The following contains spoilers for Nope, now playing in theaters.
One of the most interesting aspects of Jordan Peele's movies is how the filmmaker always leaves audiences questioning reality. Get Out spoke to race issues, while Us dove into classism and elitism, with his deep cuts -- both the subtle and not-so-subtle ones -- truly being some of the most thought-provoking in modern cinema. It's why fans parse through his trailers for clues as to what's to come, and then discuss his sociopolitical statements and conversational spectacles after leaving theaters.
And Nope uses the same strategy, prodding at the emotions with its horror story of a Black family, the Haywoods, being stalked by a UFO out in an Agua Dulce ranch. However, midway through, they discovered it was actually a hungry alien staking its dominion. That led to the Haywoods devising a risky plan that not only subverted horror's most outlandish trope but actually made it better.
It revolves around the idea of families staying in haunted houses, which is what happened to OJ and Emerald. In their case, the Jaws-like predator hid in a cloud and swam through the skies at super-speeds, excreting blood and guts on their home after a feeding session. It nodded to many horror movies, such as The Conjuring, where it seems white people love staying where they are rather than fleeing at the first sign of trouble.
Sometimes, they try to escape, but it's already too late. In fact, this trope's become something the online community has made fun of, with minorities and POC groups often stating that, if that were them, they'd have bolted ASAP. That's why it seemed ridiculous that OJ and Emerald would stick around, knowing the alien was looking to devour horses and humans once its prey gazed upon it.
However, while the Haywoods gave their best impression of a white family, they had a purpose. They wanted to capture footage to sell, so they could make money, pay off debts and keep the farm. Now that might seem trivial, selfish, reckless and detrimental to their own health, but Peele layered this with substance. Earlier, it came out that the Haywoods' ancestor was a hotshot jockey in Hollywood, but rather than become a superstar, he was limited to training horses and renting them to the entertainment industry.
The Haywoods realized over decades they had to abide and fit into a small nook in a predominantly white entertainment industry that didn't cater for Black people to own a big chunk of space. Even Jupe (an Asian-American) went from a '90s sitcom child star who survived a disaster on set to someone who owned a park and was able to buy the Haywoods' horses. But the Black family, unfortunately, had to accept systematic racism would always keep them down.
It's why OJ wanted the money, not for anything gaudy but because this farm represented legacy -- something no one could ever take from them. Even Emerald knew how Black culture got appropriated, and its creatives chewed up and spat out, so to them, they were fighting for the spirits of their ancestors. That's why they eventually hatched a plan to kill the alien, as it was trying to devour their tradition. No matter what, they couldn't leave it, not even after falling debris from the sky killed their dad in the opening act. Ultimately, they had to get revenge to protect what was theirs, knowing how their people toiled and suffered to make the ranch something more than just a home.
See how this horror trope gets doused with nuance in Nope, now in theaters.