Jagged Mind

2023 film by Kelley Kali

Daniela Ruiz
Kelley Kali
Congyu E

Starring

Maisie Richardson-Sellers
Shannon Woodward

CinematographyRasa PartinEdited bySalvador Pérez GarcíaMusic byJongnic Bontemps

Production
companies

20th Digital Studio
Palabra Productions

Distributed by

Hulu (United States)
Disney+ (international)

Release dates

June 14, 2023 (2023-06-14) (American Black Film Festival)
June 15, 2023 (2023-06-15) (United States)

CountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglish

Jagged Mind is a 2023 American psychological horror thriller film directed by Kelley Kali and written by Allyson Morgan, based on her 2020 short film First Date. It stars Maisie Richardson-Sellers and Shannon Woodward.

The film premiered at the American Black Film Festival on June 14, 2023, and was released in the United States on Hulu the following day. It is expected to air internationally on Disney+ via the Star content hub at a later date.

Premise

After Billie begins dating a mysterious woman named Alex, she suddenly becomes plagued by blackouts and strange visions that lead her to discover she's stuck in a series of time loops.^[1]

Cast

Maisie Richardson-Sellers as Billie
Shannon Woodward as Alex
Rosaline Elbay as Christine
Shein Mompremier as Rose
Kate Szekely as Kim
Jimmy Jean-Louis as Papa Juste
Casey Ford Alexander as Dr. Ortiz

Production

Jagged Mind is based on writer Allyson Morgan's short film First Date, that aired on season one of the Hulu series Bite Size Halloween (2020). Produced by 20th Digital Studio and Palabra Productions as a Hulu original film, it is directed by Kelley Kali from a screenplay by Morgan. Maisie Richardson-Sellers and Shannon Woodward portray new girlfriends, Billie and Alex, respectively.^[2] Filming took place in the Little Haiti neighborhood of Miami.^[3] Jongnic Bontemps composed the film's score.^[4]

Release

Jagged Mind premiered at the American Black Film Festival on June 14, 2023. It was released in the United States on Hulu the following day and is expected to air on Disney+ (via Star) internationally at a later date.^[5]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 67% of 15 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.5/10.^[6]

The Los Angeles Times's Noel Murray asserted "Even without its paranormal elements, Jagged Mind is a powerful portrait of the dissociation that occurs when a person tries to justify the misbehavior of someone they love."^[7] Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya of Autostraddle said, "While imperfect in some of its plotting, Jagged Mind is delicious in its thematic underpinnings, execution of horror (with evocative editing and directing on this front), and performances. Richardson-Sellers and Woodward (both queer IRL btw) are electric scene partners, and Woodward makes an extremely compelling villain. The script could have easily tilted into Lifetime original movie territory if not for the direction and these performances."^[8]

Paul Lê from Bloody Disgusting gave the film a rating of three out of five, saying, "[the] film is often compelling and tense, the two leads deliver strong and vulnerable performances, and the outcome is rewarding. Supporters of queer filmmaking will be enthused to see not only a new genre story where the central conflict has nothing to do with sexuality issues, and the characters are layered and imperfect."^[9] Randy Myers writing for The Mercury News gave the film a score of one and half out of five, saying "An under-realized screenplay fails all involved, particularly lead Maisie Richardson Sellers. She gives it her all as Billie, a queer woman with a rotten streak with women. She also blacks out and finds herself stuck in a Groundhog Day-like loop. Therein lies the plot problem, Jagged Mind repeats its scenes too often, making it feel like this originated as a short film that got stretched into a feature."^[10]

References

^ Paz, Maggie Dela (June 1, 2023). "Jagged Mind Trailer Previews Hulu's Queer Psychological Thriller". ComingSoon.net. Archived from the original on June 1, 2023. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
^ Earl, William (April 20, 2023). "Jagged Mind: First Look at Hulu-Bound Horror (Exclusive)". Variety. Archived from the original on May 6, 2023. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
^ "Psychological Thriller Filmed in Little Haiti Set to Premiere at ABFF". South Florida Caribbean News. June 1, 2023. Archived from the original on June 8, 2023. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
^ "Jongnic Bontemps & Raashi Kulkarni Scoring Roshan Sethi's Disney+ Movie World's Best". Film Music Reporter. Archived from the original on June 1, 2023. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
^ Complex, Valerie (June 1, 2023). "Jagged Mind Trailer: Kelley Kali LGBTQ Psychological Horror Included In Hulu's "Pride Never Stops" Campaign". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 1, 2023. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
^ "Jagged Mind". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
^ Murray, Noel (June 16, 2023). "Review: Jon Hamm and Tina Fey bring what little spark there is to Maggie Moore(s)". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on July 7, 2023. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
^ Upadhyaya, Kayla Kumari (June 16, 2023). "Lesbian Thriller "Jagged Mind" Is a Haunting Portrayal of Abuse". Autostraddle. Archived from the original on September 3, 2023. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
^ Lê, Paul (June 14, 2023). "Jagged Mind Review – A Time Loop Makes Hulu's Queer Horror Story Tense and Unique". Bloody Disgusting. Archived from the original on June 14, 2023. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
^ Myers, Randy (July 5, 2023). "What to watch: Joy Ride is one of the funniest films you'll see all year". The Mercury News. Archived from the original on July 7, 2023. Retrieved July 7, 2023.

