Is God Is: Revenge of the Twins

Movie twins tend to be creepy, like in The Shining and Dead Ringers. That wasn’t previously true for Racine, “the Rough One,” and Anaia, “the Quiet One.” However, their new unyielding sense purpose is a little unnerving. The twins’ long-absent mother wants them to kill their father, who also happens to be the same “Man” responsible for the disfiguring burns all three women suffered—and they aim to oblige in Aleshea Harris’s Is God Is, adapted from her own play, which opens Friday in theaters.

Racine’s burns are largely confined to her arms, but the fire cruelly left its scars across Anaia’s face. Whether in schools or foster homes, Racine has always been quick to pick a fight, to defend her sister from mockery or bullying. Even in adulthood, her behavior pattern remains the same. They always assumed their mother had abandoned them, but when Ruby, (whom they jokingly refer to as “God,” since she “created” them), summons them to her death bed, they reluctantly comply.

Since she also clearly suffered greatly, the twins essentially forgive Ruby, especially after she explains how they were all torched by their father. She demands vengeance in blood, so she can die in peace. Racine immediately agrees, but Alaia is not so sure. Nevertheless, they start following the trail back to Ruby’s former “Man,” inevitably leaving bodies in their wake.

Based on Harris’s Obie Award winning play, Is God Is has been generally pitched as a prestige film, but it plays more like a payback grindhouse release, which is frankly good news for viewers. Indeed, Alaia explores themes of inherited trauma and family dysfunction with a sweaty, feverish Old Testament sensibility, while staging bloody mayhem with a deft touch.

Kara Young truly takes no prisoners as Racine, while Mallori Johnson’s portrayal of Anaia’s naivete, bordering on a childlike state of arrested development, is poignant, yet also disconcerting. Perhaps most importantly, Sterling K. Brown lives up to the Man’s bogeyman buildup with his ferocity, as well as his sinister charisma.

This film has generated strong early reviews, which it deserves, but it is actually more fun than some of that hype might suggest. Recommended for anyone in the mood for sunny and sleazy exploitative Southern gothic, Is God Is opens this Friday (5/15) in New York theaters, including the AMC Lincoln Square.