Celebrity, stan culture, and pop culture media collide in A24’s Opus. The film follows the sudden resurgence of a legendary pop star, Moretti, who mysteriously went off the grid thirty years ago. Now, Moretti’s back – and he’s dropping a new album. But when Ariel, a young writer waiting on her chance for a big story, lands an invite to Moretti’s private compound, she finds more than just a celebration of new music. Surrounded by Moretti’s cultish followers and sycophantic journalists, Ariel begins to suspect something more sinister at play.

Opus comes from writer/director Mark Anthony Green, and stars Ayo Edebiri as Ariel and John Malkovich as Moretti. The cast also features Murray Bartlett, Melissa Chambers, Tony Hale, Juliette Lewis, Mark Siversten, and Stephanie Suganami.

Malkovich as a pop star-turned cult leader is delightful. He’s eating up this role, and seems to be having a lot of fun doing it. Moretti is flashy, self-absorbed, and the epitome of celebrity excess, from his over-the-top outfits (great costume design!) to the way he makes himself the center of attention when surrounded by his followers. The film’s original music works, too. “Dina Simone” IS really catchy. I believe that Moretti knew how to crank out hits, and that people would get wrapped up in this guy.

Edebiri also nails Ariel. For the story to work, Ariel needs to be suspicious and weirded out by what’s happening on the compound enough that her character appeals to the audience, but also willing to play along with everything enough that her characterization as a low-level writer on an assignment with her boss makes sense. Edebiri threads the needle perfectly. You can really feel her weigh each decision she makes; the professional need to keep her head down and go along butting up against her personal instincts to question everything that feels off.

It was also refreshing to see Opus break the mold slightly with its “trapped at a culty compound” type story. I liked that Ariel didn’t just grow suspicious of everything that was happening, but decide to stick around anyway until the worst possible moment. I appreciated that she didn’t have to stumble upon a body to realize things were bad; she seemed more willing to trust her instincts to get out than characters in a lot of other films with similar premises.

Overall, Opus does a solid job of slowly building and escalating tension throughout the film. I do think it’s less of a true “thriller” than other films with a similar type of premise; it gets there in the end, but the opening half is less intense. That said, keeping things a little more low-key made it feel more realistic to me. It can be frustrating when you’re watching a horror/thriller and the situation is immediately so dire or unnerving that you can’t imagine why anyone would stick around. Like I said before, Ariel’s responses to Moretti’s compound felt reasonable and relatable.

Although I really enjoyed Opus overall, I do think that the film could have done more to dive into some of its themes. There’s a look at fame, celebrity worship, and how the media influences the public’s perception and ideologies present here. However, it feels like the movie just skims the surface of these topics. I would have liked to see this explored more, especially since these themes are ultimately relevant to Opus’ final moments between Ariel and Moretti.

Still, while Opus could have done more to dig into its premise, it’s an entertaining watch. Malkovich and Edebiri’s performances really elevate the film, and it brought in enough twists and turns to keep me engaged from start to finish. You’ll think of this one the next time a celeb announces a private album release event…

Opus arrives in theaters March 14.