External links

Jagged Mind on Hulu
Jagged Mind at IMDb
Jagged Mind at Rotten Tomatoes
Jagged Mind at Metacritic

Hulu original programming

Current

2010s debuts	The Handmaid's Tale (since 2017) The Bravest Knight (since 2019) The New York Times Presents (since 2019)
2020s debuts	Solar Opposites (since 2020) Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi (since 2020) Nine Perfect Strangers (since 2021) Only Murders in the Building (since 2021) The D'Amelio Show (since 2021) Hit-Monkey (since 2021) Life & Beth (since 2022) The Kardashians (since 2022) Tell Me Lies (since 2022) Reasonable Doubt (since 2022) Unprisoned (since 2023) Saint X (since 2023) Drag Me to Dinner (since 2023) Futurama (season 8; since 2023) The Other Black Girl (since 2023) Fright Krewe (since 2023) Goosebumps (since 2023) We Were the Lucky Ones (since 2024) Under the Bridge (since 2024)

2010s
debuts

The Handmaid's Tale (since 2017)
The Bravest Knight (since 2019)
The New York Times Presents (since 2019)

2020s
debuts

Solar Opposites (since 2020)
Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi (since 2020)
Nine Perfect Strangers (since 2021)
Only Murders in the Building (since 2021)
The D'Amelio Show (since 2021)
Hit-Monkey (since 2021)
Life & Beth (since 2022)
The Kardashians (since 2022)
Tell Me Lies (since 2022)
Reasonable Doubt (since 2022)
Unprisoned (since 2023)
Saint X (since 2023)
Drag Me to Dinner (since 2023)
Futurama (season 8; since 2023)
The Other Black Girl (since 2023)
Fright Krewe (since 2023)
Goosebumps (since 2023)
We Were the Lucky Ones (since 2024)
Under the Bridge (since 2024)

Ended

2010s debuts	The Morning After (2011–14) The Confession (2011) A Day in the Life (2011–13) Battleground (2012) Lucha Libre USA (2012) Spoilers with Kevin Smith (2012) Up to Speed (2012) The Thick of It (series 4; 2012) East Los High (2013–17) The Awesomes (2013–15) Quick Draw (2013–14) Behind the Mask (2013–15) Mother Up! (2013–14) The Wrong Mans (2013–14) Deadbeat (2014–16) The Doozers (2014–18) The Hotwives (2014–15) Difficult People (2015–17) The Mindy Project (seasons 4–6; 2015–17) Casual (2015–18) 11.22.63 (2016) The Path (2016–18) Freakish (2016–17) Chance (2016–17) Triumph's Election Watch 2016 (2016) Shut Eye (2016–17) Harlots (2017–19) Dimension 404 (2017) I Love You, America with Sarah Silverman (2017–18) Future Man (2017–20) Runaways (2017–19) The Looming Tower (2018) All Night (2018) Hard Sun (2018) Castle Rock (2018–19) The First (2018) Unreal (2018) The Bisexual (2018) Into the Dark (2018–21) Light as a Feather (2018–19) Pen15 (2019–21) Shrill (2019–21) Ramy (2019–22) Catch-22 (2019) The Act (2019) Veronica Mars (season 4; 2019) Four Weddings and a Funeral (2019) Looking for Alaska (2019) Reprisal (2019) Dollface (2019–22) Wu-Tang: An American Saga (2019–23)
2020s debuts	Little Fires Everywhere (2020) High Fidelity (2020) Normal People (2020) The Great (2020–23) Trolls: TrollsTopia (2020–22) Helstrom (2020) Crossing Swords (2020–21) Woke (2020–22) Madagascar: A Little Wild (2020–22) Monsterland (2020) The Mighty Ones (2020–22) Animaniacs (2020–23) M.O.D.O.K. (2021) Sasquatch (2021) McCartney 3,2,1 (2021) The Croods: Family Tree (2021–23) Dopesick (2021) DreamWorks Dragons: The Nine Realms (2021–23) How I Met Your Father (2022–23) Pam & Tommy (2022) The Dropout (2022) The Girl from Plainville (2022) Captive Audience: A Real American Horror Story (2022) Candy (2022) Conversations with Friends (2022) Love, Victor (2020–22) The Orville (season 3; 2022) Maggie (2022) This Fool (2022–23) Mike (2022) Reboot (2022) Abominable and the Invisible City (2022–23) Welcome to Chippendales (2022–23) Koala Man (2023) History of the World, Part II (2023) Up Here (2023) Tiny Beautiful Things (2023) Black Cake (2023) Death and Other Details (2024) Echo (2024)

