Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is one of the landmark horror novels, and has influenced monster stories for more than 200 years. But Frankenstein has never been done like this before. Writer/director Bomani J. Story’s bold, ambitious The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster follows Vicaria (Laya DeLeon Hayes), a young Black girl with genius-level intellect in the field of science. Following the tragic gun deaths of her mother and brother, she decides to play God and defeat death by bringing her sibling back from the dead. The results, predictably, are more horrific than she could’ve imagined.
It’s the perfect horror movie for the post-Get Out era, addressing social issues, such as racial inequality and gun violence, without sacrificing the gruesome thrills of a classic creature feature.
I was fortunate to spend a few minutes talking with Bomani J. Story about the conception of The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster, and he talked about his appreciation for Shelley as a female horror writer, the challenges of making the film, and casting brilliant star Laya DeLeon Hayes.
The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster opens on June 9th, and will hit streaming on June 23rd.
