Opus (2025) Movie Review - More Style Over Substance

Welcome to Knockout Horror. Today we are reviewing brand new psychological horror, thriller, movie Opus. This movie just released and follows the story of a writer, Ariel (Ayo Edebiri), who travels to the compound of 90’s pop icon Alfred Moretti (John Malkovich) to document his upcoming album. Only to realise that there may be something far more sinister to the strange way Moretti lives than initially seems.

Truly Horrifying

I think I may have developed a new, negative, habit over the past day, or so. A habit that consists of me gleefully looking back on a time where I hadn’t seen an aging John Malkovich gyrating around in a shiny outfit and using a microphone as a prop to represent his excited phallus. Those were wonderful times. The halcyon days, if you will. I am sure it will take me some time to stop repeatedly reminiscing about them and just come to terms with the fact that these are, now, the after-times. It happened, it can’t be changed and I need to get used to it.

If I am being honest, I feel as though Opus presented me with a whole bunch of things I didn’t want to see. I didn’t want another style over substance horror bore that left me wondering where the hell the story was. I didn’t want to see another “flavour of the month” young actor using the same facial expression to react to every little last thing that happens. And I certainly didn’t want to see a bunch of well known actors being forced to regurgitate the vile dreck that writer, director, Mark Anthony Green calls a “script”. But, here we are.

It’s not that Opus is, necessarily, a terrible movie. It’s just a woefully disappointing one. The story here is, at least, fairly interesting. The idea of a pop icon having, potentially, lost his marbles is one that will likely resonate with most people. After all, we have seen dozens of celebrities lose their minds to their own fame over the years. Turning that concept up to 11 should, surely, make for a fascinating horror movie. The truth is, Opus never manages to deliver.

Slow and Laborious

Opus takes well over an hour to actually get going. There is so much redundancy, early on, that it is difficult to actually find a single scene with any significance. The only moments that really stand out are those where Malkovich is afforded carte blanche to simply chew the scenery. Your enjoyment of these moments will come down, largely, to your tolerance for absurdity.

Malkovich is a well regarded actor who has fallen off in recent years. It is still fun to see him bring his very specific brand of eccentricity to a character. And some of these moments work quite well. It’s hard not to consistently wonder in just what world this character would have been a world famous pop star, though. The music is terrible, he’s a genuinely creepy looking dude. And there is barely a single star from the 90s who has managed to sustain the level of popularity that would force people to pay attention, on a worldwide scale, after a 30 year absence.

Regardless, the Midsommar and Wicker Man lite compound shenanigans are the main thing that is supposed to inspire feelings of unease in the viewer. The truth of the matter is, however. Green forgot to actually put anything particularly odd or scary in these scenes. It’s just a bunch of seemingly nice people living an alternative lifestyle. It’s difficult to ignore the almost school yard bully sense of “these people are weird because they are different” that forms the backbone of Opus’s story.

Messy and Incoherent

Naturally, in a world where people are more divided than ever, can never shut up about conspiracies, and trust in each other is at an all time low. It’s up to our protagonist to be the single, solitary, person to have any level of suspicion about what is taking place at the compound. How she came to these assumptions is never really elaborated on. Beyond her simply being more worldly wise than the people around her. She’s from New York, after all!

Still, her desire for fame and attention as an aspiring writer forces her to endure. Eventually leading to the expected escalation that comes in full force, out of nowhere, like a bull in a China shop. It’s almost as if Green realised the clock was ticking and felt a need to wrap things up. Once the shit hits the fan the movie is done within minutes. There is no real build up and nothing to really suggest the escalation is remotely necessary.

Far too much time is spent sniffing the flowers and allowing the characters to engage in extremely poorly written conversations about nothing. None of the characters are developed. The point of the compound is barely expanded on. Our protagonist is a blank canvas and even Malkovich’s Moretti is pretty thread bare when it comes to who he really is. It’s messy, boring, and woefully disappointing! Opus also lacks in scares and is incredibly predictable thanks to its lampooning of similar movies.

Worth Mentioning

On the plus side, Opus is a fairly decent looking film. There are a few laughs to be had, here and there. Some may enjoy the story as something of a similar theme to other cult based horror. I enjoyed seeing Juliette Lewis and I thought Amber Midthunder had some decent moments of physical comedy considering she barely speaks. Malkovich is allowed to go wild and some are going to really enjoy that. His performance is quirky which is definitely a plus.

The closing moments of the film feature a revelation that does add a bit of spice to the story. It’s an interesting choice and I did enjoy it. I didn’t think Ayo Edebiri brought much to the production. I am sure plenty will disagree but, outside of more comedic moments, she is very flat and never seems to react to what is happening on screen. She needed some stronger direction to bring out some nuance in her performance.

Editing is a massive problem. There is such a huge disconnect between some scenes that you are left filling in the gaps, yourself. Some of the choices made here when it comes to direction and editing leave you wondering just how inexperienced this team were. It’s like they forgot to film certain shots and had to work with what they had left. Very strange.

Should You Watch Opus?

I was very disappointed by Opus. I thought it had the makings of an interesting movie but it never comes together. It is very style over substance, poorly written, lacking in excitement, predictable, and features a cast of poorly developed characters. Some will probably enjoy John Malkovich’s performance and appreciate the strange character of Moretti. Others may find some entertainment in the cult like horror shenanigans. If, however, you actually desire a well formulated story, interesting characters, and satisfying plot progression then, no, you shouldn’t watch Opus.

Our Scoring Philosophy: A Fair Fight

Horror is a genre that thrives thanks to indie film makers and low budget creators. At Knockout Horror, we firmly believe that every movie that we review deserves a fair fight. That's why we grade on a curve. Our star ratings are all about context, judging a film on what it achieves with the resources it has.

A 4-star rating for a scrappy indie horror made for $10,000 is a testament to its ingenuity and raw power. A 4-star rating for a $100 million blockbuster means it delivered on its epic promises. We don't compare them side-by-side; we celebrate success in every weight class, from the back-alley brawler to the heavyweight champion. Please keep this in mind when considering star ratings.

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