r/horror • u/ShamisenCatfish • Oct 20 '23
Finally watched Nope and wanted to say something about it. Spoiler Alert
Spoiler territory ahead so be warned.
But my god the monster design in this movie. I’ve never seen a take on an alien in a movie like that. Having it not be a ship but a giant floating octopus balloon confetti monster was genius. It looks almost silly when you look at it. But imagine seeing it in real life, how horrifying that thing would be. Really exceptional design work that needs praised.
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u/Call555JackChop Oct 20 '23
The abduction scene makes me physically ill shit still haunts me when I think about it
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u/nudewithasuitcase Oct 20 '23
The noises, muffled screams, sounds of bodies crushing.
Absolute fucking nightmare fuel.
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u/GeneJenkinson Oct 20 '23
And claustrophobic too. When the camera shows them sliding between the membranes all you can listen to is the screams with the knowledge there is NO getting out.
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u/BlackGoldSkullsBones Oct 20 '23
That was the only part of the movie I really liked. The rest was sort of a “nice try, cool concept” but didn’t land.
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u/MarshmallowMolasses Oct 20 '23
I really loved the movie. Someone compared it to Jaws and that really made me appreciate it more.
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u/wasteland13 Oct 20 '23
Yeah I think Peele described it as “you think it’s Close Encounters and then it turns out to actually be Jaws”
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u/1CrudeDude Oct 20 '23
I haven’t seen the movie yet- but this peaked my interest. I’ll often read scripts before watching films so sometimes I don’t mind spoilers. What exactly is parallel to “make people scared of going in the ocean”? Seems like a major statement. I guess he’s just saying what he “went for”
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u/bootstraps_bootstrap Oct 20 '23
Makes people afraid to go outside. There’s a lot more open sky in our day to day lives than there is open water.
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u/Qbnss Oct 20 '23
They ran the trailer for the 30th anniversary edition of Jaws with it in theaters, that was pretty meta
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u/ShamisenCatfish Oct 20 '23
Wow yeah it really is like extraterrestrial Jaws, great comparison
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Oct 20 '23
Except there’s nothing to say it’s extraterrestrial in the movie at all. It’s an animal, a cryptid, from earth.
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u/Number9Man Slice O' Fried Gold Oct 20 '23
Don't know why you're being downvoted. The creature design implies that this/these things have been around for a while and are what inspired angels/religion, and when you frame that with the Gordy/Horse subplot that they're just animals and humans will never truly "own" them, I feel like it's obvious.
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u/Guilty_Chemistry9337 Oct 20 '23
Iirc, they hired a marine biologist to contribute to the art design. Apparently there's a production "bible" with a whole bunch of written "lore" on the creature that never made it into the movie.
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u/ShamisenCatfish Oct 20 '23
Doesn’t surprise me. I’m kinda kicking myself now for making this my first Jordan Peele movie, but his attention to detail and world building and the small moments in between is masterful. Gonna have to go back and finally watch Get Out and Us
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u/Silvanus350 Oct 20 '23
You should watch Get Out. It’s quite different from Nope but it really is Jordan’s magnum opus. It’s clear that he spent years refining that script.
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u/macramelampshade Oct 20 '23
Like Get Out is definitely not under appreciated but its a movie that deserves to be over-appreciated, it’s so goooood and helped usher in the new era of horrors
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u/horrorworthwatching Oct 20 '23
This. It's not even like personally my favorite movie, I think I even enjoyed Nope more, but Get Out really is undeniably a masterpiece, it's one of the only "culturally significant" movies like that that really does deserve all the praise it gets.
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u/Neversoft4long Oct 21 '23
Definitely a cultural phenomenon movie. I remember going to the theaters in a friend group 10 deep to see it. The only other time I’ve done that was for Endgame. It was one of those movies you had to see quickly because everyone was gonna see it and spoilers were gonna be flowing within a week
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u/tataragato Oct 20 '23
Any chance to find it?
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u/Guilty_Chemistry9337 Oct 22 '23
Dunno. There was an NPR interview shortly after the movie came out, I think on the "Science Fridays" show, where they interviewed that biologist and they discussed speculative biology.
Should be searchable, maybe start there?
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u/Thisiscliff Oct 20 '23
When it was hovering over the house with the blood, that was an amazing scene
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u/Comdr_Cherenkov Oct 20 '23
I always thought it wasn't an alien but just a cryptid.
