‘Is God Is’ is an Awfully Discomforting Revenge Thriller

May 11, 2026

jmunney Cinema, Movie Reviews , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

Well… IS God is? (PHOTO CREDIT: Patti Perret
© 2026 Amazon Content Services LLC. All Rights Reserved.)

Starring: Kara Young, Mallori Johnson, Sterling K. Brown, Vivica A. Fox, Janelle Monáe, Erika Alexander, Mykelti Williamson, Josiah Cross

Director: Aleshea Harris

Running Time: 100 Minutes

Rating: R for Extreme Violence and Unfettered Language

Release Date: May 15, 2026 (Theaters)

What’s It About?: Twins Racine (Kara Young) and Anaia (Mallori Johnson) have only had themselves to rely on ever since their dad (Sterling K. Brown) set their mom Ruby (Vivica A. Fox) on fire in a bathtub when they were little girls. The attack left burn marks up and down Rachine’s arm and all over Anaia’s face, leading the rest of the world to look down upon them as ugly outcasts. It also left their mom dead… or so they thought until one day when Ruby summons them and gives them a mission: kill their daddy. So they head out on their odyssey of revenge, encountering a colorfully alarming cast of new wives (Erika Alexander, Janelle Monáe) and half-siblings along the way. They’re frequently warned that their vengeance is just not worth it, but the pull to finally eliminate this monster is hard to resist.

What Made an Impression?: How Did It Get This Evil?: I thought Is God Is was going to be more stylized. The trailer certainly made it seem that way, and it’s a common tactic for making a premise like this more palatable. But instead, it’s a much, much more difficult watch. I wouldn’t exactly call it as realistic as possible, but it does force you to confront an environment where domestic violence is inescapable.
What’s the Takeaway?: With its unflinching approach to the subject matter, one would hope (or at least I would hope) that there could be an effort towards profundity. So what is the overarching message of Is God Is? Is it that vengeance destroys everyone caught in its trail? Is it that it’s better to escape the cycle of violence when you have the chance? Or is it that sometimes you inexplicably can’t escape even if you want to? There are elements of all of that here, but I’d be hard-pressed to tell you exactly what writer/director Aleshea Harris (adapting her play of the same name) wants to send us off with. Perhaps that confusion is the point. If so, it might be more frightening than she reckoned for.
Like They’re Going to Explode: So when I bemoaned this movie’s lack of stylization, I kind of lied. Or rather, I omitted just how over-the-top some of the performances are. Although maybe that’s not stylization, but instead just how some people would really behave in this scenario. Either way, watching the likes of Vivica A. Fox, Mykelti Williamson, and Janelle Monáe chew up the set like we know they can is easily the most enjoyable element of this movie. As the leads, Young and Johnson are required to be a little subdued, though they do have fun with their telepathic twin communication. Sterling K. Brown has quite a time biting into a rare opportunity to play the villain, but it’s Erika Alexander as a God-fearing jilted wife who leaves the biggest impression of “What the heck is going on here?” It’s what I’ll choose to remember more than the utter despair.

Is God Is is Recommended If You Like: Lifetime movies and ’70s revenge flicks

Grade: 2.5 out of 5 Burn Scars

‘A Thousand and One’ Review: Who is This Mother?

March 28, 2023

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One, Two, A Thousand and One (CREDIT: Courtesy of Focus Features)

Starring: Teyana Taylor, Will Catlett, Josiah Cross, Aven Courtney, Aaron Kingsley Adetola

Director: A.V. Rockwell

Running Time: 116 Minutes

Rating: R for People Yelling at Each Other

Release Date: March 31, 2023 (Theaters)

What’s It About?: In 1994, a young woman named Inez (Teyana Taylor) is released from Rikers Island and determined to get her life back on track. She quickly locates her six-year-old son Terry (Aaron Kingsley Adetola, and then Aven Courtney at age 13 and Josiah Cross at age 17) and pulls him out of the foster care system. Over the course of the ensuing decade, Mother and Son, as well as Inez’s longtime partner Lucky (Will Catlett), weather the challenges of a crappy New York City apartment, the violence of the streets, and terminal health diagnoses. All the while, Inez is constantly looking over her shoulder in the chance that the authorities will expose whatever she’s up to. Terry can sense something fishy, but he has no idea about the full extent of the truth about who he really is.

What Made an Impression?: A Thousand and One puts a ton of dramatic weight on the shoulders of Taylor, whom I know primarily from Kanye West’s “Fade” music video and as the Firefly from Season 7 of The Masked Singer. She does have several other credits to her name, but this is by far the most demanding on-screen role of her career thus far. And she rises to the occasion! Some people just have star quality, plain and simple, and Taylor is one of those stellar folks.

But while my feelings towards Taylor are pretty clear-cut, I’m more ambivalent about this genre of film overall. While watching stories of people struggling to get by, I often find myself wondering, “Is this overly exploitative?” and “Is this even meant to be entertaining, or just challenging?” A Thousand and One certainly doesn’t answer these questions; instead, it merely brings them back to the fore. Writer-director A.V. Rockwell paints a vivid portrait, but not a particularly unique one.

What is unique, however, is a heartbreaking, clarifying final act. Terry eventually does find the answers he’s always deserved, and it’s quite the treat to see this movie pull off such a surprise in a genre that’s not especially known for its twisty reveals. But if done properly, it works no matter what type of story you’re trying to tell. It’s a matter of editing and rhythm, and A Thousand and One nails its final decrescendo.

A Thousand and One is Recommended If You Like: Recently bygone eras of NYC

Grade: 3.5 out of 5 Leaky Pipes