Antebellum is a 2020 American thriller film written and directed by Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz in their feature directorial debuts. The film stars Janelle Monáe, Eric Lange, Jena Malone, Jack Huston, Kiersey Clemons, and Gabourey Sidibe, and follows a 21st century African-American woman who wakes to find herself mysteriously in a Southern slave plantation from which she must escape.

Antebellum was released in the United States through premium video on demand on September 18, 2020, and theatrically in several other countries. The film received mixed reviews from critics, who criticized the screenplay and felt that the film failed to live up to its full potential.

Plot

In a Louisiana slave plantation run by Confederate soldiers, slaves are treated harshly and not allowed to speak unless spoken to. Those who attempt to escape are killed and their bodies burned in a crematorium. After a failed escape attempt, a black man named Eli watches as his wife is murdered and her body placed in the crematorium. A woman who had been assisting them is later brutally beaten and branded by the general until she submits to being called Eden.

A group of new slaves are brought to the plantation. Among them is a pregnant woman whom the general s daughter Elizabeth names Julia and places in the care of Eden. Julia asks Eden to plan an escape while Eden urges her to keep her head down. That evening during a dinner where Julia and Eden are forced to wait on soldiers in the army, a shy Confederate soldier named Daniel is attracted to Julia and arranges to go to her cabin later. When Julia tries to play on his kindness and asks him to help her, he gets angry and tells her that he is still a Confederate. He beats her for speaking when not spoken to, causing her to miscarry.

After being raped by the general in her cabin, Eden hears a ringing cell phone. In the modern era, a cell phone rings, awakening Eden, who is actually a renowned sociologist named Dr. Veronica Henley. She is preparing to take a trip to speak and promote her book, which is particularly hard for her because she has to leave her husband Nick and her daughter Kennedi. She has a bizarre online meeting with Elizabeth which leaves her uncomfortable, but she dismisses her feelings and cuts the meeting short.

While in Louisiana on her book tour, she meets acquaintances Dawn and Sarah and agrees to go to dinner with them to a local restaurant. In the meantime, Elizabeth sneaks into her hotel room and steals her lipstick. Intending to go back home early in the morning, Veronica leaves the restaurant in what she believes is her Uber ride but is actually a car driven by Elizabeth. Elizabeth s husband Jasper knocks Veronica out.

At the plantation, Veronica discovers that Julia has hanged herself. Enraged, she tells Eli that they will escape that night. After being raped by the general again the following evening, she once again sneaks out of her cabin and steals the general s phone. Before she can call for help, she is interrupted by an intoxicated Daniel and another soldier who find the phone, but are not suspicious believing it dropped out of the general s bag.

When he is alone, Eli kills Daniel with a hatchet and retrieves the cellphone. As the phone can only be unlocked with facial recognition, Veronica goes back to the cabin to find the general and is surprised to find he is awake. The general attacks both of them and Eli is subsequently killed trying to protect Veronica. She stabs the general with his own bayonet and unlocks the phone, then uses GPS to send her location to her husband. Intending to hide the general in the crematorium, she is interrupted by Jasper. Veronica lures him and another soldier into the crematorium and sets fire to it, leaving the three men to burn to death as she steals the general s horse and rides off.

Elizabeth and another soldier pursue Veronica on horseback and reveals that she handpicked every slave on the plantation except for Veronica, whom she kidnapped at her father s insistence. Veronica knocks Elizabeth off her horse and puts a rope around her neck, dragging her until she hits the base of a Robert E. Lee statue, thereby breaking her neck.

Veronica flees the pursuing soldiers into the chaos of a battle, revealing that the so-called plantation is actually part of a Civil War reenactment park called Antebellum, owned by Senator Blake Denton, who is posing as the general. Denton and his comrades intended to use the park to recreate an environment to bring back the slavery days using African victims. Veronica finally escapes as the police arrive.

