A brand-new trailer for Antebellum pulls back the curtain on Black time-travelling, in the horror movie starring Janelle Monae.
Jordan Peele’s Get Out was a seminal film on many levels, beyond its critical and commercial success. It managed to put a spotlight on the glaring absence of the Black experience that has always been largely missing from the horror genre. While themes have been subtly touched on in Night of the Living Dead, or there have been an occasional Black slasher, like the Candyman. Rarely, has the horror found right here in America been explored through a Black protagonist.
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Equally, if not even more rare, is a time-travel movie with an African-American as the primary protagonist. Why? Because while you have to look no farther than the news to understand that racial equality is yet to be found in this country. Traveling back in time becomes an increasingly dangerous gambit for a Black hero, as the racism becomes increasingly overt and hellish the further you go back.
Antebellum is a new science-fiction horror film written and directed by Gerard Bush and Christoper Renz, aka Bush + Renz, that looks to continue pushing multiple genres in new and exciting directions. It stars Janelle Monae, who is supported by Kiersey Clemons (Dope), Jack Huston (Ben-Hur), Gabourey Sidibe (Precious), among other notable performers.
The New Antebellum Trailer
The newest trailer for Antebellum premiered last night on the Jimmy Kimmel Show and it revealed more of the story, along with the inherent horror found in the film’s premise. The plot follows Veronica Henley, played by Janelle Monae, a prosperous author with a family worthy of jealousy. Her story kicks into gear when she is seemingly kidnapped and placed in a time machine that sends her back in time to the Antebellum South, during the long period of American slavery.
The trailer eases the viewer into a reality that will surely look familiar to those millions who have been spending hours with their own families indoors recently. They joke in bed, daydream out of a window, and run in the yard, finding joy in the small moments together. That life is suddenly torn from Henley in a scene reminsicent of Neo’s abduction in The Matrix.
It surely will be nail-scratching treat to find out how Henley manages to travel back to the present to be with her family. However, it seems that Antebellum offers the chance to comment not only on the comforts of modern society, but also the ways that things may have not changed as much as we think. This symmetry could help Henley navigate her horrifying new reality.
It will be equally interesting to see how deep this science-fiction conspiracy really runs. Are all the slaves being transported from the present to maintain the slave labor and the foundation of America’s early economy? Will Henley trigger a costly rebellion? Where does one find a time machine in the Antebellum South to travel back with? it seems that there is a bit for everyone in this flick and it will be interesting to watch the film’s reception in the coming month as we learn more.
Antebellum Synopsis
Successful author Veronica Henley (Janelle Monáe) finds herself trapped in a horrifying reality and must uncover the mind-bending mystery before it’s too late. ANTEBELLUM is a terrifying new thriller from the producer of the acclaimed films GET OUT and US, and groundbreaking directors Gerard Bush and Christoper Renz (Bush+Renz) – an exciting new voice in filmmaking.
Antebellum is projected to open on August 21st, 2020.
What are you most excited for in Antebellum? Do you think that this could be another Get Out-sized hit? Let us know in the comments and let’s talk about it on our social media!
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