The film world hasn’t offered viewers an authentic African-American horror movie since the 70’s cult classic Blacula. However, that is about to change, with the entry of a brand new cinematic offering, Matthew 18.
Not a spoof, satire or send-up, Matthew 18 is a chilling film, which delves into the disparity between logic/science and faith/spirituality/the supernatural. When the film’s lead character is confronted with horrifying evil, which belief system can save her — the faith-based one traditional in her family, or her own scientific, scholarly one?
Co-starring popular actors Faizon Love and Luenell, who have been characteristically known for their comedic work, the two portray characters that viewers will find fascinating. The film also introduces newcomers Jennifer Jayleen Martinez and “America’s Next Top Model” favorite Don Benjamin.
The storyline follows Michelle Jamieson (Martinez), a fiercely independent young Washington, DC woman who wants to go away to college for her pre-med education, despite her super-religious parents’ objections. Eventually they do give in and allow her to leave, to attend the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, where she moves into a large home that’s been kept in her family for generations. While staying there, she encounters strange, unexplainable visions, leading her to investigate, and in so doing, she uncovers her family’s dark past.
The film’s title, Matthew 18, refers to a Bible passage, Matthew 18: 19-20, which states, “Again I say to you that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of My Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them.”
Matthew 18 is the feature film directorial debut of filmmaker/screenwriter/producer Roy Belfrey, for Minneapolis-based Bats N Belfrey Productions.
