Tom’s Guide Verdict: ‘Is God Is’
- Rating: ★★★ stars
- Verdict: “Is God Is” feels both familiar and new all at once. It’s a classic revenge story that doesn’t shy away from violence. However, it features an all-Black cast and a Black writer/director, Aleshea Harris, who adapted it from her award-winning play of the same name. It’s not transcendent, it may not work for everyone, but it’s exactly the type of movie we need more of.
- Where to watch: See “Is God Is” in theaters now
Let me get this out of the way: “Is God Is” has flaws, but it’s a good movie. It’s already scored a 98% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and I’d rate it “fresh” as well. It’s not a movie that breaks the mold; it’s a familiar revenge story that wouldn’t feel out of place in a Quentin Tarantino movie. It’s got flaws, it might not work for everyone, but it delivers on the unhinged thriller that its trailer promised.
Setting aside how you may feel about the importance of diversity in filmmaking (for the record, I’m unabashedly in favor of it), there’s no denying that this is not a movie that often gets a major theatrical release from a major studio.
Especially when you consider that this movie is, despite its Black cast and creative mind, a universal story. That’s not to say it shies away from its identity, but anyone can access the themes of this movie. You don’t need a particular background to explore the sadistic behavior of some people, how abandonment can shape you and why revenge often consumes those in pursuit of it.
Malcolm McMillan
Malcolm has been with Tom’s Guide since 2022. He watches dozens of new releases every year to make sure you don’t have to watch any of the bad ones.
‘Is God Is’ isn’t afraid to keep you on your toes
I know I just waxed poetically about the more philosophical elements of why you should see “Is God Is,” but I want to be clear, this is still a bloody, tense thriller. Seriously, it’s got a decent body count by the end of it.
If you know nothing about this movie, here’s the rundown. Racine (Kara Young) and Anaia (Mallori Johnson) are twins disfigured by a traumatic fire that left them without parents and forced them to take care of each other. Despite their shared genetics, Racine has a distinctly more fiery personality. She’s also the least disfigured of the two, which forces her to be Anaia’s protector when people have a visceral reaction to the scarring on her face.
Their lives change, though, when their mother, Ruby (Fox), asks them to visit her on her deathbed. There, she reveals her own burns and why she abandoned them. But then, she has one last request: kill their father (Brown), the man who burned them all.
From there, the duo launches into a revenge quest that has more than a few violent altercations, culminating in a stunning climax that leaves nearly everyone dead. Some of it you’ll see coming, some of it will surprise and shock you.
Now, there are a couple of things worth mentioning here that you might bump up against. First, these twins communicate almost telepathically at times, playing into a trope that twins have secret ways of communicating with each other. It didn’t take me out of it, but I overheard people in my screening discussing it as a chief complaint.
Secondly, there’s just not enough Sterling K. Brown. I get what Harris is trying to do by portraying him as a shadowy figure to chase down; in flashbacks, his face is never shown, only the back of him or his smile. But the problem is, we know it’s Sterling K. Brown. There’s no mystery, and frankly, that smile is unmistakable. I’d have liked him to be a more active participant in the story, because when he finally does arrive, he delivers a sadistic performance that takes an already twisted thriller to another level.
Verdict: This is a movie you should support in theaters
Normally, I wouldn’t have an issue with waiting to see a movie like this on one of the best streaming services (eventually Prime Video, but possibly MGM+ first). It has some great performances; Johnson as the quieter, more reserved Anaia is great, especially when she finally snaps, and Brown is excellent. Erika Alexander also puts on a brief, red-hot performance as a former lover of Brown who has become a cult-like church leader with a shrine devoted to him. Still, for the most part, this movie is good, but not great. It’s got its moments, but it’s never transcendent. Other movies have done it better.
But I do think it’s important to see this movie in theaters, because I’d love to see what comes next from Harris. This was a good thriller; I had a good time. And frankly, if we don’t go and see movies like this, Hollywood won’t make them.
“Is God Is” is in theaters now
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