In ‘The Front Room,’ Brandy Norwood’s Sanity Is Tested by a Fanatical Kathryn Hunter

Sandra Miska

Brandy Norwood, best known for her music career and starring in the sitcom “Moesha,” shows off her more serious side in A24’s “The Front Room,” a psychological horror flick with an unlikely comedic streak. Norwood stars as Belinda, a professor of anthropology who is not prepared for a major relic from her husband’s (Andrew Burnap) past, his unhinged, heavily religious nutjob of a stepmother, Solange (Kathryn Hunter).

Based on the short story of the same name by Susan Hill, Max and Sam Eggers’ hagsploitation horror begins with Belinda in a transitional period. Heavily pregnant, she quits her professor job after her unseen boss, who is too busy to meet her face-to-face, gives away some of her classes to a new hire. It is now up to her husband, Norman, a milquetoast white attorney, to support their household. Another factor adding stress to what should be a happy time in her life is the fact that Belinda is still haunted by a stillbirth she had two years prior, and doubts her fitness for motherhood. Still traumatized, she refuses to use the room that was intended to be the nursery for that first baby, and instead turns the front room into a makeshift nursery, at the end of the stairs.

Soon, Norman’s estranged father dies, and at the funeral, Belinda finally meets Solange. At first glance, she comes across as a quirky old lady, but Belinda comes to learn that there is a lot bubbling underneath her Southern belle exterior. Due to the alleged religious trauma she inflicted on him during his childhood, Norman is weary of Solange. She wastes no time in asking to move in with the couple, promising a hefty inheritance when she kicks the bucket, and from the looks of her, that payday does not seem too far off. Belinda convinces her husband and the seemingly frail old lady soon moves into the downstairs room that was supposed to go to the new baby.

In the beginning of their new living situation, Belinda and Solange seem to both be putting their best foot forward, each playing a role. The younger woman as the warm and hospitable daughter, while the older woman as the well-meaning, albeit ignorant, motherly figure. Norwood and Hunter mesh nicely together, and Hunter, a master character actress who is more known for Shakespeare than shtick, helps Norwood deliver a fine performance. They create an escalating tension that keeps us on edge, but when the shit finally hits the fan, literally, this movie becomes a bumpy and absurd ride.

Underneath all the fecal matter and urine, “The Front Room” explores pregnancy and identity. Solange at one point refers to Belinda as a vessel, something she means to be complimentary. Belinda is a more progressive person, but there is no doubt that she feels herself slipping away, first when she gets iced out at her job, and later when Solange attempts to supplant her in her own home. Norman, preoccupied with his own career, offers her little comfort or support. Although women don’t have to deal with mother-in-law troubles on this absurd level, many who have given birth might relate to Belinda and her fears and struggles. 

However, this cringey horror is too unserious to be considered anything of quality. There are a lot of loose threads, and any real twists and turns are replaced with gross-out humor. In the end, it still manages to deliver a satisfactory resolution as Belinda attempts to take her power back. 

“The Front Room” releases Sept. 6 in theaters nationwide.