Following his career as a GQ fashion columnist, writer-director Mark Anthony Green makes his feature debut with a chillingly relevant dark comedic horror that gives Ayo Edebiri and John Malkovich some of their meatiest performances yet.
In Opus, Edebiri stars as Ariel, a young journalist inexplicably invited to the compound of pop legend Moretti (Malkovich), who stopped making music after retreating from the public eye 30 years before. During her time embedded within the community known as the Levelists, Ariel grows suspicious of group’s alarming behavior.
“Teach them young and the world will be yours,” reads one piece of cultist literature upon Ariel’s arrival.
Edebiri seamlessly switches from comedic brilliance to utter terror in a visceral performance as a new kind of final girl, one who gets the laughs along with the screams. And while Ariel’s gift of perception ultimately helps her navigate the red flags of her surroundings, it threatens to be her own downfall.
Malkovich plays a perfect adversary for Edebiri, each demanding the screen with their own magnetic presences. The 2x Oscar nominee delivers another unhinged performance for which he’s become known, channelling his inner pop star with some help from his inner psycho as the narcissistic Moretti, whose avant-garde style is as big as his god complex.
Meanwhile, the themes of the dark comedy are made even more relevant with Edebiri’s meteoric rise to onscreen stardom and Malkovich’s storied career as an actor, both having their own experiences of fame and fandom.
Juliette Lewis and Murray Bartlett serve hilariously vein depictions of media lifers who’ve been around the block and remain at each other’s throats, along with supporting performances from Tony Hale as Moretti’s equally eccentric publicist and Opus casting director Amber Midthunder as an aggressively devoted cult member.
In addition to a star-studded cast, the film is also ripe with cameos from Lil Nas X, Olivia Rodrigo, Lenny Kravitz and Rosario Dawson as the voice of Billie Holiday in a tragic puppet show that chillingly uses stuffed dead rats to portray reporters and paparazzi harassing the artist with offensive and dehumanizing questions.
The puppet performance serves as a grim explanation for Moretti’s motives, as well as a valid confrontation of the media’s abuse of power and privacy in pursuit of celebrity gossip. The host provides his guests with 24-hour concierges, who are required to follow them around and keep them under constant surveillance, turning the lens on those who have scrutinized him in the public eye.
His unusual treatment of his guests extends to their body hair, as one cult member explains that anyone who meets with Moretti is required to trim their pubes, even the most influential stars and politicians. “No one is more of a star fucker than the fucking stars,” they explain to a trepidatious Ariel.
Without hitting them over the head, the film is sprinkled with what appears to be subtle nods to Midsommar, Silence of the Lambs and other horror classics from over the years. Although there are also some inevitable comparisons to be made to The Menu, that should be come as no surprise since the “eat the rich” sub-genre has plenty of overlap with the “drink the Kool-aid” camp, both of which are increasingly relevant… for some reason.
And who wouldn’t want to join a cult with this kind of art direction and soundtrack? I certainly stan Malkovich after hearing Moretti’s bop ‘Dina Simone’ and the soft ballad ‘Tomorrow My Love’, both of which were created by Nile Rodgers and The-Dream in between recording sessions with Beyoncé. The duo is another impressive get for first-time filmmaker Green.
Although the film could have ended 20 minutes earlier than it does with a classic horror genre resolution to Ariel’s final-girl journey, the arc continues to develop as Green toys with the audience’s perception of influence and free will, delivering another satisfying twist that drives home his message.
It’s ultimately hard not to find this film relatable after a week of placating to some of the most talented actors and filmmakers of our time at Sundance. It’s a poignant, self-aware critique of how new generations consume media and worship at the toxic stan culture when “anyone could be a god at any moment,” as Moretti notes.
Producers are Collin Creighton, Brad Weston, Poppy Hanks, Jelani Johnson, Mark Anthony Green and Josh Bachove.
Title: Opus
Festival: Sundance (Midnight)
Screenwriter-Director: Mark Anthony Green
Cast: Ayo Edebiri, John Malkovich, Juliette Lewis, Murray Bartlett and Amber Midthunder
Distributor: A24
Running time: 103 min