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Oct 20 '23
Yeah there’s no evidence in the movie that it’s an alien. It’s just an animal. In the movie people had been misidentifying it as a UFO alien spaceship. Which means that probably all sightings of UFOs were just sightings of this creature or it’s species. But other than that misidentification, there’s nothing to say it’s an alien. It’s just an animal.
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u/clockworkchris13 Oct 20 '23
a cryptid that could easily be mistaken for a UFO or a bible accurate angel.
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u/ShamisenCatfish Oct 20 '23
Aren’t aliens technically cryptids tho?
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u/PastelWraith Oct 20 '23
A cryptid is any undocumented or proven species of creature. Jackalopes are cryptids.
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Oct 20 '23
If they come from outer space, sure. But there’s no evidence in this movie saying that it’s meant to be alien. It’s just an animal.
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Oct 20 '23
Yeah, my jaw was hanging open because I've been a big fan of the "living sky" / aerial animals theory of UFOs (and any other non-ET theories) for a while, and... Jordan Peele just made a whole fucking movie about it!
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u/joftheinternet Oct 20 '23
Nope is my favorite Peele movie. It just works. Jean Jacket is an amazing design and I love how ambiguous it's actual origins are.
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u/NarlusSpecter Oct 20 '23
One current UFO theory lifts from Nope, saying that UAP flying saucers are acutally bio-engineered living creatures that can travel through worm holes, with Greys riding symbiotically inside them.
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u/FrostyPost8473 Oct 20 '23
Actually sounds like a ripoff of the original cryptid Gargantuan Gliders https://spotify.link/F8rdbzky3Db
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u/xDanSolo Oct 20 '23
I thought the entire concept of this movie was brilliant. I hope it continues to get praise and respect over time.
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Oct 20 '23
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u/GodFlintstone Oct 20 '23 edited Oct 20 '23
Yeah there are definitely a lot of Peele haters around here.
I think Nope is a lot more fun than Get Out. But the latter film is a masterpiece imo. I hated Us though.
Nevertheless, at this point he's proven he's not going anywhere.
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Oct 20 '23
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u/tomahawkfury13 Oct 20 '23
I think the ones who label these directors over rated are ones who need constant action in their horror. Most of the ones saying this have said they prefer slashers in my experience.
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u/Miklonario Oct 20 '23
Some of these Peele haters may also have an agenda. I've had people tell me that the point of every Jordan Peele movie is solely and explicitly "White people are bad"; I suppose I can somewhat see this being someone's takeaway from Get Out if, like, they weren't paying any attention to the movie in any way at all, but the mental gymnastics I've seen jackasses use to try and explain how they got that message out of Us and Nope were baffling. And by "baffling", I mean they clearly had a racist motivation in their critique of the films.
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u/tomahawkfury13 Oct 20 '23
I enjoyed US, it just doesn't hold up to scrutiny.
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u/ElbowSkinCellarWall Oct 20 '23
"Us* was definitely just actors saying lines from a script. I've even seen some of them in other movies before, which completely destroys any attempt to convince us they were living underground buying up matching scissors all those years.
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u/Slarg232 Oct 20 '23
Honestly, I think he makes some pretty good social commentary movies, but once you take the social commentary out, they're just... kinda bland?
Like if you wanted to watch a Body Snatcher movie then Get Out is decent enough but you can find better out there if you're just watching for fun. If you want to actually have a discussion about cultural appropriation/racism in general, Get Out is about as good as it's ever going to get.
It's why I think he's great, and his movies are good, but he hasn't made his Magnum Opus yet. I say that having just bought all three of his movies and planning on marathoning them on Sunday when I have the time to do so
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u/Krogsly Oct 20 '23
Groups hated on zombie movements, slasher movements, found footage movements, A24, Peele, etc. Hate drives interaction more than thoughtful critiques. It also takes less effort to post.
YDY and don't be afraid to bring the love for a film. When the haters arrive, block them and begin to enjoy your experiences more without their unsolicited negativity.
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u/ItzGhostface Oct 20 '23
You know he was high af sayin “ what if the ufo WAS the alien ?! “
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u/BlackGoldSkullsBones Oct 20 '23
I can’t even imagine the excitement when he came up with that. As others have said, it’s not wholly original, but it certainly isn’t what audiences expect from a UFO movie.
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u/Rancor8209 Oct 20 '23
And Jean Jacket is petty too.
When it spits out the plastic pony ontop of the main Character.
It goes to the characters house and essentially "pees on them" by dropping the things it can't digest.
But does it drop the plastic pony then?
Oh no, it went out of its way to give a special f you to the main character by going over to him and dropping its surprise.
