Foreigner’s God, the period piece from director Ifan Ifeanyi Michael, hasn’t even been released yet. The film is still in the middle of its press cycle, with copious amounts of posters released and a garden-themed Instagram teaser gloriously introducing its female cast. I honestly think we are supposed to take this seriously.

Ihe di woro ogori azuala na aha. What was secret is revealed in the market place. We’re writing the vision and making it plain.. Speaking all things into existence. #FOREIGNERSGODTHEMOVIE is a labor of love with so much soul being poured into it. My heart goes out to all the actresses, actors and collaborators for being patient for this long.. The light will shine soon and we’ll all realize why it was worth the wait. PS: If you love what you see and would like to support this movie in anyway, slide into the dm to show some love. #FOREIGNERSGODTHEMOVIE #film #production #tv #web #content #coming #screenplay #black #melanin #BlackGirlMagic cc @foreignersgodthemovie @annieidibia1 @toyin_abraham @inidimaokojie @lalaakindoju @onyekaonwenu @lindaosifo Producer / executive producer ifan Ifeanyi Michael @thinkifan Stylist/art direction Ifan Ifeanyi Michael Pr/branding ifan Ifeanyi Michael for thinkpr Cinematography/editing @danielanyiamfilms Outfit @ituenbasi Film script @mrxavierighorodje Location @ticklebay

A post shared by IFAN IFEANYI MICHAEL (@thinkifan) on Mar 30, 2018 at 3:35am PDT

As it is, film making in Nollywood is worryingly relaxing into a pattern: zero-calorie comedies, clichéd rom-coms with a heavy themes on marriage, and an inclination towards ripping Hollywood apart in search for preexisting intellectual property. For Foreigner’s God, the movie finds itself leveraging on a glut of star names (Sam Dede, Pete Edochie, Onyeka Onwenu, Lala Akindoju et al) and ex-Big Brother Naija housemates BamBam and Teddy A as the de-facto celebrity extras. On a side note, Teddy A’s character (coughs) is named as Mbaka, as in from Black Panther’s Mbaku.

Set in 1947 Enugu, Foreigner’s God follows the story of English documentary photographer Pepper Claude (Kyle Colton) and his odyssey into the Igboland in search of a story. His bodyguard soon disappears mysteriously, and falls in love with Anya, an accused witch living under subhuman conditions in the heart of the jungle. Ini Dima-Okojie plays Anya, and it will be interesting how she interprets old-era witchcraft.

There’s the promise of something cataclysmic in the movie. I took a trip to film’s Instagram page, picking up clues on the plot and extra details. It appears there was a solar eclipse in Nigeria in 1947, and this is going to be weaved into the movie for contextual weight.

In 2018, and on the strength and calibre of its star power, Foreigner’s God has toppled movies like Wives on Strike and The Ghost and the Tout. I really hope this is the one where Ifan finally gets it right.

Bernard Dayo

When Bernard Dayo isn’t writing about pop culture, he’s watching horror movies and reading comics and trying to pretend his addiction to Netflix isn’t a serious condition.