Cast

• Janelle Monáe as Veronica Henley/Eden
• Eric Lange as Blake Denton/Him
• Jena Malone as Elizabeth
• Jack Huston as Jasper
• Kiersey Clemons as Julia
• Gabourey Sidibe as Dawn
• Marque Richardson as Nick Henley
• Tongayi Chirisa as Eli/Professor Tarasai
• Robert Aramayo as Daniel
• Lily Cowles as Sarah
• London Boyce as Kennedi Henley
• Arabella Landrum as Little Blonde Girl
• Achok Majak as Ghianna Queen
• T.C. Matherne as Purcell

Production

In March 2019, it was announced Janelle Monáe had joined the cast of the film, with Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz directing from a screenplay they wrote. Ray Mansfield and Sean McKittrick serve as producers on the film under their QC Entertainment banner, and Lionsgate are distributors. In April 2019, Eric Lange, Jena Malone, Jack Huston, Kiersey Clemons, Tongayi Chirisa, Gabourey Sidibe, Robert Aramayo and Lily Cowles joined the cast of the film. In May 2019, Marque Richardson joined the cast of the film.

Principal photography began in May 2019 around New Orleans, Louisiana.

Release

Antebellum was released through video on demand in the United States on September 18, 2020, while still playing in theaters in select countries. This includes a theatrical release in Australia on October 1, 2020. The film was originally scheduled to be released on April 24, 2020, but was pulled off the schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic, then was rescheduled to August 21, 2020, before being pulled off the release schedule again in July 2020.

Reception

VOD rentals

In its debut weekend, Antebellum was the number one most rented title across film and television on Amazon Prime Video, and number one rented film on FandangoNow and Apple TV, and third on Google Play. IndieWire estimated that if about 500,000 homes rented the film, it would result in $8 million for the studio. In its second weekend the film topped the Amazon Prime Video, FandangoNow and Spectrum film charts, while finishing second at Google Play and sixth at Apple TV, and remained in the top three across most platforms in its third weekend. In October 2020, The Hollywood Reporter said the film was the sixth-most popular PVOD title amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 30% based on 205 reviews, with an average rating of 4.8/10. The website s critical consensus reads: Antebellum fails to connect its images with any meaning, making for a largely unpleasant experience lacking any substantial scares. On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 43 out of 100 based on 40 reviews, indicating mixed or average reviews .

Peter Debruge from Variety called it A mind blowing thriller . Stephanie Zacharek of Time wrote Even if we didn t live in a country where a shockingly large fraction of people think Confederate monuments are A-O.K., Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz s Antebellum would resonate like the boom of a Union Army cannon . David Ehrlich of IndieWire gave the film a C+ and wrote, An artful and provocative movie about the enduring horror of America s original sin, Antebellum can t follow through on its own concept. Writing for The Hollywood Reporter, Jourdain Searles said the film was more interested in making a point than digging deep and In the end, Antebellum is undone by a lack of empathy and emotion. It has no real perspective on the past and thus fails to make any real impact on the present.

Accolades

Peter Debruge included the film on his list of best films of 2020 for Variety, praising its cinematic quality, effective storytelling and social relevancy.

Year	Award	Category	Recipients	Result	Ref.
2020	Fright Meter Awards	Best Cinematography	Pedro Luque	Nominated
	Sunset Film Circle Awards	Scene Stealer	Gabourey Sidibe	Nominated
2021	Black Reel Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actress		Nominated
	Hawaii Film Critics Society Awards	Best Horror Film		Nominated
	Hollywood Music in Media Awards	Best Original Score in a Horror Film	Nate Wonder and Roman GianArthur	Nominated
	NAACP Image Awards	Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture	Janelle Monáe	Nominated
		Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture	Gabourey Sidibe	Nominated
	Phoenix Critics Circle Awards	Best Horror Film		Nominated
	Women Film Critics Circle Awards	Courage in Acting	Janelle Monáe	Won
		Best Female Action Hero		Won
		Best Movie About Women		Nominated
		Josephine Baker Award		Nominated

