User reviews

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.

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.

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.

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.

Death has been marking the life of the young and intelligent Vicaria (Laya DeLeon Hayes) for as long as she can remember. Both her mother and her brother have died, the latter murdered. And she lives alone with her authoritarian father (Chad L. Coleman). "Death is a disease" says Vicaria, a disease that she is about to eradicate by herself. After the brutal and sudden murder of her brother, she embarks on a dangerous journey to bring him back to life, though the results aren't entirely successful. A series of circumstances have led her to become a mad scientist capable of resurrecting bodies and making them a monstrous extension of all the rage and frustration that she has had to live and is having to live. Death can be cured !

A contemporary Frankenstein that examines, through terror, the horrors and brutalities faced by African-American communities living in marginal areas of the United States. Police violence, racism, criminal gangs, and the world of drugs have taken their toll on the protagonists and this is demonstrated throughout the film.

The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster(2023) thematically challenges our ideas of life and death. 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. There is plenty of violence, grue and gore, the heart stops several times. The film is somewhat reminiscent of the much better ¨Deadly Friend¨ 1986 by Wes Craven also with a teenager from a simple suburban neighborhood who creates a kind of Frankenstein for his own purposes. The interpretations of everyone around are acceptable, such as: Laya DeLeon Hayes playing the lonely teenage genius, Chad L. Coleman as her daddy, Denzel Whitaker as Kango, Reilly Brooke Stith as Aisha , among others. The motion picture was mediocrely written/produced/directed by Bomani J. Story.

The low-budget film turns out to be mediocre, so it is advisable to see other better versions inspired by the Mary Shelley classic, among which I would include the following: ¨Victor Frankenstein¨ (2015) by Paul McGuigan with Daniel Radcliffe, James McAvoy, Jessica Brown Findlay. ¨Mary Shelley's Frankenstein¨ (1994) by Kenneth Branagh with Robert De Niro, Tom Hulce, Kenneth Branagh. ¨Frankenstein unbound¨ (1990) by Roger Corman with Jason Patrick, John Hurt, Bridget Fonda, Nick Brimble. ¨The Curse of Frankenstein¨ (1957) by Terence Fisher with Peter Cushing, Hazel Court, Robert Urquhart, Christopher Lee. ¨Bride of Frankenstein¨ (1935) by James Whale with Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Valerie Hobson, Ernest Thesiger. ¨Frankenstein¨ (1931) by James Whale with Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, John Boles.

Not bad and it wasn't too far from being really, really good.

I love the first act. No rush, it gives us the right background of the main characters, the neighbourhood, and their difficulties and motivations. I also really like what it does in the third act. Violent, tie up loose ends, and close arcs with meaning. I have several issues with the second act.

Most of my problems in the second act revolve around the difficulty in varying something from the moment "the event" occurs and the excessive educational/doctrinal speeches that exist. When the main character does it in the beginning, it seems genuine, an act of rebellion, and affirmation, it makes sense. When several other supporting characters do it throughout the movie, in an even more obvious way, it becomes a bit too much. Not everyone in a neighbourhood behaves, thinks, and speaks in the same way, and it ends up sounding more like the writer's voice than the voices of those characters.

There are also some issues with the editing and sound, with some cuts and sound effects that seem for a straight-to-DVD release, but nothing too serious, because the director knows where he wants to go and does a very good job on his debut, with some interesting shots, and starting with the identity it gives to that community from the first act.

In terms of performances, I feel that there are weaknesses in some of the supporting cast, but Laya Hayes is fantastic. She was able to carry the whole film on her shoulders, with several behavioural and emotional nuances, and it's easy to predict a promising future career for her. A star, for sure.

Overall, a very interesting debut feature, filled with good ideas, bringing something new to the table and to the "Frankenstein concept", which could have been brilliant if it was more polished.

This movie was listed among horror films, but it doesn't belong in that category. The core concept about the struggles of Black people within their own communities is good, but it wasn't portrayed as one might expect. While the attempt to explore it from a sci-fi perspective was interesting, the execution was poor. The trailer gave a vibe of horror and suspense, but it delivered only the latter.

The lead character performs well, and her development is solid. The young girl also fits her role. However, I wish the lead had more depth-perhaps a darker personality and a stronger obsession with her mission.

The VFX are poor. Honestly, the science aspect doesn't make sense. The character is portrayed as a nerd, but she seems to know little about physics or chemistry, although she's good at biology. We see electrical circuits, diodes, gates, and anatomy pictures in her books, but she is far more naïve than her portrayal suggests.

It feels as though the movie was initially written by an adult but later taken over by a child.

