Overview
A young opera singer's dream role turns into a nightmare as a killer stalks her every move.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Extreme
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- visceral
- paranoid
- operatic
- late night horror viewing
- giallo marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly regard Opera as a visually exceptional and intelligent late-period Argento giallo whose graphic murder sequences can overwhelm its subplots and ending.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Murders are presented with elaborate, highly composed imagery inside and around the Macbeth production.
The killer compels Betty to watch murders, making looking itself part of the suspense mechanism.
Betty's opera debut unfolds amid a stalker's attacks, backstage suspicion, and the production's ominous Macbeth associations.
The killer's fixation on Betty's eyes and forced witnessing turns spectatorship into a form of domination.
Films like Opera, and why
Deep Red
stylized giallo mystery, elaborate murder set pieces, and obsessive killer psychology
Tenebrae
operatic visual design, psychological horror, and voyeuristic serial-killer suspense
StageFright: Aquarius
theatrical setting, graphic slasher violence, and mystery-driven stalking
Movie Details
- Director
- Dario Argento
- Release Date
- 1987-12-19
- Runtime
- 107 min
- Rating
- 6.7 / 10 (544)
Cast
- Cristina Marsillach
- Ian Charleson
- Urbano Barberini
- Daria Nicolodi
- Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni
- Antonella Vitale
- William McNamara
- Barbara Cupisti
- Antonino Iuorio
- Carola Stagnaro
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Philo, Night Flight Plus, Fandor Amazon Channel, Screambox Amazon Channel, Eternal Family, Cineverse, Midnight Pulp, Midnight Pulp Amazon Channel, ARROW
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Opera about?
- A young opera star is stalked through a cursed Macbeth production by a killer who turns spectacle, surveillance, and forced witnessing into weapons.
- What is Opera like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Opera as brisk, its intensity as extreme and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Opera violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Opera as graphic.
- What did critics think of Opera?
- Critics broadly regard Opera as a visually exceptional and intelligent late-period Argento giallo whose graphic murder sequences can overwhelm its subplots and ending.
- Which films are like Opera?
- Films with a similar feel include Deep Red, Tenebrae, and StageFright: Aquarius.
- How long is Opera?
- Opera runs 107 minutes.
- Where can I watch Opera?
- In United States, Opera streams on Philo, Night Flight Plus, Fandor Amazon Channel, Screambox Amazon Channel, Eternal Family, Cineverse, Midnight Pulp, Midnight Pulp Amazon Channel, ARROW.
