JP Nunez
I have to be honest, when I first heard about The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster, I dismissed it without giving it much thought. The title sounded a bit silly to me, so I didn’t think the movie would be any good. But then I saw the trailer, and everything changed. It was fantastic, so the film immediately gained a spot on my most-anticipated list. I requested a screener as soon as I could, and after finally getting the chance to watch it, I’m happy to say that it does not disappoint.
The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster was written and directed by Bomani J. Story, and it stars Laya DeLeon Hayes, Denzel Whitaker, Chad L. Coleman, Reilly Brooke Stith, and Keith Holliday. It’s a modern reimagining of Mary Shelley’s classic sci-fi/horror novel Frankenstein, and it’s about a brilliant teenager named Vicaria whose life has been marred by loss ever since she was a young girl. Her mother died when she was only eight, and her brother Chris was murdered in a gang mission gone wrong.
It’s been a rough life, but she thinks she has a solution. She believes death is a disease that can be cured, and she’s about to put that theory to the test. She tries to bring Chris back to life, and at first, it seems like a success. However, soon enough, her newly revived brother embarks on a murderous rampage, and Vicaria is the only one who can stop him.
Right from the get-go, The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster had me hooked. The opening scene explains Vicaria’s backstory in a way that makes her super relatable, so anybody who’s ever lost a loved one is sure to connect with her almost immediately. Then, when we meet her in the present day, she gets even better.
The girl is confident and brilliant, but she’s also really down to earth. In fact, the movie makes a point of letting us know that she’s not just a know-it-all genius. Despite her intelligence, she still has a lot left to learn, and that makes her even more relatable. She’s just the perfect mix of extraordinary talent and an ordinary, fun personality, so you can’t help but root for her throughout the entire film.
Since The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster is about her, she’s the heart and soul of the story, but she’s not the only great character here. In fact, I loved everybody in this movie, even the side characters who are only in it for a handful of scenes. They’re all played excellently, so no matter what was happening on screen, I always enjoyed seeing these people go about their lives.
And at the end of the day, that’s what makes this film so great. See, since it’s a reinterpretation of Frankenstein, the plot doesn’t do anything all that new. It’s the same basic story we’ve seen in just about every Frankenstein movie ever made, and there are even a bunch of times when it’s a bit predictable.
However, since I loved the characters, none of that mattered. Not only did I just really enjoy seeing these people in general, but when The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster got tense, my love for them made the horror super effective. I was never scared myself, but since I genuinely cared what happened to the characters, I got scared for them. I wanted them to make it out alive, and that more than made up for the lack of fear I felt for myself.
That being said, I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. I’m not saying that the horror in this film is bad. It’s actually really good. Director Bomani J. Story does an excellent job of creating creepy settings and ramping up the tension and suspense, so I was on the edge of my seat for a large portion of the movie. On top of that, The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster also has a few effective jump scares (but thankfully, not too many!) and some good gore, so even apart from the characters, the horror in this film is excellent. The characters simply elevate it and take it to the next level.
Last but not least, let’s talk about the movie’s message. While one of the characters can be a little preachy at times, I never felt like the film as a whole tried to shove anything down my throat. In fact, the message is even a bit subtle, so if you want, you could easily just view it as a fun monster movie and nothing else.
However, if you want to dig deeper, there’s some real thematic substance here as well. The film is essentially about how people can be compelled by factors outside their control to do terrible things, but it reminds us that at their core, they’re still human beings with the same dignity and value as anybody else. It’s a really great message, but if I’m being honest, I have to say that I think The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster fumbles it a tiny bit. The way the story embodies that idea doesn’t quite make 100% airtight logical sense, so I couldn’t suspend my disbelief entirely.
But in the grand scheme of things, that’s really more of a nitpick than anything else. It pales in comparison to everything The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster gets right, so I highly recommend that you check this movie out. It has likable characters, excellent horror, and a really great message, so despite its one tiny flaw, it’s still one of the best horror films I’ve seen all year.
The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster is set to arrive in theaters on June 9, and then it’ll hit VOD on June 23 before streaming on ALLBlk and Shudder at a later date.
