Master Review: Mariama Diallo's Debut Feature Is A Striking Horror Film [Sundance]
Writer-director Mariama Diallo’s debut feature film, Master, sets out to explore the institutional racism in Ivy League universities. Centered on three Black women, a student, a dean, and a professor, the film explores the characters’ experiences navigating such a historic institution and how its unsavory history affects their lives and relationship dynamics. Diallo’s script doesn’t always work, especially as Master gears towards an ending that has a lot going on at once, but the everyday horrors add to the layers of unease that are built into every scene of the film. The combination of supernatural and real-life horror, as well as the cast's solid performances, elevate a film that isn’t so quick to provide answers.
Gail Bishop (an exceptional Regina Hall) is excited about her new position as Ancaster’s, a fictional university in New England, Master (aka, the Dean of students). As the first Black woman to assume the position, Gail is put in uncomfortable situations where her colleagues are casually racist. She shares these experiences with Liv (Amber Gray), a professor who is trying to get tenure despite her limited published work in the eyes of the counsel evaluating her. At the same time, freshman student Jasmine Moore (Zoe Renee) is trying to acclimate to life on campus, unsettled by the story of a witch who haunts the very dorm room she’s in.
Related: Alice Review: Keke Palmer Is Excellent In Messy, Underdeveloped Drama [Sundance]
Diallo knows how to create a deeply disconcerting atmosphere. While there are horror elements sprinkled throughout Master — a hooded figure who seemingly haunts the halls when the lights blink out or a bell ringing in Gail’s new home despite there being no one there — it’s the subtle racism
Read more on screenrant.com