Year	2020
ReleaseDate	2020-09-18
RuntimeMins	105
RuntimeStr	1h 45min
Plot	Successful author Veronica Henley finds herself trapped in a horrifying reality and must uncover the mind-bending mystery before it’s too late.
Awards	Awards, 3 wins & 11 nominations
Directors	Gerard Bush, Christopher Renz
Writers	Gerard Bush, Christopher Renz
Stars	Janelle Monáe, Eric Lange, Jena Malone
Produced by	Gerard Bush,Zev Foreman,Will Greenfield,Edward H. Hamm Jr.,Kenny Mac,Raymond Mansfield,Sean McKittrick,Christopher Renz,Alex G. Scott,Lezlie Wills
Music by	Roman GianArthur Irvin,Nate Rocket Wonder
Cinematography by	Pedro Luque
Film Editing by	John Axelrad
Casting By	Laray Mayfield
Production Design by	Jeremy Woodward
Art Direction by	Michelle C. Harmon
Set Decoration by	Chere Theriot
Costume Design by	Mary Zophres
Makeup Department	Warren Adams,Syretta L. Bell,Lawrnell Bell-Rattler,Jonny Bullard,Moe Coles,Erica Dunn,Talya Melvey,Yolanda Mercadel,Asia Moss,Terez Ordon,LeDiedra Richard-Baldwin,Remi Savva,Carl Variste,Myeisha Wade,Tina Walker,Ashley Kent
Production Management	Jan Kikumoto,Chelsea Krant,Alex G. Scott
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director	Chelsea Donison,Zack Earl Edwards,Amir R. Khan,Gary Marcus,Christine Rings,Eric Scott Williamson
Art Department	Alana Pryor Ackerman,Michelle Belfield,Sanford Biggers,Russ Doyle,Mark Druhet,Lucien Fernandez,Ian Gathright,John Gathright,James Grabowski,F. Scott Greenfield,Ryan Hageman,Allison Hilder,Cameron Holmes,Camile Kelsey,Grace Kelsey,Jolean LaBorde,Jenetta Michelle Lacayo-Harney,Ryan MacLachlan,Jamie Maheu,Scot Middleton,Nathan Mulligan,Virle S. Reid,Susan Smits,Chelsey Staggs,Smith Stickney,Whit Thorne,Alejandra Tovar,Perry James Trentacosta,Paul Tuger,David Warburton,Dylan Weaver
Sound Department	Samuel Baker,Oleg Belogorsky,Phil Brewster,Aaron Byrnes,Rob Chen,Alessandro Chimento,Brendan Croxon,Pud Cusack,Joel Dougherty,David Esparza,Kyle Gerhardt,Grant Harris,Brendan Hill,Sang Jun Kim,Brad Lokey,Adrian Medhurst,Ryan Murphy,Tony Pilkington,Paul Pirola,Laura Post,Ailene Roberts,Jeffrey Roy,Richard Marty Simpson,Serena Simpson,Unsun Song,Ryan Squires,Tim Tuchrello
Special Effects by	Edward Joubert,Mik Kastner
Visual Effects by	Alicia Abril Carrera,Cjay Adams,Jordi Alavedra,Dan Bartolucci,Emily Birkett,Katherine Farrar Bluff,Steven Boden,Raoul Bolognini,Mike Bozulich,Luke Butler,Bobby Cardenas,Jade Carter,Virginia Cefaly,Reno Cicero,Jay Cooper,Francesco Cricenti,Andrew Degryse,Brianna Domont,Bret Fontaine,Joseph Fortuno,Amy Hollywood Wixson,Kylan Huacuja,Shaunik Kalia,Andrew Karr,Marcin Kolendo,Stanislav Kolev,Ralph Maiers,Richard Ivan Mann,Mattia Marchegiano,Adam Marisett,Alessandro Maschietto,Paulo Alexandre Mateus,Christine McDermott,Lewis Menga,Marta Miceli,Dan Nicholls,Karen M. Nichols,Felicia Petersen,Carson Pfahl,Cale Pugh,Oriana Pioli Quero,Travis Reinke,Emmanuel Rojas,Giordano Saviotti,Luca Saviotti,Grant Spencer,Maria Francesca Sputore,Oliver Street,Sara Tomarchio,Gaia Tradico
