When the Living Pays the Price of the Dead
There’s something deeply unsettling about being trapped, especially when one doesn’t recognize their environment as a prison.
Definitely Not A Monster, written and directed by Brea Cola Angelo, premiered in 2024 at the Atlanta Film Festival—receiving a nomination for Outstanding Short Form (Live Action) at the 56th NAACP Image Awards in 2025.
Starring April Grace as Blythe Booker and Brea Cola Angelo as Whitney Hunt, Definitely Not A Monster centers on a devoted widow who invites a journalist into her home to clear up accusations against her husband.
But what starts as a tale of absolution quickly turns into one of anagnorisis—and suddenly, the man is no longer the subject of examination.
She is.
Definitely Not A Monster takes it even further, digging deeper into Blythe’s grief and forcing her to examine her marriage in a way no one prepared her to do.
What happens when the person who is meant to carry the shame of their actions is no longer alive to face scrutiny?
Who bears the cost?
“He’s a wonderful man.”
The Pain Underneath the Performance
The beauty of this film is the eerie single-location setting in a living room that’s meant for comfort but becomes the walls within which Mrs. Booker’s most uncomfortable revelation comes to life.
Pressurized.
Immobilized.
Unable to run away from the secrets and pain she’s locked away for decades.
The style becomes a part of the narrative—using medium shots and intimate close-ups to capture the micro-expressions between Blythe and Whitney as each woman processes the other’s words.
Blythe struggles with the depth and poignancy of Whitney’s questions, while Whitney’s reactions expose the absurdity of Blythe’s decades-rehearsed answers, unveiling a woman desperately clinging to a mask that cracks with each new revelation.
It draws the audience into the interview, forcing them to contend with the very questions that Whitney asks.
It’s what makes the film haunting and memorable long after the credits stop rolling.
And April delivers a bone-chilling performance as Blythe—showing just how ingrained it is for Blythe to internalize her pain and trauma as devotion and security.
In the final moments, April’s performance as Blythe captures the paradoxical existence of Blythe’s internal pain and her external dialogue as she recites the very words she rehearsed in order to protect herself from the truth.
She is heartbreaking, gut-wrenching, and brilliant.
Definitely Not A Monster puts denial, grief, and memory on display—calling forth the uglier parts of our pain, the twisted ways in which we lie to ourselves, and the lengths we go to protect our sanity.
This leaves the audience with just one question to ask themselves:
How far would you go to protect your monster?
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Kivonshe—founder of So There’s That—is a film & TV critic who explores compelling storytelling, fandom relationships, character psychology, and the impact of entertainment media through film reviews, episodic recaps, and in-depth theme analysis.
Reviewer’s Note: The film was made available to the reviewer in January 2025 during its 56th NAACP Image Awards nomination campaign. This review was published following the film’s public release.
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