A satirical look at modern black culture in a comedy horror/sci-fi setting. This film is readily available on Netflix to watch. The film is a matchup of genres about the odd occurrences to a neighbourhood thug named Fontaine and the government conspiracy that his friends discover. This is a modern-day Blaxploitation film that satires issues within the black community by filmmakers, cast and crew who are from the black community, now called Neo-Blaxploitation, which have science fiction, horror or comedy themes rather than drama and action themes like how 1970s Blaxploitation films had.
With the help of his friends, a pimp and prostitute, they unlock the mysteries of his reappearance. The film is similar to US and The Stepford Wives because of the twists in the plot. This is about a neighbourhood thug and his friends discovering an underground shadow government experiment lab where they are cloning and controlling the people in their neighbourhood.
The story themes are about oppression, experimentation and the stereotypes in modern black culture. The stereotypes are the themes that are played with, flipped against the expectation of normalcy, with surveillance and control through mind control. It can be seen as a film influenced by the MKULTRA experiments in the 1970s. The stereotypes and characterizations of the people play on the appearance of what is suppressing the people in this neighbourhood as a big brother experiment, from there, something in the food conspiracy, to who’s that in the van paranoia.
The film stars John Boyega as Fontaine/Tyrone/Chester, Jamie Foxx as his pimp friend, Slick Charles, and Teyonah Parris as Yo-Yo.
John Boyega is intimidating as Fontaine while slowly revealing that he’s smarter than he looks. A thug who runs people down with his car and hustles money is convincing because it doesn’t look over the top in performances, screaming for no reason or acting too cool/glib when communicating with others. The character Tyrone is a part of the film’s story that reveals and explains what’s going on with Fontaine.
Jamie Foxx is smooth, but the way he talks is a bit funny, but it grows on you. As a pimp, his character is a smooth talker. But as the film progresses, he becomes more paranoid and conspiratorial he becomes. As a side character, he’s a funny sidekick to the too serious Fontaine.
The smart female friend, Yo-Yo, is a streetwalker who works for the pimp. She is often talking about the next financial innovations, like blockchains and financial technologies, which are the wave of the future. The film as her being an optimistic person.
The direction of the story keeps the science fiction and comedy aspects fun and engaging without being dramatic. The character’s reactions to their situation being plausible and not over reactions make the characters more relatable.
The style of the film, with the visible film grain and the 1970s style atmosphere, I first though it was going to take place in the 1970s, but it was just a homage to black exploitation films. The overall brown, tan and avocado colour schemes do play into the black exploitation themes, but the colours are used as a backdrop illuminating, not just decor. The film set design is grimy on purpose because it’s set in an impoverished part of a large city. The streetlights and neon signs light the dark night scenes, adding to the downtrodden part of town. The old cars and buildings filled with flyers and advertisements tell a story about a worn-down part of town. The mysterious lab doesn’t look too industrial, but a working space. The constant rolling fog adds to the eeriness of the sci-fi but does cover up the rest of the streets, making the neighbourhood look small and contained.
The soundtrack is too good with updated versions of 80s and 90s songs like Rockwell’s Somebody’s Watching Me. The rhythm and blues-laced sound is seamless in the story shifts.
The film is fun, and it has an espionage aspect with the characters trying to understand the mystery. I like rewatching the film be the digs into conspiracy theories are funny, with the story and set design having details in the background that feel new when I notice them. There’s a lot a viewer can draw from. It’s a Netflix film, but it could be available as a DVD.
Genre: Science Fiction/Mystery
Year: 2023
Duration: 122 minutes
Three out of five stars
Under The Moonlight 
A satirical look at modern black culture in a comedy horror/sci-fi setting. This film is readily available on Netflix to watch. The film is a matchup of genres about the odd occurrences to a neighbourhood thug named Fontaine and the government conspiracy that his friends discover. This is a modern-day Blaxploitation film that satires issues within the black community by filmmakers, cast and crew who are from the black community, now called Neo-Blaxploitation, which have science fiction, horror or comedy themes rather than drama and action themes like how 1970s Blaxploitation films had.
With the help of his friends, a pimp and prostitute, they unlock the mysteries of his reappearance. The film is similar to US and The Stepford Wives because of the twists in the plot. This is about a neighbourhood thug and his friends discovering an underground shadow government experiment lab where they are cloning and controlling the people in their neighbourhood.
The story themes are about oppression, experimentation and the stereotypes in modern black culture. The stereotypes are the themes that are played with, flipped against the expectation of normalcy, with surveillance and control through mind control. It can be seen as a film influenced by the MKULTRA experiments in the 1970s. The stereotypes and characterizations of the people play on the appearance of what is suppressing the people in this neighbourhood as a big brother experiment, from there, something in the food conspiracy, to who’s that in the van paranoia.
The film stars John Boyega as Fontaine/Tyrone/Chester, Jamie Foxx as his pimp friend, Slick Charles, and Teyonah Parris as Yo-Yo.
John Boyega is intimidating as Fontaine while slowly revealing that he’s smarter than he looks. A thug who runs people down with his car and hustles money is convincing because it doesn’t look over the top in performances, screaming for no reason or acting too cool/glib when communicating with others. The character Tyrone is a part of the film’s story that reveals and explains what’s going on with Fontaine.
Jamie Foxx is smooth, but the way he talks is a bit funny, but it grows on you. As a pimp, his character is a smooth talker. But as the film progresses, he becomes more paranoid and conspiratorial he becomes. As a side character, he’s a funny sidekick to the too serious Fontaine.
The smart female friend, Yo-Yo, is a streetwalker who works for the pimp. She is often talking about the next financial innovations, like blockchains and financial technologies, which are the wave of the future. The film as her being an optimistic person.
The direction of the story keeps the science fiction and comedy aspects fun and engaging without being dramatic. The character’s reactions to their situation being plausible and not over reactions make the characters more relatable.
The style of the film, with the visible film grain and the 1970s style atmosphere, I first though it was going to take place in the 1970s, but it was just a homage to black exploitation films. The overall brown, tan and avocado colour schemes do play into the black exploitation themes, but the colours are used as a backdrop illuminating, not just decor. The film set design is grimy on purpose because it’s set in an impoverished part of a large city. The streetlights and neon signs light the dark night scenes, adding to the downtrodden part of town. The old cars and buildings filled with flyers and advertisements tell a story about a worn-down part of town. The mysterious lab doesn’t look too industrial, but a working space. The constant rolling fog adds to the eeriness of the sci-fi but does cover up the rest of the streets, making the neighbourhood look small and contained.
The soundtrack is too good with updated versions of 80s and 90s songs like Rockwell’s Somebody’s Watching Me. The rhythm and blues-laced sound is seamless in the story shifts.
The film is fun, and it has an espionage aspect with the characters trying to understand the mystery. I like rewatching the film be the digs into conspiracy theories are funny, with the story and set design having details in the background that feel new when I notice them. There’s a lot a viewer can draw from. It’s a Netflix film, but it could be available as a DVD.
Genre: Science Fiction/Mystery
Year: 2023
Duration: 122 minutes
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.Three out of five stars
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