Is God Is review

IS GOD IS: 

A BLOODY, WILD ROAD TO REVENGE! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: **** out of 4

MGM AND ORION PICTURES

Kara Young and Mallori Johnson in Is God Is

 

            Two sisters visit their dying mother, who asks them to kill their father in Is God Is, the feature film directorial debut of Alesha Harris and a revenge thriller adapted from Harris’ play of the same name. I was onboard for this the moment I saw the trailer. I love these grainy, Tarantino-esque revenge movies with witty dialogue and pools of blood spurting out of people with a very Blaxploitation feel in a lot of areas.

            This definitely seemed like a Jackie Brown meets Kill Bill and Thelma & Louise buddy movie with emphasis on blood-drenched revenge. I’ve never seen the play the film was based on, but after seeing this, I’m curious to check it out. 

            Is God Is is a really damn good movie and entertaining from beginning to end, it’s tension-filled, darkly comical, and completely fucking insane. It was an enjoyable watch for me, chaotic and crazy, while still having strong character moments between the two leads. 

            The film follows Racine (Kara Young-Chemical Hearts, Master, I Love Boosters) and Anaia (Mallori Johnson-The Other Zoey, Steal Away), two sisters who visit their dying mother, whom they call God (Vivica A. Fox-Independence Day 1 and 2, Set It Off, Kill Bill). Their mother, God only has one request for Racine and Anaia before she dies, “Make their daddy dead…like, real dead!” after he set her and them on fire and abandoned them, Racine and Anaia set course for a violent and chaotic manhunt to kill their father (Sterling K. Brown-This Is Us, Black Panther, The Marvellous Mrs. Maisel). 

            The film also stars Erika Alexander (The Cosby Show, Get Out, American Fiction) as Divine the Healer, Janelle Monáe (Moonlight, Hidden Figures, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery) as The New Wife, Mykelti Williams (Forrest Gump, Ali, Fences) as Chuck Hall the Lawyer, and Josiah Cross (King Richard, A Thousand and One, Lady in the Lake) as Ezekiel. 

            Overall, Is God Is is a wild and bumpy ride for retribution in the best way and one of the most consistently entertaining films I’ve seen all year. It didn’t have a low point at all during its runtime and kept this non-stop and frantic energy going all throughout the flick. 

            One thing the movie does that I thought was extremely clever is when Young and Johnson are completely silent and give each other little facial expressions to communicate with subtitles on the screen to say what they’re saying to one another. Just goes to show, even without speaking to each other, Kara Young and Mallori Johnson have incredible chemistry, though I must say, I really hope those subtitles onscreen were written by a black person. 

            Kara Young and Mallori Johnson are amazing as the two sisters and do a stellar job working off each other, with Young as the unhinged, wild card of the duo and Johnson as the quieter, more restrained sister. I love hearing their banter with one another, and despite this grim, psychotic predicament they’re in, they also bring a lot of heart to the film. 

            Actors like Vivica A. Fox and Sterling K. Brown are more like supporting roles and aren’t in the film much, but they make do with the screen time given to them, with Fox giving probably the most chilling performance I’ve ever seen from her and Brown having a ball chewing the scenery and hamming it up. Definitely the kind of character you can’t wait to see get his blood-soaked comeuppance by the end. 

            The film definitely has a sort of Quentin Tarantino/Grindhouse movie vibe in terms of tone and filmmaking, but I wouldn’t call it a complete gore-fest from start to finish. It has moments like that, and the moments it has are effective, but it’s not trying to be the Kill Bill of movies about siblings killing their evil dad; it has blood and gory scenes, but it’s shockingly reserved for a film like this with more focus on the characters and their mission. 

            The makeup effects on Vivica A. Fox and Mallori Johnson are incredible, especially on Fox, who is almost unrecognizable under all this paint and prosthetics to make her look like a burn victim. Both she and Johnson have the exact same thing going on with their makeup as burn victims and look spectacular, but Fox’s makeup really stood out to me. 

            Not sure what else to say, Is God Is combines various genres like dark comedy and tense drama with outstanding performances by its cast and a script that mixes heart and bloodshed. It’s a wild but also endearing trip that I highly encourage buckling up for because it is quite a ride.