critics consensus

The Opera house location gives plenty to work with for director Dario Argento, who hits his decadently bloody high notes here. Read critic reviews

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Terror at the Opera Photos

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Movie Info

A hooded figure forces a young diva (Cristina Marsillach) to watch as he murders performers in a production of Verdi's opera "Macbeth."

Rating:

R
Genre:

mystery and thriller, horror
Original Language:

Italian
Director:

Dario Argento
Producer:

Mario Cecchi Gori, Vittorio Cecchi Gori
Writer:

Dario Argento, Franco Fraticelli
Release Date (Streaming):

Jul 18, 2014
Runtime:

1h 30m
Production Co:

Cecchi Gori Group Tiger Cinema

Cast & Crew

Cristina Marsillach
Betty

Urbano Barberini
Inspector Alan Santini

Daria Nicolodi
Mira

Ian Charleson
Marco

Antonella Vitale
Marion

William McNamara
Stefano

Show all Cast & Crew

Critic Reviews for Terror at the Opera

All Critics (22) | Top Critics (2) | Fresh (20) | Rotten (2)

Opera is always heading backwards to move forwards, and ends, bizarrely, with its heroine crawling in joyous derangement amidst the primordial plants and critters of the natural world, in an ultimate act of atavism.

January 21, 2019 | Full Review…

Anton Bitel
Little White Lies
Argento's Opera is a film of rare beauty, a celebration of love's absence and the ferocious force of the gaze.

December 4, 2001 | Rating: 4/4 | Full Review…

Ed Gonzalez
Slant Magazine
The music's beautiful and specially paired with the beautiful cinematography in this film... I can't really say a lot for the acting unfortunately.

October 26, 2020 | Rating: 7/10 | Full Review…

Emma Wolfe
SpookyAstronauts
In a career full of nutty, brutal, style-forward horror films, few titles on Dario Argento's resume are as strange, violent, or aesthetically singular as "Opera."

July 1, 2020 | Rating: B+ | Full Review…

Brent McKnight
The Last Thing I See
Allowing us voyeurs to watch from the stalls as he demonstrates why he's such a master of his art.

January 15, 2019 | Full Review…

Rob Aldam
Backseat Mafia
Opera sees giallo master Dario Argento working at his most gloriously OTT and this 1987 mystery contains all the traits you would expect from the Italian director: mystery, lust, violence and impressive camera work.

December 28, 2018 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

Niall Browne
Movies in Focus
An exercise in extremity, always strongest when shunting things into overdrive.

December 10, 2018 | Rating: 9/10 | Full Review…

Michael Coldwell
Starburst
For every gorgeously composed moment we see of the Macbeth live performances (inside an absolutely stunning opera house that I wish I could make into my very own lavish home), Argento in turn delivers up a merciless and savage death.

February 21, 2018 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Heather Wixson
Daily Dead
The color restoration is beautiful and Bluray shows off the color splendidly on home video. The singing is beautiful also. It is a pity the story was not more engaging.

January 15, 2018 | Rating: 6/10 | Full Review…

Mark R. Leeper
Mark Leeper's Reviews
Storytelling isn't much of a concern for Argento (it rarely is), but his gonzo interests remain flared up, enjoying one last romp armed with a reasonable budget and creative freedom, clearly relishing his time experimenting with operatic extremes.

January 15, 2018 | Rating: B | Full Review…

Brian Orndorf
Blu-ray.com
Movies like Opera can be treasures for minds inclined to dip further into the shadows. They are reminders that terror begins with uncertainty, not with howls of obvious pain.

October 26, 2016 | Rating: 3.5/4 | Full Review…

David Keyes
Cinemaphile.org
Italian horror master Dario Argento may have the most lopsided strengths and weaknesses of any director I've experienced.

September 26, 2009 | Rating: 61/100 | Full Review…

Gabe Leibowitz
Film and Felt