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Antebellum

2020

Gerard Bush, Christopher Renz

Janelle Monáe, Kiersey Clemons, Jena Malone, Jack Huston ...

5.4

3,637

Mystery. Thriller. Horror Successful author Veronica finds herself trapped in a horrifying reality and must uncover the mind-bending mystery before it's too late.

	Media	Author	Review
		David Ehrlich IndieWire	"[It] trips on its own wild twists (...) An artful and provocative movie about the enduring horror of America's original sin, 'Antebellum' can't follow through on its own concept"
		Peter Debruge Variety	"[A] mind-blowing feature debut (...) [A] brilliant 'Get Out'-style social thriller"
		Robert Daniels Polygon	"'Antebellum' is easily 2020’s worst movie so far (...) The exploitative, shallow horror movie wastes Janelle Monáe on a role that limits her voice"
		Brian Truitt USA Today	"What makes the new psychological thriller 'Antebellum' effective, however, is not just studying the past of America’s original sin but deftly showing how it still paints our present day (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 4)"
		Chris Evangelista SlashFilm	"Janelle Monáe delivers a bold performance in an otherwise jumbled thriller"
		Ellen E. Jones The Guardian	"A lushly shot thriller that fails to justify its subject matter with anything resembling social commentary (...) Rating: ★★ (out of 5)"
		Peter Travers ABC News	"It's the lessons of history we still haven't learned that give 'Antebellum' its bruised grit and gravity (...) 'Antebellum' means to call out a divided country on intolerance, past and present"
		Matt Goldberg Collider	"A simplistic critique that never grapples with the broken systems that harm Black people."
		Liam Mathews TV Guide	"Janelle Monáe shines in provocative film (...) An impressive debut from Bush and Renz, aided by exceptional contributions (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"
		Steve Pond The Wrap	"For all its currency as a film that delves into central issues of our country at this point in time, 'Antebellum' is also an uneasy hybrid"
		Jourdain Searles The Hollywood Reporter	"Too bad the result is shallow, more interested in making a Big Point than digging meaningfully into its subject."
		Anya Stanley AV Club	"The filmmakers don’t trust us (...) The spoon-feeding is especially disappointing given the film’s technical mastery (...) The mechanics fail to match the details of character and theme"
		Leah Greenblatt Entertainment Weekly	"Janelle Monáe stands out in stylish but underbaked slavery fable (...) An intriguing exercise in speculative horror undone in the end by its own tangled messaging"
		Meagan Navarro Bloody Disgusting	"Bush and Renz use blunt force to convey their film’s social messaging, and it’s at the expense of everything else (…) Rating: ★★ (out of 5)"
		Beatrice Loayza The Playlist	"[It] relies on exploitation and rehashed ideas to tackle racial dynamics (...) [It] is also a disappointing thriller on a purely practical level"
		Christy Lemire rogerebert.com	"While 'Antebellum' is dazzling to the eyes, it also leaves an icky taste in your mouth in its leering, exploitative depiction of violent, slavery movie tropes (…) Rating: ★½ (out of 4)"
		Johnny Oleksinski New York Post	"Janelle Monáe captivates in breathless horror flick (...) Fun, plain-old popcorn horror (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 4)"

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