Directed by Princeton James, with a story written by Allison Chaney and Henry E. Reaves III, Queen Rising is a thriller/drama featuring a predominantly black cast. Taking place across three different timelines of present day, ten years previously, and at some point in the 1990's, this told a mystery that was at times a bit obvious where it was going. That didn't alter the fact that I found this a fun watch that had an interesting lead.
Madison (April Hale - Witching Hour II) is a teacher whose friend and fellow teacher, Greg (Xamon Glasper) one day discovers that she was caught up in a past criminal event that came to be known nationwide as the 'College Town Slayings', with her having dated Ben, the man blamed for the killings. Sensing an opportunity for them both to make some money, Greg convinces Madison that she should tell her side of the story in a book, with him ghost writing it, and getting it published via a contact he has. She is hesitant to revisit the past, but with her beloved childhood home in danger of being foreclosed she decides to take him up on his offer, as the advance would help her to save her house.
Queen Rising mainly takes place ten years in the past when Madison was living in dorms at college. As she narrates the events of what happened back then to Greg in the present, this also serves as a narration for the slayings storyline, meaning the film can jump around in time without it feeling jarring. Madison uses the writing sessions as a form of therapy with her not only talking about her college days, but also talking about her tough childhood that had such lows as her father being murdered, her mother hooking up with an abusive boyfriend, and her mother's subsequent early death. College doesn't seem to go too much better with a series of dates with terrible guys. The lead up to the killing starting takes around half an hour of this eighty five minute film. Not having read a synopsis. I began to get a little nervous that this wouldn't turn out to be a thriller at all. This wasn't the case thankfully, and with Madison having known each of the victims, and with her dating the man who it would turn out was behind the killings, things began to get a lot more interesting. Wrinkles are added in to the tale when it is shown to the viewer that Greg isn't being completely honest with Madison, creating a mystery as to his true intentions.
Of course, if this had been real life and not movie life then there is no way that the story would have been able to happen the way it did. You have to assume the police in the film were totally incompetent when it came to studying crime scenes, but there you go. Madison made for a good protagonist, she was a strong willed woman who was shaped by both the good and bad of her childhood. The danger might take a while to make an appearance (outside of a prologue sequence taking place with Madison, her younger sister Brooke and their abusive stepfather), but when events do begin to escalate I found myself on board for the unfolding mystery. I liked the way Madison was narrating her life story in the present, it gave a logical flow to the story, while explaining why so many various flashbacks are used (sometimes a flashback even occurs within a flashback). The story is complimented by a perhaps stereotypical mysterious soundtrack, but the sound fitted the film well.
While Queen Rising may have had an obvious route as to where things would eventually end up, I feel this must have been on some level intentional. Regardless, I was still entertained watching how it got to that point. Obvious then, a little silly, but also enjoyable, and sometimes that's all that matters. Queen Rising comes to video on demand on Tuesday June 18th from Breaking Glass Pictures.
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