Jagged Mind

Jagged Mind
Official poster
Directed byKelley Kali
Written byAllyson Morgan
Based onFirst Date
by Allyson Morgan
Produced by
  • Daniela Ruiz
  • Kelley Kali
  • Congyu E
Starring
CinematographyRasa Partin
Edited bySalvador Pérez García
Music byJongnic Bontemps
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Jagged Mind is a 2023 American psychological horror thriller film directed by Kelley Kali and written by Allyson Morgan, based on her 2020 short film First Date. It stars Maisie Richardson-Sellers and Shannon Woodward.

The film premiered at the American Black Film Festival on June 14, 2023, and was released in the United States on Hulu the following day. It was released internationally on Disney+ via the Star content hub.

Premise

After Billie begins dating a mysterious woman named Alex, she suddenly becomes plagued by blackouts and strange visions that lead her to discover she's stuck in a series of time loops.[1]

Cast

Production

Jagged Mind is based on writer Allyson Morgan's short film First Date, that aired on season one of the Hulu series Bite Size Halloween (2020). Produced by 20th Digital Studio and Palabra Productions as a Hulu original film, it is directed by Kelley Kali from a screenplay by Morgan. Maisie Richardson-Sellers and Shannon Woodward portray new girlfriends, Billie and Alex, respectively.[2] Filming took place in the Little Haiti neighborhood of Miami.[3] Jongnic Bontemps composed the film's score.[4]

Release

Jagged Mind premiered at the American Black Film Festival on June 14, 2023. It was released in the United States on Hulu the following day and was released on Disney+ (via Star) internationally.[5]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 67% of 15 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.5/10.[6]

The Los Angeles Times's Noel Murray asserted "Even without its paranormal elements, Jagged Mind is a powerful portrait of the dissociation that occurs when a person tries to justify the misbehavior of someone they love."[7] Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya of Autostraddle said, "While imperfect in some of its plotting, Jagged Mind is delicious in its thematic underpinnings, execution of horror (with evocative editing and directing on this front), and performances. Richardson-Sellers and Woodward (both queer IRL btw) are electric scene partners, and Woodward makes an extremely compelling villain. The script could have easily tilted into Lifetime original movie territory if not for the direction and these performances."[8]

Paul Lê from Bloody Disgusting gave the film a rating of three out of five, saying, "[the] film is often compelling and tense, the two leads deliver strong and vulnerable performances, and the outcome is rewarding. Supporters of queer filmmaking will be enthused to see not only a new genre story where the central conflict has nothing to do with sexuality issues, and the characters are layered and imperfect."[9] Randy Myers writing for The Mercury News gave the film a score of one and half out of five, saying "An under-realized screenplay fails all involved, particularly lead Maisie Richardson Sellers. She gives it her all as Billie, a queer woman with a rotten streak with women. She also blacks out and finds herself stuck in a Groundhog Day-like loop. Therein lies the plot problem, Jagged Mind repeats its scenes too often, making it feel like this originated as a short film that got stretched into a feature."[10]

References

  1. ^ Paz, Maggie Dela (June 1, 2023). "Jagged Mind Trailer Previews Hulu's Queer Psychological Thriller". ComingSoon.net. Archived from the original on June 1, 2023. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  2. ^ Earl, William (April 20, 2023). "Jagged Mind: First Look at Hulu-Bound Horror (Exclusive)". Variety. Archived from the original on May 6, 2023. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  3. ^ "Psychological Thriller Filmed in Little Haiti Set to Premiere at ABFF". South Florida Caribbean News. June 1, 2023. Archived from the original on June 8, 2023. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  4. ^ "Jongnic Bontemps & Raashi Kulkarni Scoring Roshan Sethi's Disney+ Movie World's Best". Film Music Reporter. Archived from the original on June 1, 2023. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  5. ^ Complex, Valerie (June 1, 2023). "Jagged Mind Trailer: Kelley Kali LGBTQ Psychological Horror Included In Hulu's "Pride Never Stops" Campaign". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 1, 2023. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  6. ^ "Jagged Mind". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
  7. ^ Murray, Noel (June 16, 2023). "Review: Jon Hamm and Tina Fey bring what little spark there is to Maggie Moore(s)". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on July 7, 2023. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  8. ^ Upadhyaya, Kayla Kumari (June 16, 2023). "Lesbian Thriller "Jagged Mind" Is a Haunting Portrayal of Abuse". Autostraddle. Archived from the original on September 3, 2023. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
  9. ^ Lê, Paul (June 14, 2023). "Jagged Mind Review – A Time Loop Makes Hulu's Queer Horror Story Tense and Unique". Bloody Disgusting. Archived from the original on June 14, 2023. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  10. ^ Myers, Randy (July 5, 2023). "What to watch: Joy Ride is one of the funniest films you'll see all year". The Mercury News. Archived from the original on July 7, 2023. Retrieved July 7, 2023.