Stunts	Tim Bell,Jeff Brockton,Scheryl W Brown,Chris Bryant,Dartenea Bryant,Vanesha Chanta,Whitney Coleman,Danny Cosmo,Darren Cunningham,Raion Hill,Floyd Anthony Johns Jr.,Elton LeBlanc,Hayden Ethan Lee,Aaron Matthews,Cole Naillon,Michael Ortiz,Kevin Reid,Jason Rodriguez,Eric Stratemeier
Camera and Electrical Department	Kayla Jane Adams,Fernando Albano,Adam Beard,Paul D. Beard,Zachary Blosser,Chip Carey,Dorian A. Celestain,Austin Doyle,Ross Elias,Chandler Ferriss,Cody Gautreau,Mike Grace,Richard T. Hoover,Devin Howard,Christopher D. Jones,Calvin Blue Jr.,Matt Kennedy,Michael D. Kennedy,Joshua Lilly,Raul J. Marin,Paul Rahfield,Parker Rice,Devin Ricks,Lance Romano,Derek A. Schwebel,Casey A. Shaw,David Tandy,Remi Tournois,Trevor Tufano,Charles Wiggins,Mark Zalewski,Daisy Zhou
Casting Department	Francesca Aiassa,Rikki Hegwood
Costume and Wardrobe Department	Queensylvia Akuchie,Kailey Becker,Gnatalie Crawford,Leangela Denise,Kevin Mayes,Heather Rae Miller,Donna O Neal,Patty Spinale,Yana Syrkin,Wendy Talley
Editorial Department	Jared Arkulary,Andy Bussell,Hunter Clancey,Leeza Diott,Marco Andrés Gonzalez,Nick Haridopolos,David Levinson,Shane O Connor,Antonello Parlato,Mitch Paulson,Jennifer Raymond,Stephen Regnier,Jared Simon,Clark Zijun Zhu
Location Management	Steven Charpentier,Tyler Hohmann,Alexander Paul Kahn,Rob Pittard,Joe Stange,Ted Voorhies,Sterling Wadswoth,Wise Wolfe,Jordan Zuppardo
Music Department	Leo Birenberg,Abderraouf Djeffel,Matt Franko,Filippo Landi,Matt Lilley,Phil McGowan,Christopher T. Mollere,Anele Onyekwere,Vincent Oppido,Ro Rowan,Trygge Toven
Script and Continuity Department	Carmen Soriano,Melissa Yount
Transportation Department	Virgil Bienemy,Richard Brown,Myron D. Bunch,Dwight Craft,Chantell Hampton,Trameka Howard,Randy Kinyon,Joey Kippers,Sal Melancon,Leroy Minor Jr.,Charlene Mitchell,Michael Nissen,Buddy Pine,Timothy J. Tanton,Herbert Varnado,Calvin Weatherspoon
Additional Crew	Queensylvia Akuchie,Steve Apostolina,Aaron Askew,Kirk Baily,Omar Bermúdez,Samuel Birdsong,Timothy Breaux,Blakely Clark,Chris D Olimpio,Bryan Darbonne,Jeff Dash,Hayley Davis,Terry DeLacey,Jeremy Foley,Joel Goldes,Alyssa Grizzly Goldman,Hannah Harris,Kathryn J. Hatam,Lauren Heeney,Erica Heffelmire,Emily Houston,Christopher Jones,Daniel Kleinpeter,Erica Kolsrud,Ashley Lambert,Graham Lawyer,Chris Lombard,Terence Mathews,Patrick McBride,David Michie,Erin Murphy,Jamie O Keeffe,Okey Onyiuke,Devika Parikh,Leah M. Peterson,Rob Porter,Spade Robinson,Maya Rodrigo,Holly McGreevy Scott,Kenneth Shelton,Dennis Singletary,Cara Smiczek,Tate Sonnack,Donald Strohman,Cid Swank,Jaquita Ta le,Leah Thorkelson,Manuel Vasquez,Langston A. Williams,Katherine Heneghan,William Van Hoof
Genres	Drama, Horror, Mystery
Companies	Lionsgate, QC Entertainment
Countries	USA
Languages	English
ContentRating	R
ImDbRating	5.7
ImDbRatingVotes	26809
MetacriticRating	43
Keywords	offscreen suicide,slave,lipstick,kidnapping,rape