Death is a disease and Vicaria (Laya DeLeon Hayes) intends to cure it. The black teenage genius comes from a rough neighborhood where drugs and death is all around. When her brother is killed, she puts her theory to use.

This is obviously trying to adapt Mary Shelley's Frankenstein into a modern 'ghetto'. There are moments of good tension. I actually find the school more compelling than the monster story. The 'monster' does not have enough screen time. Brother and sister should have more time together before and after the transformation. This movie needs to be about their relationship. The most interesting monster performance is Kango. The father is also interesting. This movie has a few good moments and probably a fine elevator pitch. It struggles to hold together in the second half.

The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster is not your typical Frankenstein movie, it's starring an almost all black cast and features the theme of growing up in the hood and the dangers that come with that. The actors deliver a solid job and we have some nice bloody gore, but on the other hand the movie suffers from plot holes and unrealistic scenes. Our protagonist somehow finds all the equipment to build a device to bring back people from the dead in an abandoned warehouse and also manages to steal some dead bodies for her to saw together for her monster. There are many other scenes that did not make sense and I think the script had too many problems. Also in the beginning there's a conflict with our protagonist and her teacher and the movie treats the teacher like she is the bad one, but it was the protagonist that kept interrupting and wouldn't listen and after dealing with the consequences her father got mad at the teacher telling her to teach even though that was what she was trying to do before the younger girl kept interrupting her disturbing the class. That immediately gave this movie a huge racial aspects that was unnecessary. With a slightly different script this movie could have turned out better but this way it's just forgettable and there are way better movies about bringing back people from the dead like Frankenstein did. [5,2/10]

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.

This movie is sure to do well via streaming with it's genre mashup but if you can see it in person make an effort to do so. It's visually striking on the big scale and the lead actress has an amazingly expressive face. You want to see her push up her glasses while 100 feet high. You want to see her thinking.

It's a straight forward retelling of Frankenstein in a different setring. The context is the ordinary and challenging life of an exceptional young black woman surrounded by death. Great debut for virtually unknown director and I hope to see whatever he does going forward. But this is clearly straight from his heart. If you are interested in horror of any flavor, family stories, what it means to be gifted, or the impact of police brutality and drugs on communities this is something you'll want to see.

Simply put, this was not a good movie.

Every other scene left a feeling of, 'this scene could have been better'. And that equates to half of the movie.

The other half is arguably a 4 or 5 star rating at best. Either or, you will most definitely want your wasted time back.

Too many scenes were done well below par. You will constantly be asking yourself was this the director's fault? Inexperienced, rushed, no budget, lack of vision, etc.

Or you'll ask yourself, was this the actor's fault?s Inexperienced, misinterpreting the script, never became the character, just not a good actor, etc.

I wanted to turn this movie off multiple times and the only reason I didn't was my curiosity (not hope)... for will it get better? It never did.

I sort of feel bad for anyone who saw this movie in a theater; and felt they had to watch until the end because they paid money to see it.

I feel extremely glad I did not pay to see this 'movie'.

The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster is a 2023 drama/fantasy/horror film written and directed by Bomani J. Story. The film tells the story of Vicaria, a brilliant teenager who believes death is a disease that can be cured. After the brutal and sudden murder of her brother, she embarks on a dangerous journey to bring him back to life. The film is inspired by Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and thematically challenges our ideas of life, death, and contemporary politics through satire.

Overall, The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster is a powerful and thought-provoking film that is sure to resonate with audiences. Its unique blend of drama, fantasy, and horror, combined with its strong performances and intelligent writing, make it a must-see film.

It is not simply a horror film, it is rather a daring on the part of its director Bomani J. Story to offer us a harsh and cruel metaphor on the racial and social issues that a certain part of society faces in a world bathed in horror.

With this argument, the film takes us to its own version of a classic horror tale and it does so in its own style and with its own arguments, giving us a forceful film that is established as one of the best we have of the year in terms of the horror genre. That this 2023 has given us.

The humanity of its characters and the fear of death make up a script that is not limited to being politically correct, it is a film with guts and cruelty in the same adventure. It is a cruel film that clearly and sinisterly addresses the constant nightmare that surrounds its characters: Laya DeLeon Hayes's powerful performance helps a lot, as she shoulders the dramatic weight of the film and makes it full of emotions and nuances that They captivate you and become attached to their character.

By having character, the film brings out the power of its director who knows how to give you good moments during its precise 91 minutes. Its director gives us a moving and bloodstained cry for control, which ends up giving us a wonderful, tragic and terrifying film, which gives us a breath of fresh air in a genre in which these types of daring are always appreciated.

