
SYNOPSIS:
A young writer is invited to the remote compound of a legendary pop star who mysteriously disappeared 30 years ago. Surrounded by the star’s cult of sycophants and intoxicated journalists, she finds herself in the middle of his twisted plan.
Mark Anthony Green’s feature debut is a bold, fun, and flashy pop-horror. Ayo Edebiri delivers as the meek yet hungry journalist Ariel — her unique charm radiating alongside a distinct final-girl prescience. John Malkovich is effervescent and hypnotic as Moretti, a deified global phenomenon making a dramatically malevolent reintroduction.
Amidst eye-catching, synthy musical numbers and the enigmatic desert compound, the facade of civility gradually erodes between the pair, revealing the underbelly of a tense, psychosocial game of cat and mouse. Opus offers an electric, clever indictment of the literal cult of celebrity, presenting characters and dangers within a symphonic ambience — giving way to a foreboding ease through which power is generated and embedded within pop culture.
SUNDANCE REVIEW 2025 - BY DARREN ZAKUS
DATE: Thursday, January 30, 2025
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Opus has a killer cast led by towering performances from Ayo Edebiri and John Malkovich, and while writer and director Mark Anthony Green’s starts the film off with intrigue and mystery in its first half, its end up playing it too safe and follows a predictable route rather than being the twisted and shocking cult horror comedy that it had the potential to be.
If there is one film company that is known for pushing the boundaries and shocking audiences, it is A24. The independent juggernaut studio has delivered shocking horror films that have had moments that audiences will never stop talking about with such films as Hereditary, Midsommar and Pearl, while championing filmmaker’s unique visions with beloved awards contenders like Everything Everywhere All At Once and Past Lives. Their latest film, which revolves around an infamous music icon who resurfaces after disappearing for decades with a new album, inviting a group of journalists to review his new album to the compound that he is living at. That compound is the home of a unique cult, and as expected, everything is not as it seems and the guests are unaware of the dangerous situation they have walked into. For his feature film debut, writer and director Mark Anthony Green has assembled an all star cast featuring Ayo Edebiri, John Malkovich, Juliette Lewis, Murray Bartlett, Amber Midthunder and Tony Hale, and with the A24 name behind the film, it is more than enough to peak audience’s interest in the film. However, while Green’s initial idea has promise, it quickly becomes evident how the entire film will play out, delivering an obvious and predictable thriller that loses all sense of intrigue abruptly despite being an entertaining watch thanks to the talented cast.
From the second that Ariel receives her invitation to attend Moretti’s private listening party for his new record, the audience immediately knows something is not right, because why would this junior and not notable writer be invited to such a prestigious event. Especially after that brilliantly written scene between Ariel and her friend Kent at the diner showing how intelligent she is, it becomes that much more suspicious when Ariel, Stan and the rest of the attendees arrive at a Midsommar-esque compound in the middle of the desert populated by a cult of individuals hand picked by Moretti to become part of his cult of sycophants. Green’s screenplay unfolds as one would expect, with the journalists beginning to become victims to tragic events, as Ariel tries to uncover Moretti’s true plans for inviting them to his compound. The pacing never drags, and there are lots of scenes that generate great laughter and startling moments that up the mystery, but the story is not able to sustain this in the long run.
Yes, there are some startling moments, but nothing shocking or unexpected happens as the writing is on the wall very early on that the odds are that the journalists won’t be leaving the compound alive by the end of the weekend. It’s an entertaining watch full of laughter, some disturbing deaths and a great listening party sequence featuring the main cast dancing along with Malkovich, giving the audience what they want from such a film, but Green never creates something that the audience deserves. The final act squanders the setup of the first two acts with generic chases and an uninspired final reveal, especially once it is revealed why Ariel was included in Moretti’s plan. Even the philosophy behind the cult is underdeveloped and gives the audience very little information as to their beliefs and workings, despite Green having written a full manifesto to flesh out the cult in his mind to inform the writing. The entire film feels too commercial for its own good, delivering an experience that never subverts expectations or conjures up anything remotely original or shocking, which is the exact opposite of the daring artistic visions that A24 is used to producing and why movie goers gravitate toward their latest offerings.
Luckily, the cast of Opus brings their A-game and makes up for the predictable and lacklustre story that Green has for his debut film. Edebiri makes for a great final girl as Ariel, bringing her signature comedic timing and intelligence to the character. Easily carrying the majority of the film on her shoulders, Edebiri is compelling in every scene as she naturally reacts to the increasingly concerning situation she finds herself in with wit and attention, helping to create some great laughs as everyone tries to convince her that nothing is wrong. Malkovich is perfect as Moretti, capturing that larger than life persona that famous musicians like Freddie Mercury, Bruce Springsteen and Prince possess, and infusing it with the terrifying magnetism of a cult leader. It’s a fun performance as Malkovich can be having fun one scene, dancing and generating laughs, then flipping the switch in the next scene with a mysterious and unnerving terror that signals to the audience that he has for more sinister plans for Ariel and the rest of invited press than just listening to his new album. The film is at its best when you get to watch Edebiri and Malkovich go toe to toe, watching the battle of the wits unfold through carefully curated dialogue and questions, as Edebiri and Malkovich play off each other perfectly.
Lewis is excellent as Clara Armstrong, creating the deliciously prickly nature of this television talk show host, ensuring that her presence constantly steals the scene. Even though his role was not as big as one would expect, Bartlett is lots of fun as Ariel’s boss Stan Sullivan, while Midthunder delivers a chilling performance as the member of the cult assigned to assist Ariel during her stay, instantly becoming intimidating and excelling in the film’s action heavy final act. The rest of the roles in the film are considerably smaller, from Hale as Moretti’s agent Soledad Yusef and Stephanie Suganami as the influencer Emily Katz, but each performance does a great job of creating their quirky character with the limited amount of screen time they are given.
With the film revolving around Alfred Moretti, an iconic musician, it was important for the original music in Opus to be impressive. Luckily, Nile Rodger and The-Dream write three killer songs that are bound to worm their way into viewers’ ears. The first song, “Dina Simone,” is without doubt the best of the batch with a sick beat that blasts through the theatrical sound system to help translate to the audience why Moretti is such an iconic figure in music. The other two songs are good, though they are helped by the scene they play in, whereas “Dina Simone” speaks for itself. All three tracks are recorded by Malkovich, allowing him to truly create the mythic figure that is Moretti within the world of the film in every faucet of the film.
It’s not rare for such a star studded A24 film to miss the mark, especially with such a promising premise as Opus, but sadly Mark Anthony Green’s feature film debut fails to be the wild and shocking film that horror fans were hoping for. There is no doubt that Mark Anthony Green came up with a good premise for Opus and filled it with enough comedy and unsettling moments to invest audiences in the film’s first half, but the bland and uninspired wrapping up of the story that plays out in a predictable manner prevents Opus from joining the ranks of great horror films in the A24 library. Though the cast of Ayo Edebiri, John Malkovich, Juliette Lewis, Murray Bartlett and more all deliver excellent performances, and the original “Dina Simone” is going to be stuck in your head for days, Opus’s narrative struggles to be the twisted, shocking and addictive story that this cult horror film premise had the potential to be.