Culture Interviews Cinema & Tv

“I don’t like to feel confined by conventional boundaries”: Director Mariama Diallo on Master

“I don’t like to feel confined by conventional boundaries”: Director Mariama Diallo on Master

Master is the debut feature from Mariama Diallo, a tense and taught horror film that tackles the issue of racial prejudice in universities. It follows the story of a group of black women at a prestigious New England university who have to deal with supernatural horrors and the very real manifestations of racism in academia.

Jasmine, a young black student who has just enrolled, must face racist pressure from her surroundings whilst also tackling the threat of an ancient legend that stalks her. Similarly, her new housemaster Gail must deal with personal subterfuge from her colleagues whilst confronting the terrifying occurrences that plague her new position. 

With an abundance of, not only real scares but also interesting characters, Master manages to be simultaneously exhilarating and engrossing. It has a fresh take on an established genre and most importantly, a lot to say on a very important issue. 

The Upcoming had a chat with its director Diallo about the film’s setting, its scares and how it related to her own personal experiences.

Joe Milo

Master is released on Amazon Prime Video on 18th March 2022.

Watch the trailer for Master here:

More in Cinema & Tv

“Letting us pass this torch on to the kids just makes me reflect on how crazy this experience has been”: Milo Manheim, Meg Donnelly, Freya Skye and Malachi Barton on Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires

Christina Yang

Miley Cyrus unveils visual album Something Beautiful, streaming on Disney+ this July

The editorial unit

Ryan Gosling goes interstellar in Project Hail Mary, the latest sci-fi epic from the team behind The Martian and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

The editorial unit

Trailer drops for Roofman, Derek Cianfrance’s stranger-than-fiction crime drama starring Channing Tatum and Kirsten Dunst

The editorial unit

Dave Franco and Alison Brie face a rural nightmare in Michael Shanks’s upcoming horror film

The editorial unit

Jurassic World: Rebirth

Guy Lambert

Mediterrane Film Festival 2025: The Theft of the Caravaggio

Mae Trumata

Olivia Rodrigo at BST Hyde Park

Katherine Parry

“Do you still have faith in humanity?”: Hwang Dong-hyuk, Lee Jung-jae, Lee Byung-hun and Park Gyu-young on Squid Game season three

Christina Yang