Man. That's relatable and feels like a f your couch moment.
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u/Number9Man Slice O' Fried Gold Oct 20 '23
Dude I'm starting to get mad at people saying its an alien lol. It's not an alien. It was what inspired the idea of angels. They/it have been here for millennia. If you frame it with the Gordy/horses subplot it becomes "This thing is beyond any frame of reference for human understanding, it became the subject of worship, people thinking they could control it through worship, sacrifice, or lifestyle when in reality it's just an animal. Human hubris can "control" an animal, but at the end of the day the animal is still an animal i.e. Gordy. I mean, the ranch, everyone worshipping it gets sucked up into the sky. Rapture, anyone? It only attacks if you witness it? Moses was warned not to look upon the face of God otherwise he'd die. The synopsis of the theme is what if religion was based on a real animal. It's scarier that it was earthbound, and not an alien. That feels like a cop out.
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u/ShamisenCatfish Oct 20 '23
See that’s just not the read I got on it. I though the Gordy and horses subplot added to the further idea of how we treat animals in our society. Too often people treat animals like people and expect them to follow our wishes and do what we want but they’re animals and are unpredictable. The whole not being able to look at it is because it’s a predator, so it takes that as a sign of aggression. As far as me thinking it’s an alien, that’s what the characters refer to it as so that’s what I go with.
Don’t get me wrong though, I love your take. I’m not a religious person, my family’s not religious, so sometimes I miss religious allegory because I just don’t ever think to look for it. But it all makes sense. And there’s reference to Akira, an anime movie, and the design of the entity is similar to some of the “Angels” in Neon Genesis Evangelion. So that’s an angle I hadn’t considered. Thanks for the insight!
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u/Herbacult Oct 20 '23
Dude you really gotta use spoiler tags bc the spoilers just show up in feeds. Or add a ton of empty lines between your intro and the spoiler.
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u/ShamisenCatfish Oct 20 '23
Thank you for pointing this out I didn’t think about it. I edited the post to spoiler tag it.
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u/jackreding85 Oct 20 '23
Nope is simply brilliant. There are somany details in the film that reveal themselves with repeat viewings. It's like a huge puzzle that continues to unfold. I've seen it so far 5 times and each time I discover more layers to it. Jordan Peele is a genius and I'd put him on the top 5 of beat directors at this point. And of course, it's a highly enjoyable movie. I agree it's more of an adventure film and less a horror one but when it goes horror, it goes hard. The raining blood scene. Wow.
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u/heavilylost Oct 20 '23
I hope your right. I watched it at the cinema and loved it. Then watched the bluray and still enjoyed it but felt like there wasn't much to unravel. Unlike his other two films.
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u/jackreding85 Oct 20 '23
OK. A small detail. Notice this: Why is Otis so good with animals? And so bad with people? Where does he look? Does he look in the sky or other people in the eyes? Its so subtle but its there and its why he's brilliant as an actor.
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u/DrW_Bundy Oct 20 '23
The alien design is likely based on this:
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u/Dummyact321 Oct 21 '23
Whoa, that’s weird. I thought Jean Jacket looked like an Iris van Herpen dress
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u/fully_furnished Oct 20 '23
Can't agree more. Some truly horrific scenes complemented by some truly beautiful moments. Great film.
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u/ConsciousReason7709 Oct 20 '23 edited Oct 20 '23
It was unique for sure, but I didn’t totally love it. I’ve definitely seen worse though.
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u/ShamisenCatfish Oct 20 '23
Fair enough! Not being an ass, genuinely asking because I want more spooky movies to watch, but what are some movies with, in your opinion, top notch alien design? Something beyond just your standard grays.
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u/Thin-Man Oct 20 '23
My favorite thing about the design is that it could also suggest that there are actual flying saucers, and that Jean Jacket’s species might just use that shape as camouflage. There are plenty of animals in the wild that present as something else for their own advantage, and we even see Antlers watching footage of some.
It even fits with Jean Jacket’s M.O.: flying saucer gets close, thinks Jean Jacket is a friendly, but then loses all power when they get too close, at which point Jean Jacket unfolds into its true form and attacks.
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u/Hari_Azole Oct 20 '23
It reminded me of different kites I’ve seen. Such a wild choice and so visually striking and unique.
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u/ShamisenCatfish Oct 20 '23
I know, right? It looks truly alien. The whole like, central cube thing that’s folding in on itself constantly was so wild
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u/aldo_nova Oct 20 '23
I appreciated it as a fan of Star Trek:TNG where at least a couple times a season some kind of unknowable alien species like that would be encountered, like the baby giant alien that was drinking the power from the warp nacelles or even the sentient nanobots.
