'Antebellum' Preview: Janelle Monáe with ensemble cast, racial commentary in horror and different time periods
There are many things about ‘Antebellum’ that one should be excited about. The film follows a successful author called Veronica Henley, who finds herself trapped in a horrifying reality that forces her to confront the past, present, and future -- before it’s too late.
As what promises to be a mind-bending horror film, the name of Sean McKittrick attached to the project (as a producer) is already a good sign. McKittrick, after all, has produced genre-defining films like ‘Donnie Darko’, ‘Get Out’, ‘A Futile and Stupid Gesture’, ‘BlacKkKlansman’, ‘Us’, and more. With that in mind, one can be certain that the film, if nothing else, will be fresh and unique.
But the list of things to be excited about doesn’t end there. The film’s cast boasts none other than Janelle Monáe. The singer, songwriter, rapper, actress, and producer, who has received eight Grammy Award nominations, won an MTV Video Music Award, and the ASCAP Vanguard Award, has also proven to be a skilled actor. With roles in ‘Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams’, ‘Harriet’, ‘Ugly Dolls’, ‘Moonlight’, and more, Monáe is an actor one should always look forward to on-screen. And even if her past work is to be ignored, her presence in the trailer for ‘Antebellum’ speaks for her power as an actor as well.
In fact, Monáe is joined by a stellar cast in the film. The film’s ensemble boasts names like Eric Lange, Jena Malone, Jack Houston, Marque Richardson, and more.
But the biggest thing to be excited about ‘Antebellum’ is its themes. With Jordan Peele’s genre-defining ‘Get Out’, we have already experienced the brilliance of cinema when it fuses racial commentary with psychological horror. It was once again demonstrated by Peele in ‘Us’. Insofar what the trailer and the film’s title suggests ‘Antebellum’ is likely to follow the same idea.
The trailer paints a surreal picture. In it, we see a Southern cotton plantation from the Civil War era. We see Confederate soldiers commanding Black slaves. And we see cruelty. But what makes it unnerving is that while we see Monáe as a slave, we also see Monáe as a modern woman in the present times. The film’s synopsis, in no way, at all indicates how Monáe’s Veronica Henley ends up a century and a half ago into a Confederate-owned cotton plantation. But that’s what we see.
Now, this is where things get exciting. We know that Monáe will have to “confront the past, present, and future,” but this element in the trailer promises some warped time travel idea. Or so it seems. For the kind of chops that ‘Antebellum’ boasts of, it would be surprising if the film was going to be that simplistic in its idea. In all possibilities, we will see a mind-bending explanation of how Monáe exists on both planes, and that is what fans should look forward to the most.
Add to that, if the trailer is any indication of what’s to come, we should see Monáe kick some serious Confederate a** in the film. And for any fan of this new genre of films, this would certainly prove to not just be satisfying, but also cathartic. In the present political environment in the U.S., especially in the aftermath of George Floyd’s killing, the idea of using alternate-history (if that’s what the film is going for) can be tricky. But with the right elements, it can not just work but thrive.
The horror film was first scheduled to release on April 24 but the coronavirus pandemic led to it being moved to August 21, before it was left “undated” by Lionsgate. ‘Antebellum’ is now scheduled for digital release in America on September 18. A theatrical release is still planned for international audiences.