I want to tell you that Is God Is is an electrifying feature directorial debut from playwright-turned-filmmaker Aleshea Harris. And it is. But I worry that the qualifier “feature directorial debut” will imply an asterisk, suggesting that the film is impressive for a debut rather than exceptional on its own merits. So, let me speak plainly.
Is God Is delivers filmmaking that is so mythic, mesmerizing, and menacing that it’s easily one of the best movies of 2026.
There. That’s clear, right?
A road trip movie with a Southern-fried edge, Harris’ thriller weaves inspiration from Greek mythology, Black culture, and the films of Quentin Tarantino to create something reverential yet stirringly fresh. Bolstering Harris’ bold vision are producers Tessa Thompson (Hedda) and Janicza Bravo (Zola), along with a riveting ensemble cast that includes Kara Young, Mallori Johnson, Janelle Monáe, Erika Alexander, Vivica A. Fox, and Sterling K. Brown.
But what’s it all about? Let’s get into it.
Is God Is is a play adaptation in the best way.
Erika Alexander plays Divine in “Is God Is.”
Credit: Tahajah Samuels / Amazon MGM Studios
Sometimes when watching a movie based on a play, you can feel the original script’s hold on the characters, as if they’re inexplicably stuck in one location. Incredibly, Is God Is never suffers from such stuckness. Considering it’s a road movie, I’m left instead to marvel at how this would have worked on a stage, as I missed the show’s 2018 run in New York City.
Still, there are hints that this movie began as a play. Chief among them, the dialogue between Is God Is‘ heroes and villains is rich with attitude and influence. The monologues, diatribes, and banter reflect a distinct voice that blends AAVE with a heightened theatrical sensibility, pairing a sense of spiritual spectacle to every speech. Beyond that, the relationship between the film’s paired protagonists feels rooted and fully realized, alluding to the workshopping of a script and the understanding of how every bit of it plays before a crowd.
Written by Harris, Is God Is centers on a pair of Black twin girls, Racine the Rough One (Young) and Anaia the Quiet One (Johnson), who’ve both been scarred physically and psychologically by a domestic violence incident in their childhood. Racine’s scars crawl up her arm, while Anaia’s cover her face and neck. Their physical difference makes others uncomfortable. For Anaia in particular, this means being on the receiving end of sneers and insults that she’s “ugly.” While she is a peaceful person and will demure from such nastiness, Racine runs toward it with a baseball bat in hand for some retributive violence.
Leaning on each other for their whole lives — especially once they were handed over to a string of fearsome foster parents — the twins have developed an intimacy so intense that they can speak telepathically. Harris invites the audience to listen in on this twin-speak, with subtitles that pop up over sharp glances. This is how they argue within a bond that cannot be broken, and as such, can be confining.
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After years of believing their mother had died in the fire that scarred them, the twins learn she’s alive and wants to meet them. Ruby (Fox) is God to her daughters, and Harris’ presentation of her reflect this power and prestige. Fox appears covered in four hours’ worth of prosthetic burn makeup, made elegant with bandages of lace and edged by pearls. Her crown is attended to by three silent and focused Black women, all braiding expertly as the girls meet their maker. She is a vision of female wrath and resilience. And she asks for one thing: Make your daddy dead.
Is God Is takes audiences on a wild ride.
Mykelti Williamson as Chuck Hall the Lawyer in “Is God Is.”
Credit: Tahajah Samuels / Amazon MGM Studios
The twins are torn on this directive. Racine is eager not only to devote herself to God/Ruby, but also to go on an epic quest and make the man (Brown) who wounded her and her sister pay. Anaia, on the other hand, is hesitant to uproot the life they’ve built for a mission that could land them in jail or the morgue. But her devotion is to her sister, so she goes along as the two follow the man’s messy escape route.
From one deity to another, they find a homespun house of worship, where Divine (Alexander) holds court. She is dynamic in her preacher patter, and radiant in a white gown. But the twins soon discover there’s something off in her faith. Next, they’ll unearth the sketchy lawyer (Mykelti Williamson), who helped their father escape prosecution. In him, there’s a sense of an oracle or a horror movie “half-man,” meaning a person whose awareness of the greater forces and evils is unlocked because of his near-deadly brush with them.
With each chapter of this journey, the twins are faced with a moral quandary. What lines will they cross to reach their damned daddy? Who will they become if they demand blood for burns?
Their quest takes them from the cluttered but cozy confines of their tiny apartment to the sweltering South, with blossoming flowers and festering rage. A soundtrack of funky percussion, flute, and guitar plays as they find trouble in a humble church and on a deserted highway. Decay fills the frame of a fight scene to reflect the life-or-death stakes and grubby reality of their quest, and the blood it demands. Then, finally, they arrive at a remote, modern, and stony location for a showdown with daddy.
Sterling K. Brown is terrifying as Is God Is‘ Big Bad.
Janelle Monáe as Angie, the new wife, in “Is God Is.”
Credit: Tahajah Samuels / Amazon MGM Studios
Harris was brilliant in pulling her cast together. Young and Johnson are less storied than their co-stars, but both are sublime. As Racine, Young exudes a ruthless unapologetic rage, something women — and especially Black women — are urged by society to repress. It’s cathartic to see her explode with a blunt object in hand, even as we worry for what wrath could come her way because of it.
As Racine’s foil, Johnson is more stoic, hemmed in by the facial scar prosthetics. But she’s not lost under them. Her eyes and her sturdy but careful physicality speak of the hurt Anaia’s endured, but also the resilience that’s helped her survive.
More impressive, these two can match the screen presence of their co-stars. Fox is spellbinding as the wounded God. Alexander is beguiling as a hopeful preacher. Williamson brings dark humor as the haggard lawyer, while Monáe offers attitude and depth to a small but pivotal role in act three. Together, these performers weave a tapestry of trauma that is horrid and beautiful, like this family’s scars. But Harris keeps the best for last, turning Sterling K. Brown into a terror.
The dashing leading man appears throughout Is God Is. But for most of his screen time, he’s shown only in extreme close-ups. A pair of grasping hands. A set of fleeing feet. A smile, big, white, and menacing. This lends to the mythic attitude with which Racine and Anaia approach their mission. Though credited as “Man,” Brown’s character is larger than life, a demon that must be slain. And even in these close-ups, his wickedness is clear and goose-bump-inducing.
By the time he’s revealed in full, the twins and we, their audience, know full well what hell he can wreak. So, he doesn’t need to bellow or snarl. Instead, he’ll make a sandwich and speak in a soft voice. And this choice makes the climax even more harrowing. Harris has built an epic road movie about family, trauma, love, and abuse. She’s sculpted characters complicated and compelling, peopling a world of wonder and terror. And in this final act, I held my breath, wondering what would become of these twins.
I won’t spoil the ending. I will say Harris had me by the jugular as I watched, entranced by her story’s passion, style, and dynamics. When the film ended, I sat elated and shuddering, shaking off the tension that burns from that first edict, “Make your daddy dead.” As days have gone by, my mind floats back to this film and its twins. Their story feels contemporary and yet timeless. I yearn to see Is God Is again, hungering for what the thrill of its story, the sumptuousness of Harris’ visual storytelling, and the acting ensemble who feasts in every frame.
Simply put, Is God Is is a scorching thriller that feels like a cinematic miracle.
Is God Is opens in theaters on May 15.