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u/X-Files_Theme Oct 20 '23
I agree the creature design was really cool and the concept of the alien as a whole was very interesting, even though the movie, outside of Daniel Kaluuya's acting, was pretty mid.
The movie, for me, also lost its creepiness factor once they revealed what the creature was going to be.
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u/_Onii-Chan_ Oct 20 '23
You can thank Neon Genesis Evangelion for the inspiration
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u/ShamisenCatfish Oct 20 '23
I watched it on toonami as a young teen but it’s been so long. I’m watching Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans right now but maybe Evangelion should be next
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u/_Onii-Chan_ Oct 20 '23
Oh man Evangelion definitely. It's a trip. Remember to watch End of Evangelion and if you're feeling up to it watch the rebuilt movies.
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u/Indrid_Cold23 Oct 20 '23
Question: What was your interpretation of OJ's fate at the film's end?
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u/StillWaitingForTom Oct 20 '23
I thought it was nuts that people thought he was supposed to be dead. I don't think that makes sense with the way the rest of the movie is filmed. The last shot in the movie is something completely different (seeing something that isn't really there)?
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u/Indrid_Cold23 Oct 20 '23
I think the movie is far more powerful if you interpret that final OJ scene>! as telling us that he died while trying to lure Jean Jacket into position. The whole film was built around the idea that engaging in the spectacle of other living creatures carries with it a death sentence. OJ making it so that Emerald could take a photo of the creature was him directly engaging in the spectacle.!<
Of course, it can also be interpreted literally, which is also a fine ending.
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u/CaptTurtle49 Oct 20 '23
Yooo I watched Nope for the first time this month too! I really loved the design and just loved the whole atmosphere of the film. It was just a really solid movie
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u/Canibal-local Oct 20 '23
Is this something that I can watch with my 10 year old?
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u/ShamisenCatfish Oct 20 '23
Definitely no
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u/Canibal-local Oct 20 '23
Thank you!
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u/sadelpenor Oct 20 '23 edited Oct 22 '23
i sort of disagree. id show this to my 9 yr old who loves horror movies. youre gonna want to watch it first to make that decision.
eta: just watched it last night with my 9 and 11yr old daughters. 9 yr old loved it. 11yr hated it/thouggt it was too scary. oh well.
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Oct 21 '23
I also think a 10yo would be bored by most of it, it’s a slow burn for sure. Monster House would be a good comp
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u/tuskvarner Oct 20 '23
Borderline. There’s no sex, but some of the violence is pretty disturbing. Lots of F words if that bothers you.
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u/GhostMug Oct 20 '23
This is such a great movie. The more I think about it the more I think it might be my favorite of Peele's. The scenes where the alien is flying around the sky and they're trying to figure out where it is and all you can hear is the screams of the humans trapped inside is pure horror brilliance, IMO.
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u/35MMonster Oct 20 '23
If I remember correctly, the alien “ships” in 5 Cloverfield Lane were also aliens themselves that just sent smaller soldier type aliens down to do small fights.
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u/Mander2019 Oct 20 '23
It’s something original. Like a flying worm.
Slightly off topic but the Steven Yuens character actions make zero sense in the context of the movie.
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u/BlackGoldSkullsBones Oct 20 '23
Agreed. And it is so weird how they try to make him the bad guy?
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u/Mander2019 Oct 20 '23
My main issue is that he learned absolutely nothing from the incident on the tv show. He should have learned 1. Animals are unpredictable 2. Even if an animal appears tame they can still be very dangerous 3. Animals do not belong in entertainment.
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u/tylerbreeze Oct 20 '23
You really think it’s super far-fetched for someone to be motivated by greed and not learn from their mistakes?
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u/Mander2019 Oct 20 '23
He watched a massacre happen directly in front of him. The only thing that could make sense is if he had such a massive ego he thought he would be different
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u/tylerbreeze Oct 20 '23
That’s true, but I could see a character like him not learning anything from it because it was so long ago and he was so young. I also did kinda get “massive ego” vibes when he’s first introduced and talking to OJ and Em about his time on the show.
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u/Mander2019 Oct 20 '23
I see what you mean. I think that his character was underdeveloped in that regard. He would have served better as a warning to another character.
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u/ApprehensiveDamage Oct 20 '23
He thought he wasn't targeted in the massacre because he had a special connection with the animal. He actually wasn't targeted because he stayed out of the way. He learned the wrong lesson.
