NOPE: a Flawed yet Fascinating
Film Score

Potential spoilers for Nope ahead.

​

Nope is a film all about spectatorship, Hollywood and fame so it is of no surprise that it contains many filmic references. These references are not only visual but also aural as Michael Abels’ score for the film is bursting with cinematic heritage. It is a score that is at times captivatingly effective and tense yet also veers into an epic ‘blockbuster’ sound in its latter half. In an interview with Indiewire, Abels states that Nope is a film about a “bad miracle”. In contrast though, the score itself fails to capture this complexity in key scenes, ultimately undermining the film's thematic depth despite it being otherwise largely effective with the occasional moment of genius.

​

One of those moments is during the opening scene between OJ (Daniel Kaluuya) and his father (Keith David). The music here is relatively sparse, utilising a repeating string phrase to underscore the warmth between the two characters with just a hint of unease conveyed by a light droning noise beneath. An unease that only heightens as the score fades into a lengthened silence, forcing the viewer to confront the surreal image of small objects hurtling down from the clouds. There are moments like this throughout the score that use absence to emphasise terror, one of the most prominent being when it is finally revealed what truly happened with Gordy the chimp. During this extended sequence, both the score and image are briefly absent, leaving a screen filled not with emptiness but erupting chaos conveyed through eerie sound design of Gordy’s shrieking, heavy breathing and the echoes of a sitcom laughter track. The audience is literally left in the dark, with only its own fear to latch onto.

​

​

​

​

​

Nevertheless, the score is also not afraid of merging with the diegetic sounds to create a coherent whole, as is the case when OJ and Emerald (Keke Palmer) see the UFO in the clouds. There is a palpable sense of dread that radiates from the unique mix of Abels’ dark erratic strings and alarming brass with the undeniably creepy sounds of wind howling and horse’s galloping, all collectively becoming the groans of an animalistic flying saucer. Here, the score is distinctive and yet still invokes the traditional associations of the discovery of a monster: dread, fear and a captivating darkness. This sense of threat is carried into the next cue (Holy Sh*t It’s Real) but layered beautifully with the idea of a dawning opportunity, like an enchanting, wondrous seedling growing out from the gloom. The score itself becomes the “bad miracle”, encapsulating the light and dark through layering playful light percussion on top of unnerving minor strings that reverberate throughout most of the track. Throughout these earlier sequences, both score and imagery draw on past cinematic references of monster movies and the Spielberg-esque blockbuster yet morph them into something entirely new and unique to Nope.

This continues with effective horror-inspired pieces such as Blood Rain, which accompanies the Shining-like gushing of blood down windows with unpredictable harsh strings that appear like sharp knife stabbings in and amongst an already uneasy pit of discomfort. Similarly, whilst not reinventing the wheel, Preparing The Trap is a lesson in how to tie together different characters under one clear goal. The simple repeating piano above the uplifting strings makes the viewer feel a part of the crew, like the score to the planning of a playful heist.

​

However, this referential slant soon becomes overbearing and the score along with the film devolves into mostly uninspiring and insubstantial pastiche. Despite the well-chosen needle drop of Exuma, The Obeah Man retaining some of the film’s energy, just as the caricatured fame and camera obsessed TMZ reporter arrives, the music similarly loses its edge and complexity. Perhaps even more one-note than the cinematographer (Michael Wincott) who later, rather ridiculously, sacrifices himself for ‘the shot’, the TMZ reporter soon rides off on his electric motorbike toward the EMP powers of the UFO. The score here (Man Down) is trying its best to increase the tension but instead comes across as though from another film, the fast-paced orchestral music simply overbears the banality of the action unfolding and leaves the scene feeling strangely out of place. As the other characters make light comical quips, the score is evoking the intensity of a high-speed chase with its bombastic brass and unrelentingly quick mix of strings and percussion. The complexities of the “bad miracle” have faded and all that is left is an ‘epic’ orchestral sound that rarely matches the imagery – leaving the sequence feeling bland and without stakes.

​

​

​

​

Perhaps the most egregious example of this is during The Run (Urban Legends). Abels states during the aforementioned interview that this particular piece was composed before the film was made and unfortunately, this disconnect comes across on screen. Here, Abels shows his versatility as a composer, crafting an undeniably epic mix of orchestral and electronic sound to form a distinctive anime inspired piece and yet, it feels completely incongruous to the scene. Whilst it is true that this run is somewhat awe-inspiring and ought to feel like a climactic moment, it must not be forgotten that this monster they are facing has spent the entire film posing a very real threat to life. The sense of peril and dread that was previously so well conveyed has been so obliterated that the scene begins to feel almost cartoonish. Rather than letting the moment speak for itself, the exaggerated score only increases in volume to make sure you really know just how epic it is. This similarly works against the film, only bringing it further out of reality through a tonal mismatch that ultimately draws attention to the artificiality and lack of stakes. The sequence is at best vapid excitement.

​

However, as is the case with this flawed yet fascinating misfire, Abels almost wins you back with the eponymous and final cue Nope. Again, the composer riffs upon an existing theme and musical style, here reworking the atmosphere of a spaghetti western by using primarily whistling, acoustic guitar and well-utilised vocals. Despite very much evoking the style of Ennio Morricone, Abels goes beyond mere imitation and marks his own stamp on the genre by injecting a sincerity and warmth into his cue that draws upon the emotional bond between Emerald and OJ. Paired with the shot of OJ framed within the artificial signage of western-themed Jupiter's Claim amusement park, the score not only acts as the euphoric reunion between brother and sister but also recontextualises itself by affirming the place of a Black family within the history of the western genre. The referential score along with the wonderfully photographed shot highlights the continuing history of Black Cowboys that goes back as far as the dawn of cinema – a playful yet powerful tribute to filmmaking, which despite its downfalls, sums up what Nope is all about.