosens into a heist. Choose *Jaws* for the cleaner thriller, *Nope* for the stranger one.

**What should I watch after Nope?**

After *Nope*, try [*Jaws*](https://film.one/film/jaws) (1975, Fi1m 93): Spielberg’s one-monster film is the template Peele is working from, right down to the pacing. Then [*Signs*](https://film.one/film/signs) (2002, Fi1m 76): A farm, a cornfield and something in the sky; quieter, stranger and just as sincere; and [*Attack the Block*](https://film.one/film/attack-the-block) (2011, Fi1m 84): Aliens over a south London estate; the same mix of jokes and terror in ninety minutes.

### Reviews we read (28)

- **Evening Standard**, Charlotte O'Sullivan (5/5): O'Sullivan calls the film an original, brain-engaging event movie that also delivers a rollercoaster ride. She praises the cinematography and its memorable practical effects, as well as Daniel Kaluuya's magnetic performance. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/nope-movie-review-daniel-kaluuya-jordan-peele-get-out-b1013581.html)
- **Little White Lies**, Rógan Graham (5/5/5): The review praises Nope as a formally accomplished, entertaining film that trusts its audience. It singles out the lead performances and the cinematography and sound for creating tension and striking visuals. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/nope)
- **IndieWire**, David Ehrlich (A-): Ehrlich finds the film a wildly entertaining, inventive blockbuster whose spectacle carries a modern critique of our appetite for real-life terror. He especially praises Hoyte van Hoytema’s 65mm cinematography for giving the set pieces and finale an awe-inspiring scale. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/nope-review-jordan-peele-1234743566/)
- **The New Yorker**, Richard Brody (90/100, inferred): Brody praises Nope as an ingenious, exhilarating film and a major work about moviemaking and cinematic representation. He singles out Peele’s use of cinema history and the camera’s gaze to explore the exploitation and erasure of Black Americans. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/nope-is-one-of-the-great-movies-about-moviemaking)
- **RogerEbert.com**, Nick Allen (3.5/4): Allen finds the film an ambitious, entertaining spectacle with an unsettling edge. He particularly praises Keke Palmer’s lively performance. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/nope-movie-review-2022)
- **Vulture**, Alison Willmore (85/100, inferred): Willmore finds the film thrilling and incisive, with a compelling critique of celebrity and spectacle. She particularly praises the unsettling use of the wide skies and the frightening flashbacks to Jupe’s sitcom past. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/article/nope-is-jordan-peeles-darkest-horror-comedy-to-date.html)
- **Time Out**, Phil de Semlyen (4/5): The critic finds it stylish, unsettling and hugely entertaining. They single out Peele’s channeling of 1950s sci-fi scares as a strength. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/nope-2022)
- **Total Film**, Jamie Graham (4/5): Graham calls the film a thrilling, original event movie and says Peele is three for three. He praises its suspenseful build-up, unsettling imagery, and spectacular scale. [Read](https://www.gamesradar.com/nope-review-jordan-peele/)
- **Empire**, Kambole Campbell (78/100, inferred): Campbell calls Nope an ambitious, provocative original blockbuster that balances crowd-pleasing thrills with a critique of Hollywood. He particularly praises Peele’s control of perspective and the visceral, visually striking horror set-pieces. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/nope/)
- **Screen Daily**, Tim Grierson (75/100, inferred): Grierson presents the film as a thrillingly ambitious achievement. He singles out its reach and ambition, though the paywall hides the full review. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/nope-review/5172764.article)
- **Slant Magazine**, Chris Barsanti (3/4): Barsanti finds the film an effective thriller whose ambitious meta-commentary does not fully cohere. He praises its tense, humorous near-escape sequences and the cast’s performances, while noting that the chimpanzee flashback feels disconnected. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/nope-review-jordan-peele/)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, Lovia Gyarkye (75/100, inferred): Gyarkye finds the film rapturous and ambitious, though its sprawling approach may frustrate some viewers. She praises Daniel Kaluuya’s expressive performance and the cinematography and score that sustain the suspense. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/jordan-peele-nope-film-daniel-kaluuya-1235182873/)
- **Radio Times**, Max Copeman (70/100, inferred): The review suggests the film delivers a clearly positive spectacle, whatever viewers make of its meaning. It singles out the spectacle as the film’s chief strength. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/nope-review/)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Justin Chang (65/100, inferred): Chang finds the film imaginative and unusually well-crafted, though its high-mindedness and closing stretch sometimes undermine its ambitions. He especially praises Peele’s visual craft and the striking images that build suspense while supporting the film’s critique of spectacle. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2022-07-20/nope-review-jordan-peele-keke-palmer-daniel-kaluuya)
- **Sight and Sound** (65/100, inferred): The critic finds the film worth seeing but uneven, with its genre pleasures lacking clarity, tension and bite. The expansive sky imagery and eerie sound design make its watching-and-being-watched conceit especially compelling. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/nope-horrors-being-seen)
- **The AV Club**, Todd Gilchrist (C+): The review finds Nope ambitious and exciting but muddled, with its metaphors outpacing clear storytelling. It praises a barn sequence as brilliant, edge-of-your-seat entertainment, while faulting the film’s pacing and connective logic. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/nope-review-jordan-peele-daniel-kaluuya-keke-palmer-1849198574)
- **The Guardian**, Mark Kermode (40/100, inferred): Kermode finds the film ambitious and often startling, but ultimately less than the sum of its parts. He praises its gorgeously rendered night-time vistas while faulting its pacing and uncertain balance of ideas with blockbuster spectacle. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/aug/14/nope-review-jordan-peele-daniel-kaluuya)
- **The i Paper**, Geoffrey Macnab (40/100, inferred): Macnab finds the film visually majestic and full of striking ideas, but says its disjointed story and clunky finale weaken it. He particularly praises the cinematography and landscapes while faulting the lack of suspense compared with Peele’s earlier films. [Read](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/nope-review-jordan-peele-horror-movie-get-out-1752753)
- **Variety**, Owen Gleiberman (40/100, inferred): The critic finds the film atmospherically compelling but ultimately arbitrary and over-sprawling. He praises its seductive mood of unease, while faulting its scattered plot and weak logic. [Read](https://variety.com/2022/film/reviews/nope-review-jordan-peele-daniel-kaluuya-keke-palmer-1235320483/)
- **Collider**, Ross Bonaime (A-): Bonaime finds Peele at his most ambitious, entertaining, and assured, praising the film’s confident blend of horror, adventure, and humor. He especially singles out Keke Palmer’s magnetic performance and the film’s carefully controlled revelations. [Read](https://collider.com/nope-movie-review-jordan-peele-keke-palmer-daniel-kaluuya/)
- **/Film**, Chris Evangelista (9/10): The critic calls it Peele’s most enjoyable film so far, even if it is not his best. They praise its spectacular filmmaking, especially the IMAX cinematography and visceral sound design. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/934123/nope-review-jordan-peele-stages-an-absolute-spectacle-with-his-scary-funny-sci-fi-blockbuster/)
- **Consequence**, Clint Worthington (85/100, inferred): Worthington finds the film a thrilling, special blockbuster whose maximalism makes its many tonal and thematic shifts work. He especially praises its expansive cinematography and the final stretch’s creature-feature thrills. [Read](https://consequence.net/2022/07/nope-movie-review-jordan-peele/2/)
- **Paste**, Saffron Maeve (8.5/10): Maeve praises Nope as a self-assured, thrilling work of American mythmaking. She singles out Steven Yeun’s exceptional performance and the film’s layered engagement with Hollywood spectacle and Black cinematic lineage. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/jordan-peele/nope-review)
- **NME** (75/100, inferred): The review recommends the film despite its unusual genre shifts. It praises Peele’s blending of comedy and horror, along with performances that make the story rewarding to revisit. [Read](https://www.nme.com/reviews/film-reviews/nope-review-jordan-peele-daniel-kaluuya-keke-palmer-3289006)
- **Den of Geek**, Don Kaye (3/5): The review finds Nope ambitious and visually impressive, but ultimately muddled, with an incoherent third act and themes that never come together. It praises the cinematography and immersive visuals, especially the vast skies and visceral attack sequences. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/nope-review-jordan-peele-daniel-kaluuya/)
- **The Wrap**, Alonso Duralde (35/100, inferred): The critic finds the film ambitious but ultimately incohesive, with its many ideas failing to form a satisfying whole. They praise the suspenseful scenes and single out Brandon Perea for a memorable comic performance. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/nope-film-review-jordan-peele-2022-keke-palmer-daniel-kaluuya/)
- **Film Stories**, Lauren Miles (30/100, inferred): The review finds Nope visually impressive but ultimately muddled and disappointing, with its tension fading by the final act. It praises the atmospheric nighttime lighting and the expressive performances of Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer. [Read](https://filmstories.co.uk/reviews/nope-review-jordan-peeles-third-film-lands/)
- **Polygon**, Robert Daniels (30/100, inferred): The critic calls Nope Peele’s weakest film, an entertaining but unwieldy collection of scenes rather than a compelling whole. They praise its eerie stable sequence and comic performances, but fault the underdeveloped characters and bloated pacing. [Read](https://www.polygon.com/reviews/23271422/jordan-peele-nope-review-alien-invasion/)

