By Keith Walther | Rose Law Group Reporter
While the term may reference a musician’s best work, “Opus” is anything but a crowning achievement as a film. Billed as a horror movie, it lacks cohesion, direction, and fright to make it a worthwhile watch. The story is filled with ideas but can’t seem to decide which idea it wants to pursue, leaving audiences puzzled about its purpose.
Ariel Ecton (Ayo Edebiri) is a young writer for a major publication who is continually relegated to perform menial tasks beneath her station. This all changes when a reclusive musical icon reemerges after three decades of hiding. Alfred Moretti (John Malkovich) returns with the promise of a new album that has his fans in a frenzy, and he invites a small group of media personalities, including Ariel, to his compound to be the first to experience his new music.
The young journalist quickly realizes this remote compound houses a cult filled with fanatical worshippers willing to do anything Moretti wishes. When the sadistic plans of Moretti and his cult are revealed, the body count begins to rise, and Ariel’s only hope for survival is to escape the confines of this evil prison.
This is a film that tries so hard to be the next “Blink Twice” or “The Menu,” but is neither creative enough nor humorous enough to even be in the same league as these movies. “Opus” is the debut of Mark Anthony Green as a writer/director/producer, and he makes his fair share of glaring mistakes that turn this production into a forgettable mess. He starts off with a decent premise that holds a lot of promise, only to muddy the waters with too many undeveloped themes. Green basically throws a bunch of ideas against the wall to see what will stick, like a celebrity obsessed culture mixed with a power-hungry cult leader and the death of investigative journalism. This is an ambitious undertaking for the most seasoned of filmmakers, let alone a rookie, and he fails to develop any of these ideas in a significant way, leading to gaping plot holes and overused cliches. By the time he offers up a weak explanation as to the cult’s purpose, it’s too little, too late, because Green has already lost the interest of his audience.
Positive takeaways from Green’s debut are the cinematography and set design that enhance a creepy vibe along with music that is a rather compelling listen. Unfortunately, the pacing he employs undermines these gains. He begins the film as a slow burn, which would be fine, but without the burn, it just becomes slow. Viewers would expect quality character development to satisfy the slow pacing, but the characters are all severely underdeveloped and cliched. He then hastily rushes the ending as if he realized he was far behind schedule and had to make up lost time. This creates a sloppy, haphazard climax that fails to deliver an entertaining payoff.
The saving grace of this film is the acting by its leads. Known for her Emmy winning role on Hulu’s “The Bear,” Ayo Edebiri is a talented young actress with a lot of upsides. While this film won’t positively move the needle in her career, it does show that she has the chops to be a leading lady in Hollywood. She successfully presents her character with a quiet intelligence, observing from the background with an inner strength that can explode into action when needed. This is a commendable performance that viewers can rally behind despite the lack of character development.
At one point in the 1990s, John Malkovich was known as the quintessential villain but has consistently demonstrated a wide range of talent that allows him to play a variety of roles. The veteran Oscar nominee returns to an antagonist type of role in “Opus,” and he successfully taps back into that creepy, emotionally detached form that propelled his career. That penetrating stare and eloquent line delivery make this another performance worth seeing.
If you’re a horror fan looking for a solid, frightening experience at the theater, then this is not it. The only ovation “Opus” will receive is when the audience realizes it’s finally over. Even though it’s buoyed by the performances from the leads and solid music, the scattered themes and purpose set up an underwhelming, predictable conclusion that will leave you annoyed by the waste of time and money.
This movie earns:
