Gordy scene in Jordan Peele’s Nope is one of the most shocking moments in the movie. It shows a violent attack by a chimpanzee named Gordy during the filming of a 1990s kids sitcom called Gordy’s Home. This event deeply traumatizes a young child actor named Jupe, who later grows up to run a theme park next door to the main characters.
The scene flashes back to the taping of Gordy’s Birthday episode. Gordy is a trained chimp star of the show, acting cute with the human cast in a cozy living room set. Everything seems fun until a party balloon pops by accident. The loud noise scares Gordy, triggering his wild instincts. He goes into a rage, attacking the actors one by one with brutal force. Blood covers the set as he smashes faces and chases people. Young Jupe hides under a table, watching in terror. He locks eyes with Gordy for a moment that feels endless. Finally, police rush in and shoot Gordy dead to stop the chaos. For more details on this sequence, check out this explanation from Paste Magazine: https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/jordan-peele/nope-gordy-chimp-explained.
This isn’t just random horror. It shapes Jupe’s whole life, played as an adult by Steven Yeun. He survives but gets hooked on the thrill of dangerous spectacles. At his park, Jupiter’s Claim, he tries to tame a giant alien creature called Jean Jacket the same way people tried to control Gordy. Jupe sees the alien as a star he can use for shows, ignoring the risk. His past blindness leads to his doom later in the film. The full plot breakdown, including Jupe’s role, is covered here: https://spoilertown.com/nope-2022/.
Peele drew from real events for realism. The scene mirrors the 2009 attack by Travis the chimp, a pet that mauled a woman after getting startled. It warns about exploiting wild animals for entertainment and how trauma twists people. Nope uses quick cuts and tense silence to make it unforgettable, starting with a bloody Gordy peeking at the camera. See this list of scary movie monkeys for context on Gordy: https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/horror-movies/scariest-movie-monkeys.
Sources
https://spoilertown.com/nope-2022/
https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/jordan-peele/nope-gordy-chimp-explained
https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/horror-movies/scariest-movie-monkeys
