Watching Jordan Peele evolve as a director over the course of just three films has been fascinating to watch. While his first film, Get Out, was a precise knockout that blended horror and social commentary, while Us was a bit shaggier, yet even more terrifying, as Peele told a story that left haunting open-ended questions in its wake. With his third film, Nope, Peele is at his most expansive, his most adventurous as a filmmaker, and having more fun than we’ve seen from him in his already impressive filmography. With Nope, Peele once again proves that he’s not just one of the most interesting filmmakers working in horror today, he’s one of the most interesting filmmakers working, period.

Nope centers around the sibling ranch owners OJ (Daniel Kaluuya) and Emerald Haywood (Keke Palmer), who take over Haywood’s Hollywood Horses after their father Otis Haywood Sr. (Keith David) dies mysteriously. The Haywood family are direct descendants of the jockey riding a horse in the first film ever made, “The Galloping Horse,” and the Haywood’s continue in the family business, providing horses for various entertainment projects. But with the surprising death of Otis, the ranch has seen better days.

One night, OJ notices an unidentified flying object in the sky, and he and Emerald decide to try and capture footage that could help save their farm, and probably make them famous as well. With Ricky “Jupe” Park (Steven Yeun), a former child star and owner of the Western-themed amusement park Jupiter’s Claim offering to buy their farm, OJ and Emerald—along with the help of Fry’s Electronics employee Angel Torres (Brandon Perea)—attempt to prove that the truth is out there.

keke-palmer-daniel-kaluuya-nope-2022-1
Image via Universal

RELATED: First 'Nope' Reactions Call Jordan Peele's Movie Indescribable, Divisive, and Terrifying

Stylistically, Nope feels in line with other iconic director’s third theatrical films, like Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind, or M. Night Shyamalan’s Signs. Yet instead of Spielberg’s alien films, Nope maybe feels most like Jaws, but instead of looking to the oceans for a sign of life, we’re looking to the skies for proof. Peele, along with editor Nicholas Monsour, knows exactly where to place the camera to maximize the unsettling nature of this story, as well as exactly when to cut away from a haunting moment. Peele and Monsour carefully keep the mysteries of this story close to the chest, slowly revealing details with brilliant precision and care.

But this excitement of what is really going on in the skies, and the dynamic between OJ and Emerald make this Peele’s most flat-out entertaining film, more of an exciting adventure with horror elements thrown in for good measure. Peele shot Nope with IMAX cameras, which leads to this story feeling massive in scope—even though it mostly takes place in a California gulch. Once again, Peele proves that he’s a master of tone and handling situations in just the right way. Peele blends unnerving imagery and astounding concept with just the right amount of humor that breaks the tension when it becomes almost too unbearable.

While Nope might not be as overt in its messaging as Get Out or Us, Peele explores ideas about the beauty of filmmaking and practical effects, trauma, and how Hollywood can easily dispose of its artists. But Peele does all this with a subtlety that he’s never shown at this level before, making these elements essential to the story, but without being too overt with the point he’s trying to make. While this might be his most bombastic film in terms of what he’s attempting to it, it’s also maybe his most understated in its messaging.

nope-jordan-peele-daniel-kaluuya

But not only is this maybe Peele’s most amusing film, but it’s also arguably his funniest, thanks to his fantastic cast that knows just how to react in these insane situations. From the moment she literally steals her opening scene, Palmer is phenomenal here. Emerald is a joy to watch in every scene, and her demonstrative attitude balances well with the muted and still performance coming from Kaluuya. Yet despite this, OJ is a blast to follow as well, and while he doesn’t say much, his expressive eyes say so much, and almost every time Kaluuya opens his mouth, it’s important or absolutely hilarious. Also excellent is Yeun, and his past trauma leads to some of the most uncomfortable and strangest moments in the film, while Michael Wincott is an excellent choice for documentarian Antlers Holst, Nope’s version of Jaws’ Quint. When Nope really gets cooking and Kaluuya, Palmer, Perea, and Wincott are working together, it’s truly some of the most captivating filmmaking in a film this year.

The real beauty of Nope, however, is watching Peele explore this playground, continuing to prove that he’s a maestro at crafting stories that are extremely weird, yet engrossing and impressive to watch. Few filmmakers can boast a filmography as fantastic as Peele already has after three films, and it’s truly exciting to watch him go all out and explore his unique visions in whatever capacity he wants. At this point, Peele has proven expertise as a director and his virtuosity in achieving his vision that no matter what the narrative, every Peele story feels distinctly his, and like the viewer is in the capable hands of a truly great filmmaker.

This might all sound hyperbolic, but it’s hard not to be blown away by this library that Peele has made for himself, and to watch yet another ingenious tale from the mind of Peele unravel on the screen. Between Get Out, Us, and now, Nope, Peele is exploring his capabilities as a filmmaker, and the more experimental and grand he gets, the more he proves that he is more than able to bring his dreams to life. Peele reaffirms that there’s nothing like his films today, and it’s truly a wonder to behold Peele in his element with a film like Nope.

Rating: A-

Nope opens in theaters on July 22.