Author Mary Shelley basically invented the sci-fi horror genre with her 1818 novel, Frankenstein. The story of a mad scientist who gives life to a corpse, her tale inspired countless versions throughout history. From Universal’s Frankenstein (1931) to the 1994 remake starring Robert De Niro and Guillermo del Toro’s new take, the tale of Frankenstein’s Monster has been stitched into the very fabric of our culture.
With so many stories influenced by Shelley’s classic, some tend to get lost in the lab. Look no further than Bomani J. Story’s debut feature, The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster. A unique twist with a fresh perspective, more viewers ought to dig up this gem streaming on Hulu.
What’s The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster About?
Brilliant teenager Vicaria (Laya DeLeon Hayes) views death as a disease. One that has taken her brother, Chris (Edem Atsu-Swanzy) and her mother. Vicaria’s sick of death roaming through her community. Like any disease, she believes it can be cured. Through trial and error, the young woman proves her theory correct by resurrecting her brother. Chris proves violent, though, and Vicaria soon finds her life and those she cares about threatened by her own creation.
Death and the Trauma of an Oppressed Community
In her review for Dread, Editor in Chief Mary Beth McAndrews described The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster as, “a chilling and unique take on a classic tale,” adding that the film is, “an essential piece of contemporary horror cinema that shows what happens when Black creators are given the space to tell their stories”.
Right out of the gate, Story establishes his take on Frankenstein as a powerful, fresh approach to Shelley’s original. Vicaria takes us back to the moment she heard her mother’s heart stop. We see Chris’ bloody body on the ground. A young Black woman living in a low-income neighborhood patrolled by trigger-happy cops and consumed by violence, this is her reality. Death lurks everywhere. An entity that Story portrays through frequent gruesome imagery. Not gore for the sake of gore, though. No. Here, the bloodshed provides a stark reflection on the traumatic pain of a community that goes unheard.
Hayes’ phenomenal performance that has her cackling while she plays with body parts assures that, yes, Vicaria is a bit mad. But unlike the doctor of Shelley’s tale, she revives Chris not because she can, but because she must. In her mind, she must beat death. Must end the suffering that her neighborhood has always known. Story uses Frankenstein’s Monster in part to comment on the monster of violence created by an oppressive system.
There’s no shortage of Frankenstein-inspired films, but you won’t find any quite like The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster. With del Toro’s new take coming to Netflix soon, now is the perfect time to give Story’s tale a look with the film streaming on Hulu.
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