Master
★ ★★ ½
Master is another addition to the social thriller genre that Jordan Peele has made so popular. This is director/writer Mariama Diallo's first narrative film and it's an impressive feat. She is at fault for trying to pack in too much in such a short timeframe, but she presents tremendous racial and social dilemmas packaged with a haunted, historic university. As our world diversifies, Diallo suggests that our insistency on championing such histories is alienating and hurtful for all people, no matter what race you are. There are many scenes that really had me thinking about their implications, but the movie moves so quickly that one never truly gets to know the protagonists.
For some reason, the older I get, the more of a wimp I become when I watch horror movies. Though this isn't the scariest movie ever, Diallo creates very imaginative scenes that are memorable and inventive. I don't know if she will go on the same path of the genre with her next film, but I think she is a creative force to keep an eye on. You can tell that she had a limited budget to work with and she makes a lot of it. I don't know if people even know about this hidden gem and if one does have Amazon Prime Video, I think it's a film definitely worth checking out.
