They Called Him A Monster – And He Believed It
April 13, 2023
Death & Resurrection – THE ANGRY BLACK GIRL AND HER MONSTER – Music by Nima Fakhrara
By Randall D. Larson
Inspired by Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, THE ANGRY BLACK GIRL AND HER MONSTER tells the story of teenage anti-hero, Vicaria, who is on a desperate quest to cure death after her brother is killed.
Written and directed by Bomani J. Story, who cut his teeth on filmmaking when he started making short films with his fellow collaborators, such as NERVES OF STEEL, MILL STREET, HOLLOW TAGS. The cast includes Laya DeLeon Hayes, Denzel Whitaker, Chad L. Coleman, Reilly Brooke Stith, Keith Holliday, and Edem Atsu-Swanzy as Chris/Creature.
Versatile composer Nima Fakhrara (LOU, BECKY, THE GIRL IN THE PHOTOGRAPHS, THE SIGNAL, THE COURIER) is credited with scoring the film. In her 2023 review of the film’s premiere at SXSW for the Black Girl Nerds website, Cassandra Feltus wrote that “the sound design… is effective, and the classical music by Nima Fakhara adds a sense of sophistication to Vicaria’s movements, She may be bringing the dead back to life, but she does it with precision.”
“The film thematically challenges our ideas of life and death,” described Kelli Marchman McNeely in a story at the horrorfuel.com website. “Bomani J. Story, the film’s writer and director crafts a thrilling tale about a family that, despite the terrors of systemic pressure, will survive and be reborn again.” In a separate interview with cast member Chad L. Coleman, quoted by McNeely, the actor described his role of Donald in the film: THE ANGRY BLACK AND HER MONSTER is an incredibly important film because it adroitly takes on the literal horror of growing up in a marginalized community and blends it with the prerequisite gore and social injustice overtones, and unapologetically confronts the issues of our times while honoring the classic Frankenstein story. And yet not for one minute do you not realize how the deck is stacked against marginalized people of color.” Coleman stated.
THE ANGRY BLACK GIRL AND HER MONSTER opens in theaters and arrives On Demand and Digital on June 9, 2023, from RLJE Films.
Watch the film’s trailer:
Musique Fantastique 