## Details

- **Director:** Jordan Peele
- **Director:** Jordan Peele
- **Writer:** Jordan Peele
- **Cinematography:** Hoyte van Hoytema
- **Editor:** Nicholas Monsour
- **Music:** Michael Abels
- **Production design:** Ruth De Jong
- **Costume design:** Alex Bovaird
- **Producer:** Jordan Peele, Ian Cooper
- **Cast:** Daniel Kaluuya as OJ Haywood; Keke Palmer as Emerald Haywood; Brandon Perea as Angel Torres; Michael Wincott as Antlers Holst; Steven Yeun as Ricky 'Jupe' Park; Wrenn Schmidt as Amber Park; Keith David as Otis Haywood Sr.; Devon Graye as Ryder Muybridge
- **Runtime:** 2h 10m
- **Certificate (MPA):** R
- **Release (the US):** 22 July 2022
- **Genres:** Horror, Science Fiction, Thriller
- **Budget:** $68 million
- **Box office:** $172 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJKNxP-tjIQ

## Where to watch in the US

- Netflix: streaming
- Apple TV: rent $3.99, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, uhd
- Apple TV: buy $14.99, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy $14.99, uhd

*Checked 2026-09-30.*

Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, ID, IE, IL, IN, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, TH, TR, UA, US, VN, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## If you liked this

- *Jaws* (1975), Fi1m 93: Spielberg’s one-monster film is the template Peele is working from, right down to the pacing. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/jaws.md)
- *The Host* (2006): Bong Joon-ho’s river monster, with a bickering family who turn out to be the point.
- *Signs* (2002), Fi1m 76: A farm, a cornfield and something in the sky; quieter, stranger and just as sincere. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/signs.md)
- *Attack the Block* (2011), Fi1m 84: Aliens over a south London estate; the same mix of jokes and terror in ninety minutes. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/attack-the-block.md)
- *Close Encounters of the Third Kind* (1977), Fi1m 85: Spielberg looks up at the same sky and finds wonder where Peele finds an appetite. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/close-encounters-of-the-third-kind.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/nope