2010s
debuts

The Morning After (2011–14)
The Confession (2011)
A Day in the Life (2011–13)
Battleground (2012)
Lucha Libre USA (2012)
Spoilers with Kevin Smith (2012)
Up to Speed (2012)
The Thick of It (series 4; 2012)
East Los High (2013–17)
The Awesomes (2013–15)
Quick Draw (2013–14)
Behind the Mask (2013–15)
Mother Up! (2013–14)
The Wrong Mans (2013–14)
Deadbeat (2014–16)
The Doozers (2014–18)
The Hotwives (2014–15)
Difficult People (2015–17)
The Mindy Project (seasons 4–6; 2015–17)
Casual (2015–18)
11.22.63 (2016)
The Path (2016–18)
Freakish (2016–17)
Chance (2016–17)
Triumph's Election Watch 2016 (2016)
Shut Eye (2016–17)
Harlots (2017–19)
Dimension 404 (2017)
I Love You, America with Sarah Silverman (2017–18)
Future Man (2017–20)
Runaways (2017–19)
The Looming Tower (2018)
All Night (2018)
Hard Sun (2018)
Castle Rock (2018–19)
The First (2018)
Unreal (2018)
The Bisexual (2018)
Into the Dark (2018–21)
Light as a Feather (2018–19)
Pen15 (2019–21)
Shrill (2019–21)
Ramy (2019–22)
Catch-22 (2019)
The Act (2019)
Veronica Mars (season 4; 2019)
Four Weddings and a Funeral (2019)
Looking for Alaska (2019)
Reprisal (2019)
Dollface (2019–22)
Wu-Tang: An American Saga (2019–23)

2020s
debuts

Little Fires Everywhere (2020)
High Fidelity (2020)
Normal People (2020)
The Great (2020–23)
Trolls: TrollsTopia (2020–22)
Helstrom (2020)
Crossing Swords (2020–21)
Woke (2020–22)
Madagascar: A Little Wild (2020–22)
Monsterland (2020)
The Mighty Ones (2020–22)
Animaniacs (2020–23)
M.O.D.O.K. (2021)
Sasquatch (2021)
McCartney 3,2,1 (2021)
The Croods: Family Tree (2021–23)
Dopesick (2021)
DreamWorks Dragons: The Nine Realms (2021–23)
How I Met Your Father (2022–23)
Pam & Tommy (2022)
The Dropout (2022)
The Girl from Plainville (2022)
Captive Audience: A Real American Horror Story (2022)
Candy (2022)
Conversations with Friends (2022)
Love, Victor (2020–22)
The Orville (season 3; 2022)
Maggie (2022)
This Fool (2022–23)
Mike (2022)
Reboot (2022)
Abominable and the Invisible City (2022–23)
Welcome to Chippendales (2022–23)
Koala Man (2023)
History of the World, Part II (2023)
Up Here (2023)
Tiny Beautiful Things (2023)
Black Cake (2023)
Death and Other Details (2024)
Echo (2024)

Upcoming

Washington Black (TBA)
King of the Hill (season 14; TBA)

FX on Hulu

Current	American Horror Stories (since 2021) The Bear (since 2022)
Ended	Devs (2020) Mrs. America (2020) A Teacher (2020) Reservation Dogs (2021–23) Y: The Last Man (2021) The Premise (2021) Under the Banner of Heaven (2022) Pistol (2022) The Patient (2022) Fleishman Is in Trouble (2022) Kindred (2022) Great Expectations (2023) Class of '09 (2023) The Full Monty (2023) A Murder at the End of the World (2023) Shōgun (2024)
Upcoming	The Veil (2024) Alien (TBA) Say Nothing (TBA) Clipped (2024)