Opus (2025) Review!!

Synopsis – A writer travels to the compound of a pop icon who disappeared years ago. Surrounded by his cult of sycophants, as well as a group of fellow journalists, she soon discovers his twisted plans for the gathering.

My Take – While we have seen quite a number of features focused on cults and the dark side of celebrity culture, I had high hopes for this latest A24 feature. Mainly, as it seemed to have all the makings of something great: a solid cast, an eerie setup, and a premise that could’ve gone deep on the burden of being a star and the impact of cults.

But, what starts off as something tense and creepy, pulling viewers in with its intriguing tease and breadcrumbs, quickly dissolves into a confusing mess with little to no payoff.

Sure, this first feature work from writer-director Mark Anthony Green is backed by a stunning setting and the mood appropriately eerie, yet, somewhere along the way, in an effort to be profound and unsettling, ends up becoming a hodgepodge of ideas with a half-baked story poorly attempting to tie it all together, often feeling like a number of A24 horror flicks rolled into one.

Despite the potentially fun pairing of Ayo Edebiri and John Malkovich as a writer and her pop star/messiah-like subject, neither the film’s commentary nor its escalating horror elements fail to leave an impression. Making it one of those films where the concept is far better than the actual execution.

The story follows Ariel Ecton (Ayo Edebiri), a young journalist working at a legacy music magazine, who despite her three-year stint at the publication sees her ambition being underappreciated. Mainly, as her smarmy editor Stan Sullivan (Murray Bartlett) hands her pitches off to more experienced writers. Even her friend Kent (Young Mazino) confesses that she’s not rich enough or poor enough to have an interesting perspective, and that she needs some real-life experiences to find her voice.

And just like that, her opportunity arises in the form of the announcement that reclusive pop star legend Alfred Moretti (John Malkovich), who after almost thirty years away, is set to release his comeback album. And as the industry goes wild with the news, Moretti also reveals that he would be doing his own version of a golden ticket and will be inviting a selected group to join him for an exclusive get together at his ranch to listen to his new songs.

The guest list includes: Ariel, Stan, seasoned television host Clara Armstrong (Juliette Lewis), paparazzo Bianca Tyson (Melissa Chambers), influencer Emily Katz (Stephanie Suganami), and Bill Lotto (Mark Sivertsen), longtime radio shock jock and Moretti nemesis.

But as soon as they reach the secluded compound, Ariel begins to sense that something isn’t quite right. The ranch is staffed by a community of blue-clad cult members called the Levelists, who worship beauty, the artistic process and Moretti himself. And as guests start vanishing, Ariel begins her attempt to uncover Moretti’s ominous plan.

Here, there is clearly a vision to explore celebrity worship and cult atmosphere, but if you’ve been exposed to the kind of arty horror popularized by today’s biggest independent film studio and distributor, A24, you’ve seen this kind of narrative many times over and doesn’t offer enough variation to make things feel fresh.

Unfortunately, all the film has on the horror side of the equation is a pile of cliché. The kills, with one notable exception, are mundane or obscured. And while it should be fair to dismiss the script for that degree of recycling alone, it’s exhausting narrative, repetitive nature, and bland structure makes things worse by failing to impress itself with its concept and becomes more of a dull and uninspired experience.

A lot of the stuff here feel like writer-director Mark Anthony Green threw in for the sake of making the screenplay feel more unsettling, while simultaneously never offering any reason as to why they were included in the first place. Though, the film has all the elements to make a sharp critique on fame, power, and media’s role in sustaining it, but the script never fully puts them together.

Particularly, the character of Alfred Moretti. He is sinister, but his monstrosity isn’t just his own doing as people around him excuse his behavior, normalize it, even elevate it as just another quirk of genius, and no one in that room questions or challenges it. It’s not just about the cult of celebrity. It’s about how we, as an audience, play our part in building them up to god-like status. Sadly, the film barely scratches at this idea.

Another problem is the explanation behind what drives the cult and their purpose. The climax sees Moretti attempt to offer an explanation, but it doesn’t feel sufficiently enough or honestly, make much sense. At least, the music created by Nile Rodgers and The-Dream is decent, never impressive enough to create such a craze and fervent following but certainly convincing enough.

Performances wise, Ayo Edebiri is fantastic as always. ‘The Bear‘ star possesses the right amount of cockiness and impatience as Ariel, who is ready for the world to discover what a brilliant writer she is. Meanwhile, John Malkovich brings much gravitas to a very silly role lacking in comic inspiration, and Murray Bartlett is good and surprisingly likeable despite being a terrible boss.

However, in supporting roles, Juliette Lewis, Murray Bartlett, Amber Midthunder, Tatanka Means, Melissa Chambers, Mark Sivertsen, Young Mazino and Tony Hale are wasted. On the whole, ‘Opus‘ is a horror dud that simply recycles everything A24 has produced before, just more underwhelmingly.