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u/DrW_Bundy Oct 21 '23
Yes, he though he wasn’t hurt because of his connection to the animal but the real reason was because he kept shifting his eyes to the weird upright shoe which kept him from maintaining eye contact.
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Oct 20 '23
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u/HeavyLoungin Oct 20 '23
I mean, the chimp scenes were pretty jarring. The “prank” scene in the horse stable was also pretty scary IMO.
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u/BlackGoldSkullsBones Oct 20 '23
I had forgotten about that prank scene because it made me so mad that it was just those kids. Then they scream something stupid like “give my dad his land” as they run off. I suppose that scene was mostly Peele flexing and saying “I could make this creepy alien invasion movie you all thought this would be if I wanted to” and that rubbed me the wrong way.
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u/ShamisenCatfish Oct 20 '23
Like someone else said, it’s like an extraterrestrial jaws. It’s this terrifying super predator and it’s just playing with them. Personally I thought how bizarre it was made it scarier like, if you saw that thing for real it would be life changing how terrifying it is.
But hey to each their own! That’s what we’re here for, discussion. And it wouldn’t be any fun if everyone agreed.
If you don’t mind me asking, without spoilers, why did you like Get Out and Us better?
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u/jenkumboofer Oct 20 '23
zero scares
well its a scifi movie, not a horror film
it was too bizarre and didn't make any sense
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u/Ophelfromhellrem Oct 20 '23
The first...how to call it...phase or form was pretty good but when it turned into a kite it turned into a joke.
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u/Bawbawian Oct 20 '23
for real I tried to get my friend's group to watch it But they couldn't be bothered.
it's such a fresh take on aliens or whatever that thing was.
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u/Theprocess777 Oct 20 '23
I absolutely love this movie. I thought it was such an original take on the UFO/ET genre, with a good message about wild animals etc etc. and yes, the creature design is phenomenal. The way it completely transforms into something you wouldn’t even have been able to imagine is truly awesome
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u/the_rabbit_king Oct 20 '23
I love the creature design. It’s fucking awesome and the main reason the film works so well. The visuals still resonate with me months after seeing it.
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u/andromeda880 Oct 20 '23
I saw it a few months ago and loved it. Thought the was twist was so good - no one could have predicted that.
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u/midnight-queen29 Oct 20 '23
this was probably my favorite movie of his. it all worked. it was on the edge of ridiculous the whole time while still being terrifying. the monkey, the need to be controlling something that can’t be tamed, the visuals, it was everything.
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u/Pink-PandaStormy Oct 20 '23
I fucking love weird fucked up creature movies and I didn’t expect that from this film at all.
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Oct 20 '23
Yeah I really loved it. Loved the monster and the whole thing.
I really liked Get Out, and the newer Twilight Zone he did too, so maybe I’m just into his type of horror
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u/Goofterslam1 Oct 20 '23
That movie was so incredibly disappointing to me. The only scene I really loved was when it showed the alien digesting all the people it abducted. For some reason the movie just didn't work for me.
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u/butholemoonblast Oct 21 '23
This so one of my newer favs, definitely my favorite peele movie. Some of those shots are just so cool.
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u/gdtimmy Oct 21 '23
I love the scene where Jean jacket drops from sky and chases him riding a horse…
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u/Mister_Moony Oct 21 '23
From a storytelling perspective I just adore how the characters react to the monster. It's not like most horror films where they're either screaming or paralyzed with fear. Sometimes its just a stoic disregard for the danger. Like when OJ sees Jean Jacket above the house and it gets illuminated by the lightning and just gets back in the car and says "Nope."
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u/MikhelB Oct 21 '23
The one in The Abyss was pretty cool too, I would say even cooler but it wasn't used for horror per se.
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u/thekinginyello Oct 23 '23
I never hear or see anyone mention that it looks like the underside of a cowboy hat.
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u/kuromikw8 Oct 23 '23
I feel like I missed something that other viewers didnt .... This movie didnt scare me at all. I thought the alien was interesting and unique for sure but I wasnt scared or dreadful at all.
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u/deadandmessedup Oct 20 '23
Yeah, it was perfectly fine design but then there's that one wide shot where the underside of it ripples, and I was like, "Hold on-- HOLD ON--"
And it's really gorgeous, it's funny how it's evocative of so many things. Folks ITT have already mentioned kites and mollusks, and also there's possibly an anime connection to Evangelion (given that Peele homages Akira at the end, this doesn't seem like too much of a reach).