Nope

Nope is the latest from Jordan Peele, a comedy stalwart who became a household name in horror in recent years thanks to Oscar winner Get Out (2017) and its follow up, _Us_ (2019). By way of Blumhouse and Universal, Nope promises to carry on this successful formula.

The trailer starts off with a sound bridge; we hear Keke Palmer’s character before seeing her on the set of what looks like some kind of docuseries for what is the only Black-owned horse training business in Hollywood. At 0:14, the music enters—“Fingertips Pts. 1 & 2” by Stevie Wonder—which begins in the soundtrack but enters the diegesis at 0:27 with the appearance of a record player. This is reinforced at 0:31 as the music recedes once we cut to an outdoor shot.

By 0:39, the unexpected—albeit, expected for Peele’s latest—intervenes, and a somewhat gradual decline in indoor lighting coincides with an audible slowdown of the music on the record player’s turntable. As far as horror tropes go, it’s subtle and tame. Even the crickets fade to nothing; there are a few seconds of disconcerting silence before a horrific sound intervenes. Silence descends once more from 0:58 to 1:02, until we hear a wild horse in the distance—notably, we hear it before we see it, which is a consistent motif in this trailer.

At 1:12 an insistent clapping (a motif we’ve seen before) underpins a montage sequence; microtonal sequence and other percussion adds to the sense of unease. By this point it becomes clear—especially as the vocals re-enter—that this is a horror arrangement of the aforementioned Stevie Wonder song; it’s very on-brand for Peele to take what is otherwise a joyful song and subvert it in the guise of horror, both through additions and changes in the arrangement as well as of course the increasing terror on screen. Notice at 1:36 the image of a man screaming—whom we cannot hear—as the musical vocal acts in synch with it. By 1:41, the music drops out once more for one last memorable line (“yeah, nah, nah, nah”)—as if in response to Wonder’s shout-turned-invocation (“yeah!”). And the irony of the Wonder song is further heightened when in the final seconds we get a return to the original recording behind the graphic for the release information.

Key to this trailer’s effectiveness then is how “Fingertips Pts. 1 & 2” is made to interact with the narrative world in multiple ways, while also serving as an unusual choice for its purpose, even if rearranged—as pop turned horror. Yet, such an aesthetic is exactly what Peele has become known and celebrated for, and as such the choice in song—and its treatment—is suitably original.

Nope is due in theaters July 22nd.

— Curtis Perry