Renee Lomito-Smith — Mary J. Blige in Body Cam (2020)

Renee Lomito-Smith — Mary J. Blige in Body Cam (2020)

Film: Body Cam  |  Year: 2020  |  Genre: Horror/Supernatural Thriller  |  Distribution: Paramount Plus

Body Cam is one of those films that more people need to know about. Mary J. Blige in the lead role of a supernatural horror thriller is exactly as riveting as it sounds. This is not a cameo. This is not a supporting role. This is Mary carrying a film from beginning to end as the central character. And she does it.

About the Film

Body Cam is a 2020 supernatural horror thriller about Renee Lomito-Smith, a police officer who returns to work after a leave of absence and becomes entangled in a mysterious conspiracy when her partner is killed by an unseen supernatural force. The footage from his body camera reveals something no one can explain. And Renee starts pulling on a thread that leads somewhere very dark.

The film uses the horror genre to address real themes about police violence and the treatment of Black communities by law enforcement. It is not a simple jump scare movie. It has something to say and it says it through Renee's investigation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lt1hodBObHw

Mary as Renee Lomito-Smith

Renee is complex in ways that a lot of horror protagonists are not. She is grieving. She is isolated. She has secrets. And she is driven by a moral compass that keeps pointing her toward the truth even when the truth is terrifying. Mary plays all of that with complete commitment.

Leading a horror film requires a specific kind of stamina. You are in nearly every scene. The camera is on your face during the most intense and frightening moments of the story. The audience's experience of the horror is mediated entirely through you. Mary handled all of that with the confidence of someone who had been preparing for this kind of leading role her entire career.

A Lead Role in the Post-Mudbound Era

Body Cam came out in 2020, three years after Mudbound established Mary as a serious dramatic actress. It shows that she was not just taking prestige drama roles. She was expanding into genre film, into lead roles, into territory that required her to carry an entire movie on her own. She was becoming a full-service dramatic film actress. Body Cam is the proof.

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