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‘Opus’ Review: Even Ayo Edebiri and John Malkovich Can’t Save A24’s Exceedingly Silly Horror Send-Up of Fandom
Ayo Edebiri and John Malkovich lead Mark Anthony Green’s music fandom send-up thriller 'Opus,' which delivers neither good songs, nor deep chills.
The formula is nearly a fool-proof one to pull off an entertaining horror-thriller, but writer-director Mark Anthony Green ’s paper-thin feature debut “ Opus ” squanders the opportunity with shockingly low stakes and only the most basic observations on celebrity culture and fan entitlement. The scenes in the desert complex hint at cultish machinations in the style of “Midsommar,” with the guests — including Juliette Lewis’ gossip TV host Clara, Melissa Chambers’ veteran paparazzi photographer Bianca and musician (and former Moretto adversary) Bill Lotto (Mark Sivertsen) — being asked to turn in their phones and laptops before they can enter their rooms. With a confused tone stuck between satire and horror (that also informs Malkovich’s eccentric, out-of-place performance), and various half-baked ideas about cultural icons and toxic fandom, “Opus” mostly feels like a missed genre opportunity.
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