A bet that is rightly inscribed among the highlights of what is going on in this 2023, it is not perfect, it is true it has a couple of things that prevent it from being totally round, but in any case we have the feeling of being in front of one of the great titles that we have of the year, both for their daring when it comes to setting out their premise and knowing how to manage a perfect connection with the viewer in a world where the film always plays on the finest thread of limits.

Stereotypes are stereotypes for a reason. Whilst Laya DeLeon Hayes is a Fabulous actor and the reason it gets four stars, there is nothing original here. Frankenstein meets Weird Science meets Tales From The Hood with a smidge of Totally Killer, with a happyish ending. It is entertaining, and very predictable. Has all the stereotypes without any real substance. There's no Blade creativity, no surprises. No twists that you cannot see coming. The critics gave this a lot more credit than it deserves for stereotypical reasons. Pop the popcorn, watch it and forget about it, much like the 1931 version.

This is an interesting film attempting to present social commentary on the violence perpetuated against the Black community in America as well as the impact of privilege has to keep non-dominate groups down, and powerless. The film displays the trap of poverty that is perpetuated when resources are kept away due to institutional racism, and the struggle from within to gain any sense of power.

And melding this with a Frankenstein's monster science fiction horror also highlights the sense of grief that is amplified by loss, especially when there is already so much that is lacking.

Somehow, all of this doesn't come together well as a whole. The film is well made. The acting is decent if a bit heavy note on the "Angry."

But the notes the film seems to want to make are either hit rather heavily, or in very conforming stereotypical way. I can say that the repetition of standard elements is indicative of the continuation of the constricted ways poverty from oppression limits how one can survive and gain any power. But I also have seen other films that focus on these issues and weave this together with the plot more successfully. Possibly because they aren't trying to mesh two genres together other films are able to focus more clearly. Films like "The Hate You Give" and "Fresh" (1994 by Boaz Yakin) are two of my favorites that depict similar ideas better.

I wasn't expecting much from this movie since the positive reviews left me worried this film would actually be a pretentious and patronizing slog that makes certain critics feel "down with the Black struggle." It can come off as trying too hard when you read some of what these film blogs write. I'm just approaching this from a casual movie watcher's perspective.

I'm happy to say I was pleasantly surprised. The film was well-acted, the casting was fantastic, the pacing was fine where the movie didn't overstay its welcome, and the story did take the Frankenstein tale and added it's own flair to it. While some of the social commentary fell flat for me like the teacher scene, other parts were done decently. I would recommend this film to others.

One word of warning is this movie is more of a drama than horror flick. Don't expect a lot of gore or spooks like traditional horror films have. It has scenes with tension and kills, but they're offscreen.

So far 100% of reviews have completely and utterly missed the mark! This is meant to be a comedy and if you watch it with that in mind it will make sense and youll be rolling non floor laughing. From the opening monologue to the very end it was spectacularly funny. However it was clearly mis marketed I don't kniw how or why. Regardless it's nice to see a comedy pitched at intellectual viewers instead of the low brow Peele tripe. If youve seen it once and were disappointed try rewatching it from a comedy perspective and all the silly unbelievable unrealistic scenes and dialogue will make total hilarious sense. From the teacher" mispronouncing" her name as Vicaria when it's supposed to be pronounced Vuhcaria even though it has an "i" not an "a" after the V while she's idiotically claiming death is merely a disease is Comedy Gold. Or when lil momma says to her son" wanna hide something from a n!gga put it in a book!" Is So True yet funny.

Vicaria is an incredibly intelligent young woman.

A black teenager, who goes to a predominantly white school, with racist teachers.

Who is understandably upset, when one of said teachers calls the cops on her, when she challenges the status quo.

Taught to think outside the box by her father...she truly believes that death is a disease that can be cured.

So, when her brother, Chris, is killed as a result of gang activity.

She decides to put her hypothesis to the test...by attempting to reanimate him.

Which she does successfully.

Though, not exactly with the results she was hoping for.

Because, upon his return, Chris goes on a bit of a killing spree.

Reaping vengeance on his enemies...including those who continue to threaten his family.

Leaving Vicaria to deal with the aftermath of her actions...in all their various forms.

What stands out here is the acting- particularly from lead actress Laya DeLeon Hayes- and general style of the film.

Which, while the story itself could have been improved upon, fashions writer/director Bomani J Story as a force to watch out for in the future.

As this is his feature length directorial debut.

Having been produced by CryptTV, I would've liked to have seen a bit more effort put in to the creature effects on the monster.

Because it kind of looked like it was just a dude covered in oil, after having chomped down on a blood capsule.

So...not exactly a character that immediately strikes fear into your soul.

The rest of the film is decent enough to keep you engaged, at least, though.

So it's not a complete bust.

But nothing particularly great, either.

4 out of 10.