The inhabitants of a lost valley in the depths of California witness a terrifying discovery of a supernatural nature.
Jordan Peele wanted to make “a big alien movie, a flying saucer movie,” in his own words. He continues: “And not just a horror film based on flying saucers but really the very essence of this sub-genre. It’s a difficult genre to implement well, because you have to think very big. ..””Since the film takes place in the sky. Encounters of the 3rd Kind marked me a lot by its scale.
It was one of my very big expectations of the year, and it feels good to see such a singular, audacious and formally mastered film in the American “blockbusteresque” landscape.
Because yes, with Nope, Peele takes a turn vis-à-vis his 2 previous films (which had very rikiki budgets in comparison), to finally give birth to a much more ample and impressive film, but which totally retains the paw of its author.
Thus, Jordan makes his own UFO film, a true declaration of love to Spielberg and Carpenter, while ultimately being a very original rereading of the concept (and clearly I won’t reveal more about the ins and outs).
Even more than Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the major influence is Jaws, as the director imagines the sky as a filmic playground to both amaze and terrify us.
Here, no ocean or shark, but clouds and a mysterious threat that even happens at regular intervals to spin us an impossible tension at the mere sight of something so trivial.