Is God Is Review (Film, 2026)

content warning: violence against women, violence against children, smoking, alcohol use, blood, grieving, medical footage, intergenerational trauma, foul language

Racine and Anaia are twins who survived a house fire as children. They grew up in the foster system and are now an inseparable pair out of necessity. Racine, who is burned on her arm, gets to be the voice of the pair; Anaia, who was burned on the face, has to be the reasonable one. The pair are so bonded in their roles that they can communicate without words (presented as subtitles). After losing their jobs as office cleaners, they receive a letter from their mother who they haven't seen since the fire; her dying request is they find their father, the Monster, who caused the fire and make him pay.

Is God Is is one of the greatest revenge films ever made. Adapted from her own play, first time writer/director Aleshea Harris creates a haunting world of mythological allusions, Southern Gothic flair, and a highly theatrical space where black women are allowed to freely process their trauma how they need to. This does not mean that Racine and Anaia face no obstacles on their quest for their God (their mother); they get to define how they live their lives for the first time and take full advantage of that. They'll be dancing at a road sign in one scene, then arguing mentally over what method of murder is appropriate and practical for their father's punishment.

The entire cast is phenomenal. Tony-winner Kara Young as Racine and Mallori Johnson as Anaia are perfectly cast as the inseparable twins. Acting through an extraordinary amount of realistic burn scar prosthetics, the pair immediately establish their shared body language and communication style. This creates a believable twin bond despite a significant difference in height between the actors. If anything, hot-headed Racine being almost a foot shorter than calm and rational Anaia pushes the freedom of expression essential to the Is God Is narrative to the forefront.

Vivica A. Fox gives the performance of her career as God, the mother. Why God? Because she made the twins, so she is their God. And what God commands, God gets. We see her emerge in a cloud of smoke, hair being braided by three nurses while she lies on her deathbed, covered in medical bandages from head to toe. We can see her eyes, her lips, her fingers, and that's enough to see that decades of separation has not lessened the inherent mother/daughter bond in the family.

Anyone who was hurt by The Monster gets a flashback to reveal their suffering, and Fox monologues what actually happened on the day of the fire in such a believable and honest way that everyone in the theater is ready to take up arms against The Monster. Their is genuine strength, heart, fear, release, and acceptance communicated in a haunting flashback among the scariest scenes committed to film in the past decade.

I am doing my best to not go into a ton of detail about this film. Is God Is is beautifully adapted from a moving stageplay to a true cinematic experience that must be seen to be believed. Harris knows the language of the medium and packs the film with references to key film movements that wash away any doubt of this just being a stage to screen adaptation. Is God Is should be the kind of film that launches the director into a successful career. Very few directors regardless of experience can make a film feel so immediate and so mythic at the same time.

Is God Is is currently playing in theaters.