As a huge fan of Ayo Edebiri and of Juliette Lewis' performance in Yellowjackets, the trailer for this film ensnared me. An A24 horror, with celebrity cults as a centre focus -- this film had a lot of potential.
The eerie outback location where local names go missing due to old arguments with the cult leader did an excellent job at portraying the terrifying ordeal of cult following. The dedication of a large group of people to an unexplained religion because of a singer is something we can realistically see happen.
However, the execution of this film was poor. Despite some good performances throughout, it fails to even become the horror it is advertised as. I'm not one to ask for horror, and am likely to avoid films with jumpscares, but Opus fails to even create the tension necessary to label it a thriller, nevermind a horror. There were some pleasing Last Supper images, and references to Julius Caesar that had a bucketful of potential, but Opus fails to be intriguing, scary or hugely funny -- a huge let down compared to what it could have been.