What is the plot? Victoria is a woman who writes books and lectures on the subject of race and women's empowerment, she is famous and lives well, she is a successful woman. But something strange will happen, she will be trapped in a past time, a prisoner in a cotton plantation, in the middle of the American civil war, where white men will commit the worst acts against all slaves. What happened? How did Veronica get there? Did she travel to the past? How did she escape?

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The film has three very different parts. The first part, with a brilliant opening sequence, plunges us into that time of the civil war, in the middle of a plantation where the slaves suffer the atrocities of the white men and women who rule it. This part is interesting, because of all the situations it shows and the feeling we have that something strange is happening in all that environment.

Then we are shown the second part, set in the present, so that we know who the protagonist really is: Eden - Veronica. The main character is actually a successful woman of high economic position, with a daughter and a perfect husband. She lives the American dream and is a famous speaker against racism and women's empowerment.

This whole segment is unnecessarily long, with scenes that do not make up much of the story. For a moment I don't like the main character, I don't know what the intention of the screenwriters and directors of the film was to make this long role. The main character behaves like a rich woman who lives in a glass bubble, surrounded by frivolity. Five star suites, fifty dollar shakes, yoga sessions and all that nonsense that people with money to spare do.

During this segment two scenes occur that try to manipulate the viewer, with the racial theme, one of them occurs when Veronica goes to the hotel reception to request a reservation at the restaurant, the girl at the reception answers the phone before answering it, as if she were playing a prank. This manipulation bothers me, because they want us to believe that the receptionist is doing it because Veronica is not white. The second occurs in the restaurant. That couple of scenes bothered me.

The third act of the film, we go back to the time of the civil war, is the moment when the big turn of the script takes place, which reveals everything that is happening. Once again the rhythm becomes interesting and when the action and violence explodes, I return to enjoy the film completely.

In general, the film has been to my liking, only that the part set in the present seemed unbearable, so my general assessment determines that the film is irregular in the development of the story, which has its first and last exciting part.

Some film critics have evaluated it negatively, saying that it sells as a horror film and it is not. They are partly right, it is actually a thriller with touches of revenge, framed in a racial theme. But I think it has its dose of horror genre. Not all horror films should be about ghosts, spirits, monsters, etc. The film shows horror made by ordinary human beings, things similar to those shown in the film, which happened in past decades.

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I love violence in movies, and the last part, I enjoyed it very much. The protagonist doing her best to escape and taking justice into her own hands. The film has been criticized for its characters, the bad ones very bad and the good ones very good. I must agree with those who have made this observation. I would have liked a little more character development, this same defect was present in the US film, from the same producers.

This is the debut of Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz in the direction of a feature film. Both wrote the script and are in charge of the direction of the film. They had experience in making short films and directing music videos. The idea for the film was perhaps initially a short film, that's why the second part is so long and tedious. But I think these filmmakers have good ideas, let's hope to see their next project.

The singer and actress Janelle Monáe is the protagonist of the story, she plays Veronica, the successful woman who gives conferences against racism and who is trapped in that place of the past, where the civil war is lived, becoming the scale of Eden. I have only seen one of her previous films, but I am sure that the actress will become more important as time goes by.

Among the villains of the film, we find the model, singer and actress Jena Malone, who plays Elizabeth, the woman who governs the plantation and it is she who introduces Veronica to that world. The character is very flat, I would have liked a greater development, I still remember this actress from the extraordinary and misunderstood series Too Old to Die Young. The actor Eric Lange, whom I saw in the series Narcos playing a CIA agent, in this film plays Senator Denton, one of the leaders of the plantation. This actor specializes in playing villains or characters of dubious reputation.

Jack Huston plays Captain Jasper, the ruthless man who terrorizes the plantation and commits horrible acts against the slaves. I am glad to see this actor again and to make this horrible being. This actor plays Richard Harrow, the disfigured-faced gunman, loyal to his friends and with a desire to be loved. An unforgettable character in the Boardwalk Empire series. I remember crying when I saw the episode of his death.

Trailer

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