The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster

Well, this 2023 movie titled "The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster" from writer and director Bomani J. Story was watchable. But that was also about there was to it. The storyline is just a take on the classic Mary Shelley "Frankenstein" story, except it is set in modern times.

And that just doesn't make "The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster" an outstanding movie experience, because writer and director Bomani J. Story doesn't bring anything new or innovative to the table. So this movie is one that came quietly and will disappear just as quietly.

It should be noted that the acting performances in the movie were good, especially by leading actress Laya DeLeon Hayes (playing Vicaria). And it was nice to see Chad L. Coleman (playing Donald) in the movie as well.

Visually then "The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster" was okay. It was not a movie that made use of a lot of special effects, and whatever practical effects that were in the movie were adequate for what they were. I wasn't impressed though.

The movie runs at 91 minutes, but it is a somewhat bland viewing experience. And this is hardly a movie that I will recommend for horror fans to rush out and get to watch. If you are familiar with the "Frankenstein" story, which I assume you are, then you have essentially already seen "The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster".

My rating of "The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster" lands on a four out of ten stars.

For an independently produced movie, this was well done.

They mention she has a German last name but won't tell us... she's obsessed with death. But why don't they tell us the name? Oh....... and her notebook is called "modern Prometheus" I get it now.

I love the restraint the filmmakers used in saving the line "It's alive! It's Alive!" when they did and giving it Aishia instead of the main character.

My biggest complaint is that Vicaria wasn't allowed to be "Mad" in Mad Scientist and makeup of for the monster wasn't strong. Chad Colman as the father character was the strongest character and my eyes were glued to the screen when ever he appeared.

This COULD have been great, it really could have. Maybe it just needed an extra 10 or 15 minutes to flesh out Vicaria & Chris' relationship, to SHOW us how close they were rather than just tell us. Maybe it needed to show a bit more of Vicaria's school life, to show us just how much of a genius she is rather than just tell us. Whatever it's lacking, it's not lacking much of it tbh.

While, yes, it IS a retelling of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, it's also more than just that. It's a story of familial bonds, and how far one young woman will go to keep those bonds alive. It's a story that gives the Creature a better chance at finding the familial love that Shelley's Creature was so cruelly denied. It's a story that doesn't just update the source material to fit our current world, but also updates the hope within.

Denzel Whitaker puts in a solid performance as Kango, the local drug lord; Keith Holliday is equally good as Kango's second, Jamaal; Chad Coleman is REALLY good in his limited screen time as Vicaria's dad, Donald; but Laya DeLeon Hayes is the real star (as she should be, playing the lead role) as Vicaria, the strong, determined young woman fighting to revive her brother and thereby restore her family.

Honestly one of the best adaptations of Mary Shelley's iconic novel I've ever seen.

I really did. The cast is uniformly very good to excellent. The lead (the "angry black girl" if you will), Laya DeLeon Hayes, gives a performance that is warm, human, funny, intense; her range is there. The rest of the cast was great with particular props for. Denzel Whittaker, Tracie Frank, and. Chad L. Coleman as standouts for me.

Now for the rest. The direction was spotty but decent. The cinematography was bizarre - the outdoor shots were often actually gorgeous; however, the indoor shots were awkward and sitcom-y, often to the point of taking this viewer out of the moment. Now for the script. This group of extremely talented, mostly young actors deserved so much more. There was no explanation for why anything happened (can't say too much without spoiling the plot). The dialogue started strong but kind of fell flat about halfway through. It's possible editing is to blame for some or even most of that.

All in all, it's a not-unpleasant but disappointing way to blow off some time, but it will leave you wishing for what could have been - because it could have been great.

A different take on a classic horror tale. I felt the pacing was good enough to keep me from looking at my phone, the jump scares weren't too predictable, and the cinematography was a1. Wasn't too preachy, some scenes were irrelevant, only issues I had was the ending was a little underwhelming and no subtitles in English. Compared to these other ridiculous "horror" films that are just excuses to show excessive gore with a basic story, this one was well done. Good movie if you're looking for a different type of horror film, take these other reviews with a grain of salt, & for 7$ you can't lose.