When I heard Opus was a horror movie revolving around a pop star, Trap and Smile 2 immediately came to mind. Being an A24 production, surely Opus would take an unconventional approach. On the heels of The Menu, Midsommar, and Blink Twice, though, what would’ve been avant-garde a decade ago is starting to become passé. Opus is clearly trying to replicate the success of the aforementioned art horror pictures. Those films all had a point to get across, however. Opus so desperately wants to say something that it forgets to say anything until the final five minutes. By then, the film feels like a student rushing to complete an assignment right before turning it in.
Opus is a rare misfire from A24. Likewise, this is among the few projects in Ayo Edebiri’s filmography that doesn’t quite gel. Edebiri has yet to give a bad performance, however. Whatever goodwill Opus builds up during its first two acts is about 50% thanks to her. Edebiri plays a journalist with the distinct name of Ariel Ecton. Ariel is a headstrong writer eager to tackle a big story, but she finds herself in the shadow of her douchey superior Stan (Murray Bartlett). A killer story lands in Ariel’s lab when she’s invited to visit the compound of Alfred Moretti (John Malkovich), a pop sensation who disappeared from the spotlight years earlier. If Edebiri is responsible for half of what works here, Malkovich gets credit for the other half.
Stan tags along with Ariel, determined to soak up all of the credit while she takes notes. Several other journalists attend the compound, including a trashy TV host in a role tailored for Juliette Lewis. When they arrive, they find the singer wearing ceremonial robes and surrounded by loyal followers. The other journalists chalk his behavior up to being an eccentric celebrity, but Ariel suspects there’s something more devious behind the gourmet food, luxury rooms, and massages. Of course, there is, but before getting any answers, we have to sit through several unfocused scenes that are weird for the sake of being weird.
There is a novelty to watching Malkovich as a deranged cult leader. Few could’ve played this role better than him. After a while, though, Moretti’s antics go from amusing to tedious. There’s no method to his madness. You could argue that’s the idea, but if I wanted to follow a charismatic cult leader down the rabbit hole, I’d rewatch Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master. For all of his meandering moments, I did find myself vibing with Opus on occasion. First-time director Mark Anthony Green knows how to set up an atmospheric shot and get the most out of actors like Malkovich.
I was on the verge of giving Opus a marginal recommendation for its craft and performances. The third act is simply too messy, however. Not only does it suddenly become gratuitously violent to the point of being unpleasant, but the film rushes to the finish line with a half-assed message. Opus is apparently commenting on celebrity status, but there are so many eat the rich movies that did this with more thought. Walking away, we’re not sure who the movie is targeting. The filmmakers don’t seem to know either. The last scene finds a character at a loss for words, which essentially epitomizes Opus on a thematic level.