Review of ‘The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster’: A Tale of Transformation Through Death

Bomani J. Story makes his feature directorial debut with “The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster,” a film centered on the grieving and sharp-witted Vicaria (Laya DeLeon Hayes). Her mother and older brother, Chris (Edem Atsu-Swanzy), were killed in routine gun violence, while her father, Donald (Chad Coleman), is recovering from drug addiction in the wake of their deaths.

The neighborhood kids call Vicaria “mad scientist” and “body snatcher” because of her conviction that “death is a disease.” She works to bring Chris back to life by sewing his bloody flesh together in a cluttered storage unit. It is fitting that Story should choose to adapt Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” for his first feature. Shelley’s monster always had racial undertones that only a few scholars have discussed. The monster’s staggering frame, destructive power, and sexual deviance allude to the Black Other, which was popular at the time the novel was written.

However, it’s challenging to portray horror in the Black body. “The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster” suffers the same fate as its predecessor, “Candyman” (1992). Fundamentally, a freakish Black man is terrorizing Vicaria and her neighbors. Unfortunately, glimpses we catch of his bloated fingers and disfigured face transform him into a fearsome predator, making it challenging to challenge his character’s monstrousness when we know so little about Chris, the man who has died.

The film attempts to invoke Emmett Till’s story, but it falls short in its attempt to depict community violence (which is not only an issue for Black people). When Mamie Till displayed her son’s mangled body for the public, she wanted to reflect the monstrosity of the people who could do such violence to a child. Despite compelling performances from Hayes and Coleman, “The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster” struggles to manage the same complexity.

The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster
Not rated. Running time: 1 hour 31 minutes. In theaters and available to rent or buy on most major platforms.