Warning: this article contains major spoilers for Nope.
Jordan Peele’s third directorial endeavor, Nope, is finally hitting theaters, introducing fans to a brand-new world of horror, intrigue, and symbolism in the filmmaker’s distinct and meaningful style. After the smash back-to-back successes of Get Out and Us, Peele reminds audiences of what makes his films so memorable.
Projects from Peele’s filmography are fantastic to rewatch primarily due to the director’s masterful use of foreshadowing. Early in his films’ first acts, Peele reveals his hand, only for audiences to piece together the true meaning of his hints at the very end of the story.
The Deer (Get Out)
Get Out is one of the best thrillers of the 2010s, with plenty of symbolism and hidden meanings to inspire multiple viewings. Early in the plot, the film hints at Chris’s ultimate fate when, while on his way to visit the Armitage family with his girlfriend Rose, the couple hits a deer on the highway. Chris and the dying deer share a strange knowing look as if they are in some way connected.
While the deer symbolizes many things for Chris, including the tragic loss of his mother, who also died in a hit-and-run, it most prominently represents his salvation. He would later use a mounted deer head to impale Dean Armitage, who had gone on record regarding his hatred of the animal, thereby allowing Chris an avenue of escape from the treacherous family.
A Good Eye (Get Out)
After escaping from the strange partygoers at the Armitage family’s celebration, Chris encounters blind art dealer Jim Hudson. Hudson compliments Chris’s photographs, which he has dealt with on several occasions. As an admirer of his work, Hudson tells Chris that he has a “good eye,” for his craft.
As it becomes clear in the third act that the Armitages have been kidnapping Black people in order to hijack their bodies for high-profile clients, it is also revealed that Chris’s body has been bought by Hudson himself, who wants to gain his keen eye for himself. Thankfully for Chris, Hudson never gets his wish, and likely dies on the operating table after Dean is killed in the middle of the brain transplant.
The Next Victim (Get Out)
In Get Out, Rod has several brief phone conversations with Rose Armitage. In the first of these, the two engage in playful banter, teasing a romantic attraction between the two as a way to playfully get under Chris’s skin. This moment, however, would come back to bite Rod later as a chilling revelation washes over him regarding Rose’s intentions for his future.
Rose’s villainous reveal is one of the greatest romantic betrayals in movies, as she turns her boyfriend over to her deranged family. However, it also becomes clear that she intended on making Rod her next victim, even attempting to seduce him when he called to ask about Chris. While Rod had already deduced her trustworthiness, had things gone her way, Rod may well have been the next man whose body was stolen by the Armitage family.
Hands Across America (Us)
The very beginning of Us shows a commercial for the fundraising campaign “Hands Across America,” including the organization’s logo, depicting red stick figures clasping hands. This imagery, which is initially quite nondescript to an audience familiar with the charity, proves to be quite important to the film’s ending.
This symbolic imagery would come into play once more during the film’s closing moments, as it is revealed that other Tethered have emerged all over the world. These doppelgangers join hands, creating a chain that stretches for miles, perfectly mirroring the image from the commercial whilst also making a bold statement that the world will never be the same after the “Untethering.”
Find Yourself (Us)
When a young Adelaide Wilson, one of the best characters in any of Jordan Peele’s films, wanders away from her parents in the prologue of Us, she finds herself at the entrance to a hall of mirrors. An advertisement on the outside of the attraction boasts a promise that consumers will find themselves within, though the sign proves to be far truer than anyone would have liked.
While somewhat on the nose, the promise that partakers will “find themselves” in the hall of mirrors ends up being quite literal, as Adelaide stumbles upon her Tethered self. The meaning of this scene is dual, however, as her doppelganger would also symbolically “find herself” by reinventing her identity as the original Adelaide, stealing the life of her unwitting counterpart.
A Silent Phase (Us)
After Adelaide’s incident on the beach, it is revealed that she did not speak to her parents for several weeks. Thinking that she has been left traumatized after becoming lost, Adelaide’s parents work desperately to help their daughter return to her usual state, not knowing the true reason for her interminable silence.
In the third act reveal that Adelaide and Red had switched places during their first encounter as children, it becomes clear that the real reason that young Adelaide had not spoken to her parents was not trauma after all, but actually an inability to speak. It would take several months for the Tethered Adelaide to gather the skill to speak, with her linguistic shortcoming being mistaken
Don’t Look It In The Eye (Nope)
In Nope, OJ Haywood frequently finds himself telling crew members not to look his stunt horses in the eye, as the animal is likely to become agitated should they do so. This repeated instruction often goes unheeded by Haywood’s associates, but would later be paramount in saving his life when a far larger animal revealed itself.
Nope boasts a new take on aliens, adding something fresh to the sci-fi genre in the realization that the presumed UFO is actually a sentient creature. Thanks to his training with animals, OJ was able to figure out that the creature would only consume those who looked at it, securing the survival of himself and his friends.
Jupiter’s Claim (Nope)
Steven Yeun’s Ricky “Jupe” Park is seen running a tourist attraction in southern California, where he cashes out on his mild fame from his childhood acting days. In his theme park sits a ginormous balloon of himself, which playfully winks at tourists, gazing down at them from far above.
Jupe’s self-seeking and desire for fame is clear in the layout of his park, with his aspirations leading to his death. Even more important, however, is the presence of the balloon in his likeness, which Emerald Haywood would later use to kill the alien, giving it something that it would be unable to digest, thereby blowing it up from the inside.
Screams Of The Damned (Nope)
In the early acts of Nope, the alien creature does not reveal itself fully, but merely haunts the Haywood ranch from above. However, when the creature draws near, it is always accompanied by the sound of panicked screams, a terrifying quality that goes unexplained until much later in the film.
Upon the realization of the alien’s true form, it comes clear that the screams that accompany its presence are actually the cries for help from those that it has consumed and is still digesting. During the alien’s next attack on the Haywood Ranch, voices can clearly be heard crying for help, only adding to the terror of the film’s monster.
The Winking Well (Nope)
When visiting Jupiter’s Claim for the first time, Keke Palmer’s Emerald Haywood unknowingly photobombs a pair of children taking their picture at a well, which has a camera in place of water, shooting upward. While this initially comes off as a fun gag, the well ultimately proves to be a vital piece of the film’s climax.
The wishing well has an important part to play in the film’s final battle, as Emerald launches the balloon that would eventually kill the monster. Positioned in the perfect spot beneath that monster, the well is able to capture a picture of the action, finally giving Emerald and OJ the proof they needed of the alien’s existence.
