Opus, the latest addition to the exhaustive trend of cult horror, proves that the genre is dying.
★★☆☆☆
Mark Anthony Green’s debut comes close to becoming a seething commentary on celebrity fandom but never hits the mark, a meandering screenplay and indulgent focus on visuals leading its messaging astray.
Opus is led by the ever-so-charming Ayo Edebiri as Ariel Ecton, an up-and-coming media journalist who is invited to the mysterious compound of long-disappeared global popstar Alfred Moretti (John Malkovich) for his first album in 30 years. When Ariel and five other guests arrive, it quickly becomes apparent that Morretti is leading a cult, which, as expected, takes a turn for the worse.
With murder, violence, and John Malkovich deviously dancing, Opus is what audiences have come to anticipate from an indie film revolving around cults. It swiftly leans into themes of sex and abuse, but that violence never appears to have a point—and isn’t all that scary.
There are multiple murders, but the action often takes place off-screen. Withholding visual storytelling is not in and of itself a poor way to communicate horror, but when the film’s emotional climax only portrays the pane of a door, it leaves more to be desired. These choices, together, are disjointed and dilute the film’s inherent terror. It’s important to note that Opus is Green’s debut, which is extremely apparent. There is potential for gripping violence and a more coherent story, but it has never been seized.
Since Ari Aster’s Midsommar (2019), ironically enough, another A24 release, the psychological horror genre has seen a huge spike in popularity. Last year alone, there was Heretic (2024), Speak No Evil (2024), and Blink Twice (2024). Clearly, this niche genre of psychological horror filled with unusual twists has been thriving, but Opus is an addition that shows it has become over-saturated. Creating a ‘weird’ narrative requires a level of skill that is hard for most to attain, as unusual turning points need meaning behind them to work for the audience. In Opus, for example, when the cult members give Ariel a makeover, she must trim her pubic hair as per Morretti’s orders. It’s a shocking and amusing scene in how ridiculous it is, but it has no significance beyond that moment. The lack of clear reasoning behind such a scene comes across as cheap, as though the filmmakers expect wacky plot points with no consequences to be enough to sustain a story.
Opus desperately wants to critique how celebrity culture turns figures into gods and the danger that comes with that, which it comes very close to doing. If the screenplay had undergone a re-draft, it could’ve been one of the more culturally relevant and refreshing takes on fandom, but its unoriginal quirkiness flattens the story.
The disappointment in Opus not working stems from how easily it could have been. Edebiri’s first turn as a leading lady is a marvel to watch, and she’s the ideal surrogate for the audience. Equally, John Malkovich’s unsettling yet comedic turn as Morretti is hard to look away from. These two and the supporting cast do their best with the material, but that isn’t enough to save Opus from being a predictable mess.
The Verdict
Opus is an attempt at the psychological horror cult genre that’s taken the world by storm, but it falls short on almost all fronts. It’s only worth watching if you are an Ayo Edebiri die-hard.
Words by Isaac Arif
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