Hollywood Reporter
In the end, Antebellum is undone by a lack of empathy and emotion. It has no real perspective on the past and thus fails to make any real impact on the present.
Full review
Antebellum
Janelle Monáe (Hidden Figures) leads this mystery horror from the producer of Get Out and Us. Veronica Henley (Monáe) is a modern-day author who finds herself mysteriously trapped in the nightmare of the past, transported to the 19th century as a slave in the US South, face to face with her ancestors - and their tormentors.
2020Rating: MA15+, Strong violence and coarse language105 minsUSA
Horror
- Director:
- Gerard BushChristopher Renz (feature debuts)
- Writer:
- Gerard BushChristopher Renz
- Cast:
- Janelle MonáeJena MaloneJack HustonKiersey ClemonsGabourey Sidibe
Antebellum / Reviews
IndieWire
Antebellum might have been a movie that met this awful moment, but its confused attempt at seeing yesterday in today resolves as a throwback to a time when anyone could actually overlook it in good faith.
Full reviewA.V. Club
If only the filmmakers trusted their actors to convey the messages of this story, instead of burdening them with obvious, explanatory lines and speeches.
Full review
Slash Film
Antebellum feels curiously unfinished. Rushed, even. You catch a glimpse of what the filmmakers are going for here, but never entirely buy it.
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Entertainment Weekly
The star works valiantly to channel Eden/Veronica's pain and confusion, and the whole humanity of a life her captors so casually dismiss. As a performer, she commits utterly; if only the story could do the same.
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Variety
While Antebellum is no zombie movie, it treats systemic racism as a kind of contagion that refuses to die, eating the brains of successive generations. There’s only one way to stop it, and that’s by blowing the minds of all those infected — which is precisely the impact Antebellum achieves.
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