From the mind of Jordan Peele comes his latest, the story of a force that takes over a small town in California.

OJ is a horse trainer who while on his family ranch, hears a strange noise and things start dropping to the ground, which results in his father’s death. Nearly down and out, OJ and his sister Emerald take over the family business and when they fail to do a successful shoot, OJ decides to sell his horse Lucky to Jupe, the owner of a Western-style amusement park. Jupe was once a child star who had a bad experience on set when the chimpanzee on set went ballistic and killed everyone but him.

When OJ begins to hear the noise again, he is convinced that aliens are responsible. With the help of Angel, an expert in installing cameras, OJ and Emerald soon learn that before the alien ship comes, it stops all things electrical. When Jupe knows of the ship and makes it a part of his show, things usually come well. However, on this day, it might not come as planned. With the help of Antlers, an expert in cinematography who knows the intricacies of the camera, OJ, Emerald, and Angel will risk it all to prove that aliens do in fact exist.

Get Out dealt with racism in a modern world done in a hypnotic kind of way. Us dealt with alternate clones who go psycho on their counterparts. After producing the successful Candyman reboot directed by Nia DaCosta, Jordan Peele finally unleashes his next film. This time, he goes for more of a sci-fi theme meshed with his love of horror. Compared to his previous two, it’s an okay film, but there are a few flaws that make the film someone a bit inferior compared to the others.

Daniel Kaluuya, returning from Get Out, gives off a somber performance as OJ, someone who has been reeling from his father’s death. Played in a cameo by Keith David, we see the first time OJ experiences the alien threat and the impact it takes on his life. He is clearly someone who is hurting so much and his relationship with his sister, played by Keke Palmer, isn’t any better. As for Palmer, she has a tendency to overdo her acting in the role of Emerald, which brings more of a hindrance to the overall film rather than amplify it. There are a few moments where she does okay, but with her character being somewhat arrogant and too outgoing, it leads to the overacting.

Steven Yeun is quite interesting in the role of Jupe, a former child star turned Western-style amusement park owner. He is filled with joy and optimism and yet deep down; he is hiding a sense of childhood trauma that he would rather forget but somehow be connected to the basis of the film. The film is a welcome return for Michael Wincott, who plays cameraman Antlers, who at first seems like a secondary character until he is needed by our protagonists while Brandon Perea’s Angel is quite the believer and is willing to go above and beyond to help our sibling protagonists to prove there is life out there and it is hungry.

Nope is not a bad film, but compared to his previous films, it is a bit inferior to Jordan Peele’s Get Out and Us. Despite a good cast, some overcasting and a bit of confusion in the overall plot makes this a watch once film.

WFG RATING: B

Universal Pictures presents a Monkeypaw Productions film. Director: Jordan Peele. Producers: Jordan Peele and Ian Cooper. Writer: Jordan Peele. Cinematography: Hoyte Van Hoytema. Editing: Nicholas Monsour.

Cast: Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, Steven Yeun, Brandon Perea, Michael Wincott, Wrenn Schmidt, Keith David, Devon Graye, Terry Notary, Barbie Ferreira, Osgood Perkins, Donna Mills, Eddie Jemison.