Critic Reviews

Is God Is asks us to pay heed — in ways subtle and bold — to its comedy and anguish. It demands, without seeming to, that we watch to see, really see.

Visually mesmerizing, lyrical and with a unique cadence, “Is God Is” is a one-of-a-kind experience. It’s angry and yet imbued with wry, fatalistic humor.

So emotionally, dramatically, philosophically complex that it’s tempting to put on professorial airs and focus entirely on its depth. But it is also, just as importantly, electrifying to watch.

Is God Is shrewdly combines its genre thrills — it’s a violent road trip of murder and revenge — with arthouse aesthetics and thought-provoking writing, which gives Aleshea Harris a career path that’s as hard to predict as Racine and Anaia’s literal one. But I can’t wait to see what she does next.

Harris refuses easy answers, and announces herself as a singular cinematic force in the hell her story brings just the same.

Both wildly entertaining and viciously upsetting, this remarkable debut boldly reaps what others have sown.

Is God Is is an amazing piece of work. One of those "bolt from the blue" movies that is coming from a new artist with a new voice that audiences and critics alike will look forward to hearing again. This is Harris' first feature film, and I am eager to see more.

[Harris’s] Southern Gothic story of domestic violence, and the repercussions of revenge, has the aura of Greek tragedy and the darkest heart of neo-noir. Its soul is an unapologetic howl of Black female rage represented by the superb lead performances of Kara Young and Mallori Johnson.

Equally enchanting and disturbing in its unique blend of magical and social realism, “Is God Is” is a highly stylish and daring announcement of a new cinematic talent in Harris, who has been allowed to fully express her vision, uncompromising and entirely hers.

In this fiery revenge thriller from debuting director Aleshea Harris, twin sisters plot to kill the monster daddy (Sterling K. Brown) who burned their house down. There’s no way to take your eyes off what’s on screen. No way in hell.