Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes
The Angry Black Girl and her Monster
Vicaria (Laya DeLeon Hayes) is a brilliant young girl who lives a difficult life in a poor and tough area of town. Violence and drugs are common. Vicaria has lost family members to death, and she is tired of it. She has a reputation for being typical, usually because she knows more than the teacher. After the death of her brother, Chris (Edem Atsu-Swanzy), Vicaria decides that enough is enough. She believes that death is a disease, and as such can be cured. It’s up to her to find that cure.
Chris left behind a pregnant girlfriend Aisha (Reilly Brooke Stith), and a grieving father (Chad L.
Coleman). Vicaria studies hard to figure out a way to cure death, and she believes she has found the answer. Now she has to implement it. But she hasn’t taken into account how long her brother has been dead, and that seems to be a game changer.
This movie is an updated urban version of Frankenstein. Vicaria’s desire to conquer death is largely motivated by the circumstances in which she lives, and by the family she is slowly losing to death. Vicaria is played brilliantly by Laya DeLeon Hayes, and the supporting cast is great. I thought the film had a very interesting premise, and while I wanted Vicaria to succeed, I knew it couldn’t end well.
I would have liked to see more of her relationship with her brother Chris, as this relationship lies at the heart of the film. But all we have is his dead body in the opening scene, with an angry Vicaria standing over it. Denzel Whitaker as the local drug dealer Kango was very good, although by the end I couldn’t hate him anymore. Her father was loving, but flawed as well, a weakness that Kango exploited. All in all, I thought it was interesting, perhaps not perfect, but certainly entertaining. I’ll give this film 4 Stars.
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