Sundance 2025: ‘Opus’ with Ayo Edebiri is a Strange Cult Horror Film
by Alex Billington
January 28, 2025
What a strange film this is… In this day and age of extraordinarily unhealthy celebrity obsession, it’s hard to shake most people from their mindless fascination with the rich & famous, no matter what anyone says or does. While many films have attempted to address this already, none have ventured this deep into this realm of absolute madness. Modern day celebrity mania has reached full-on cult status – and this is literally what Opus is about. Opus is the feature directorial debut of Mark Anthony Green, who has made a few short films before this and also wrote for GQ in his earlier years. His film features John Malkovich starring as a mega famous, unquestionably loved pop star musician named Alfred Moretti. While there are a few artists he could be referencing, let’s say he’s probably closest to Michael Jackson or Prince. He’s just as eccentric, kooky, and totally ridiculous – which we discover when a group of music journalists get invited to visit his compound to experience his latest album after 30 years. There’s much to chew on even if it isn’t a great film.
Opus seems like it’s trying to be like The Menu (one of my favorites) but for music instead of food. A small selection of around 6 journalists (most of whom have a past with Moretti) are suddenly invited on a special trip to Utah to meet with and listen to Moretti’s latest album. They’re way more excited and hyped up by the rare possibility to spend time with Moretti and listen to his new album before anyone else, infatuated with him even if they find the whole experience rather strange. The journalist line-up includes Juliette Lewis as a narcissistic TV personality, Murray Bartlett as the editor-in-chief of a Rolling Stone-esque magazine, Stephanie Suganami as an vain influencer, and most importantly, Ayo Edebiri as Ariel Ecton, a talented young writer who feels like she hasn’t been given a proper chance working at her magazine. After arriving at Moretti’s sprawling complex in the mountains, which is obviously a giant cult compound, little do they know they’re in for a treat – and there’s a point to all of it. The film ends up being less sharp than The Menu, and more chaotic like Blink Twice, with similar vibes to that thriller (also about obsession with famous people).
Despite this intriguing critical premise, Opus isn’t nearly as thrilling as it needs to be and more often than not underwhelms. It’s a bizarre, meandering, perplexing horror that is more of a cautionary tale about cults than anything. An eccentric musician who thinks of himself as a God reminds us that worshiping celebrities is actually extremely dangerous – and even trying to bring them down and/or expose them might be harder than it seems, too. It’s not as entertaining as expected, not as shocking as expected either, but there is still much to chew on and contemplate. John Malkovich actually went into a studio and recorded three original songs for the film (actually produced by Nile Rodgers & The-Dream) which are performed throughout as examples of both his old music (his all-timer pop hit called “Dina, Simone”) and his new tracks. They’re fun to listen to, just because they are original creations designed to sound like tracks that could really be mega hits while also being weird enough to be Moretti creations, but I doubt I’ll ever listen to these tracks again. All the performances are also fun but none of them ever hit their high notes and become transcendent. As fascinating as this is, it lacks the filmmaking excellence that makes The Menu an all-timer in the same vein.
When all is said and done, by the time this film wraps up, there is a much more interesting core theme in it regarding being so obsessed with your own self-importance and desire for success, that you can ultimately contribute to spreading more evil around the world. It just takes a long time to get there. And the impact of this message is watered down by everything that comes before, with the film losing energy and intrigue as it goes on. I am pretty sure many people will hate this film – the way it plays out will upset them. I’m not sure how many will love it instead, though it does feel like there is an audience for it that will be enamored by its craziness and Moretti’s zaniness. That’s for sure. I was hoping to emerge saying “wow that was a wild ride!!” but it ends on such a strange “we’re fucked” note it’s hard to walk out feeling good about it. It will take more time for many to process and analyze it further. Or not. I’m glad there’s another film out there reminding us that celebrity obsession is bad and harmful, I just wish it was a better film that I could actually recommend.
Alex’s Sundance 2025 Rating: 5.5 out of 10
Follow Alex on Twitter – @firstshowing / Or Letterboxd – @firstshowing
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