Director: Mark Anthony Green
Writer: Mark Anthony Green
Stars: Ayo Edibiri, John Malkovich, Juliette Lewis
Synopsis: An iconic pop star returns after decades missing.
Throughout time, as music composers, singers, and bands have achieved prominent statuses in the world, they have also cultivated avid followers and listeners of their work, with some garnering fanbases of millions around the world. In some cases, fans are obsessed to an almost religious level of following, counting down the days to the next album release, social media post, or public appearance. Celebrity devotion expands across the entertainment industry, from music to movies to television, and now even to content creators.
It is this concept of celebrity worship that is built into the premise of Mark Anthony Green’s Opus. Alfred Moretti (John Malkovich) is a singer whose sound captivated everyone in his heyday, topping the charts across the board. After a 30-year long disappearance, Moretti announces his grand return with a new album, an announcement that shocks the world. As a way for Moretti to promote the album, which is claimed to be the greatest composition in recording history by his manager Soledad Yusuf (Tony Hale), a select few members of the media and press are invited to come to his hidden sanctuary and take part in listening to it. However, as they arrive, the guests begin experiencing many odd happenings, particularly some odd behavior from the staff present, and later Moretti himself.
Many of the bizarre occurrences that follow in Opus are seen through the eyes of Ariel Ecton (Ayo Edebiri), a budding journalist who is trying to get her hands on a big story to impress her boss Stan Sullivan (Murray Bartlett) as well as make a name for herself. Edebiri is great in the role, fully committing to the movie’s premise. As in most horror movies, Ariel represents the audience’s feelings towards the strange events at this sanctuary, often pointing out something is wrong as other characters doubt her, all while trying to learn more about Moretti and his followers to write an exposé on them, while also bringing a dry sense of humor to some of the proceedings at first.
However, it is Malkovich as Moretti who steals the movie in every frame he is in, playing the pop star persona in as charismatic and outrageous a manner as possible, while slowly revealing the darker, twisted nature of his character and his motivations as the story progresses. His rapport with the characters, especially Ariel, is well executed, and as a singer, he performs the songs written in the script rather well, even with an actual performance at one point on a stage that is among the movie’s most entertaining scenes, and all backed with an eerie score from Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans.
Where Opus struggles most, however, is with its script, especially as it tries to address a lot more as the reveals begin, while also not reaching any definitive conclusions. With Moretti, the movie shows how his celebrity status and his music has an effect on listeners that creates a cult-like following, as others at his sanctuary hang on his every word as if it were gospel, though it never explores what they really want to achieve beyond what is shown in the movie, save for a moment towards the climax which tries to answer that. In some moments, Opus even echoes some scares from another A24 distributed horror movie, Midsommar, as well as some of its insights into large followings of people doing questionable things.
The same applies to its commentary on social media and the press, sporadically showcasing how discussing something being wrong on a grand scale can sometimes spread a stronger message and gain more popularity, and how paparazzi and journalists can go after celebrities in a manner that can personally affect them, as represented by Bartlett, Juliette Lewis’ Clara Armstrong, a massive TV personality with her own talk show, and Stephanie Suganami as Emily Katz, a social media influencer. However, much like its discussion on the cult-like celebrity status artists can achieve, these aspects are mostly reserved to footnotes heading into Opus’ final act.
As a result, by the time credits roll on the movie, many of the events and the spectacle they showcase can feel empty in hindsight. While it has good performances, a great soundtrack, some entertaining sequences, and a few inventive scares, there is a frustrating lack of basis given to many of the decisions made by the characters, and by the end, its attempts to tie everything together thematically, and in turn, narratively, can feel rushed and incomplete. Opus may not be a failure on every level, but it is certainly a disappointing, scattershot watch.
