Prime Video has revealed the official trailer and poster for Master, writer/director Mariama Diallo’s acclaimed feature debut coming to the service on March 18. The film is rated R for language and some drug use.
Master tells the intersecting stories of three women striving to find their place at a prestigious New England university whose frosty elitism may disguise something more sinister.
An institution almost as old as the country itself, storied Ancaster College has its share of legends. One that persists is of Margaret Millett, a Salem-era woman accused of witchcraft and said to haunt the campus, particularly Belleville House, where the gallows once stood.
However, for Professor Gail Bishop (Regina Hall), Belleville represents a cause for optimism: having recently been appointed “Master” of Belleville House, Gail is the first Black woman to occupy that prestigious position.
Almost immediately upon moving into Belleville, incoming freshman Jasmine Moore (Zoe Renee) finds her bubbly enthusiasm dampened by her chilly reception at the predominantly white institution.
Jasmine’s unease deepens considerably when she learns that her room is rumored to be haunted by a force that makes students suicidal, as happened decades earlier to Louisa Weeks, a previous inhabitant and the first Black woman to attend the college.
Jasmine, an honors student and the valedictorian of her suburban high school, is also surprised to find herself at odds with popular and outspoken professor Liv Beckman (Amber Gray) and shocked when she receives a failing grade. This is made all the more complicated by the fact that Liv and Gail are friends.
Gail’s efforts to live up to her new role as Master see her pulled in every direction as she tries to provide support for Jasmine in the classroom and support for Liv in the tenure committee room, where competitive colleagues question Liv’s credentials and right to belong.
As Jasmine’s mental state worsens and the terrifying events escalate, Gail must determine if the source of Jasmine’s problems is real, imagined, or supernatural – before it’s too late.
The film’s producers are Andrea Roa (It Comes at Night, Drinking Buddies), Joshua Astrachan (Paterson, The Dead Don’t Die), and Brad Becker-Parton (Beach Rats, Italian Studies).
The director of photography is Charlotte Hornsby (Chantilly Bridge), and the production designers are Meredith Lippincott (Bad Education, Never Rarely Sometimes Always) and Tommy Love (The Other Two).
The costume designer is Mirren Gordon-Crozier (Short Term 12, The Glass Castle). The editors are Maya Maffioli (Rocks, Beast) and Jennifer Lee (The Skeleton Twins, See You Yesterday).
You can watch the trailer on YouTube, and you’ll find the poster below.
Mirko Parlevliet has been reporting on the entertainment industry since 1998 and founded Vital Thrills in 2018 to cover the latest news on streaming, movies, TV, and video games.