Opus is a new psychological thriller from A24 written and directed by Mark Anthony Green in his feature directorial debut. The film stars Ayo Edebiri, John Malkovich, Juliette Lewis, Murray Bartlett, Amber Midthunder, and Toy Hale. When Ariel (Edebiri) is introduced to a remote compound of legendary popstar, Alfred Moretti (Malkovich), who mysteriously disappeared 30 years ago. Surrounded by his cult, Ariel find herself in the middle of his twisted plan.

The film had all the ingredients of what I wanted out of a film. Ayo Edebiri is one of my favorite working actresses today. There is no denying she can lead a film. Malkovich is hit or miss for me, but the rest of the cast also intrigued me. Lastly, I will watch whatever A24 has to offer as I tend to find their films thematically rich. Unfortunately, aside from the lead performances, I didn’t find this film having much to offer.

If you go into this expecting a similar structure to Get Out or The Menu or Blink Twice, you’d be right. No, it’s not exactly the same, but when the film blatantly makes it obvious that it’s something we have seen before, it creates a monotonous chore to get through. With half a million feature length films, it’s going to be hard to get every single one original enough without borrowing some influence. The problem this film faces is that it borrows too much without creating something with its own identity.

The main character, Ariel, gets invited to a remote area on purpose. Sounds like Ex Machina. She visits a place where people are doing odd things. Sounds like Get Out. Everyone has to give up their phones. Sounds like Blink Twice. Everyone except for one character believes everything is normal. Sounds like The Menu. When a film is relying too much on those inspirations, I couldn’t help but be bored and turned off from what I was watching, especially when you are just waiting for a big reveal in the third act.

By the time the third act hits, it’s fine. It’s more entertaining and the visuals are impressive, but it also feels like I saw it coming a mile away. The motive behind what’s going on is beyond ridiculous and makes little to no sense. The film has multiple conclusions with even more reveals in the final conclusion. I do like the themes, but when they have to explain it to you in some of the most nonsensical dialogue, it takes away all of the intrigue of what came before.

Instead of just relying on aspects of other great films and making the film weird, I think the film could have done more with film’s themes in the second act. Why not show the influence music can have on a cult of followers instead of just showing odd things? There was so much more potential the film had that could have helped it differentiate itself from others. I honestly don’t mind movies like this. I was looking forward to it. I personally believe the film was going to do more to show how music can influence people in a negative way.

While I really didn’t like the film, I will admit that Ayo Edebiri & John Malkovich are completely innocent in all of it. Edebiri continues to show promise that she can lead a film. She even manages to help elevated the tired & cliche dialogue from the script. John Malkovich feels perfectly casted in the film for how weird the actor can get. Only he could embrace the weirdness the story requires out of this character.

As for the side characters, the film also had more potential for them. Juliette Lewis feels like she’s barely there. Murray Bartlett is the most interesting out of the supporting characters, but his motives are tiresome. Amber Midthunder is okay, but lacks characterization (good for her though for having two movies come out this weekend). Lastly, Tony Hale has one of the most pointless roles in a film in recent memory. And I thought Topher Grace was pointless in Heretic.

Overall, this is one of the most disappointing movies to come out of A24. I love films that thematically challenge you on a subject matter. This one just completely misses the mark by never tackling the negative repercussion of what music can do on cults of followers. Ayo Edebiri and John Malkovich are fine in their respective roles. I can’t help but see the true potential this film had.

VERDICT: 1.5/5 (Very Bad)