Is God Is: Sins of the Father

by Rohan Connolly

Do not let Is God Is fly under your radar. 2026 has been an incredible year for film, horror in particular, with breakout directorial debuts in Obsession and Backrooms, to franchise hits in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple and Ready or Not 2: Here I Come, and to established directors returning to the medium in Send Help and Hokum. Amongst these behemoths, this debut feature film based on the play of the same name may slip through the cracks, but it might be the best of the bunch. After establishing herself as a creative force in 2016, Playwright Aleshea Harris would see Is God Is adapted Off-Broadway in 2018 to massive success, and go on to direct the film adaptation. The film and the play follow a set of twins as they set off on a journey to kill their father, per their estranged mother’s final request. Like their mother, Racine (Kara Young) and Anaia (Mallori Johnson) have been left with severe burn scars due to an incident as children at the hands of their father. Racine’s injuries are on one of her arms down to her hand, Anaia’s injuries cover her entire face, while their mother—who they were told was dead until now—suffers full body scarring, leaving her unable to move and requiring constant care. 

Is God Is, in its roughly 90-minute runtime, is sharp, stylish, thrilling, tense, and to put it simply, fun. As the girls traipse across the southern United States, they meet a cast of characters filled with personality, each one sending them off on the next chapter of their wild goose chase. Harris perfectly blends the silly with the sinister, crafting unique and quirky characters that provide moments for off-hand situational comedy but also slowly grow the dark cloud that is their father. By the time his face graces the screen in the final act, his reputation precedes him. We have seen the trail of lost souls he leaves behind everywhere he goes, from abandoned children to discarded wives and acquaintances who spend their days terrified at the thought of his return. In this southern gothic tale, Harris masterfully explores themes of abuse, religion, revenge, family, and love. She interrogates the structures that define how we live our lives, whether it be single family units or larger ideas of faith, and how they work together to facilitate abuse and fail to protect those who are most vulnerable: the children. 

The film traces the demons that follow you when you are left scarred by the sins of your father. Racine and Anaia cannot escape the reminder of his betrayal of them, and of their mother. The people around them, though not knowing the exact details, are also forced to acknowledge and face these demons whether through acceptance or rejection. The others that their father has hurt have only been hurt internally, left angry, depressed, scared, but his first wife, and his first daughters, are the only ones who cannot escape his shadow. And ultimately, they are the ones who can give him his day of reckoning. Through its masterful direction, standout performances, and creative innovation, Is God Is concludes that if God is a mother, one who creates life, one who guides you on your path, then Hell is a father, seeking to punish, and it is only the mother who can break the cycle.