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Antebellum, Janelle Monáe’s Upcoming Horror Film, Looks Twisted and Terrifying
Fresh off of Harriet, Janelle Monáe will now star in a horror film that spans decades, reaching back to the Civil War era for its most haunting scares. Antebellum comes from the producer of Get Out and Us, and VF has learned the logline, as well as some of the supporting cast, exclusively.
The logline for this film leaves a lot of room for imagination, but does break down the core premise: "Celebrated author Veronica Henley (Monáe) finds herself trapped in a horrifying reality and must uncover the mind-bending mystery before it’s too late." Antebellum was written, directed, and produced by Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz—who got their start making short films for Jay-Z and Harry Belafonte. The cast includes Jena Malone, Gabourey Sidibe, Jack Huston, Eric Lange, and Kiersey Clemons.
Coincidentally or not, it will be fascinating to see Monáe tackle the antebellum/Civil War era from a completely different angle from the straightforward Harriet, in which she plays Marie Buchanan, a woman born into freedom who helped Harriet Tubman conduct the Underground Railroad. (Marie Buchanan was a real woman, though her Harriet character was fictionalized.) The film appears to be taking a similar approach to Get Out with its marketing, keeping things vague to build anticipation and allow viewers to go in (relatively) fresh.
It’s also fascinating to see this film debut just a couple years after Colson Whitehead’s alternate history novel The Underground Railroad won the Pulitzer Prize in 2017. There is still great interest in re-examining the antebellum era, and how its effects still linger to this day. Antebellum is due out on April 24, 2020
Antebellum, Janelle Monáe’s Upcoming Horror Film, Looks Twisted and Terrifying
