#15: OPUS

STARRING: Ayo Edebiri, John Malkovich, Juliette Lewis, Murray Bartlett, Amber Midthunder, Stephanie Suganami, Young Mazino and Tatanka Means. Music especially written by Nile Rogers and The Dream. Written and directed by Mark Anthony Green. Budget $10 million. Running time 104 minutes. 

The Menu has a lot to answer for, since this is clearly inspired by that infinitely better 2022 film. This one sees six people, journalist Ariel, our heroine, (Ayo Edebiri), her boss Stan (Murray Bartlett), TV talk show host Clara (Juliette Lewis), radio shock jock Bill () influencer Emily (Stephanie Suganami) and papararazzi photographer Bianca (Melissa Chambers) invited  for a fabulous weekend to witness the return of a rock god, Alfred Moretti (John Malkovich), after 20 odd years, and the release of his new album, Ceasar's Revenge. It turns out that in the 20 odd years since he last released an album he's only gone and started a cult called the Levelists who all live with him in his Utah compound, or commune. It turns out each of the six invited guests, save one, have major historical issues with said Moretti, as will become clear, but there's more at work here than just a simple tale of revenge, there's also a sinister conspiracy and cult with grand designs.

But there are more literal skeletons in the closet than hot cakes at play here and when our six invited guests arrive at the rock god's cult-like commune you quickly realise not all is right here, and that the outcome isn't going to be good, especially when one of our band discover a secret stash of cyanide on the eve of a final night of revelations. Then there's just the odd matter of a 'TWO YEARS LATER' coda to wrap things up and reveal what was really going on. 

Best thing in this by a goddam country mile is John Malkovich who I'm sure probably exudes menace and malice even when he's asleep. It's been a long time since I've seen him play a villain and it's great to have him back having fun. Sadly this film is too wrapped up in its bigger picture and truth be told, it's not that entertaining. This isn't a bad film or even a shit one, I just wish it's been better. our heroine, Ariel, Ayo Edebiri, isn't that likeable, she comes across as a over privileged and needy and the other invited guests are just cyphers and cut-outs and lack the bite and depth of the Menu inspirations. There's also a lack of any real menace. 

At one point one of our characters is killed and the next day when the others ask about them they're fobbed off. However in the very next scene they arrive in a room where there is one chair fewer, and none of them say anything. This bugged me deeply. Along with the fact we never really learn what it was exactly it was that made them the target of Moretti's ire, and the final 'shocking' reveal, when you think about it, means that they weren't even that relevant to Moretti's plan.

7/10