Actress and singer Brandy Norwood may be best known for bringing Cinderella to life in the 1997 musical adaptation opposite Whitney Houston. In The Front Room, she’s the star of a more twisted fairy tale.
The horror movie follows Belinda, an anthropology professor who is strapped for cash as the birth of her child approaches. When her husband’s father dies, she opens their home to his wealthy widow. Like in Cinderella, this stepmother figure has sinister intentions.
Solange (Kathryn Hunter) creates messes for Belinda to clean up emotionally and physically, crying and demanding baths just like the new baby, who she may or may not be trying to steal. Solange claims to have been granted powers by the Holy Spirit, but is revealed to be racist and vindictive.
Though Norwood has horror movie experience — she was in I Still Know What You Did Last Summer in 1998 — she told Yahoo Entertainment that agreeing to be a part of this new, viscerally gross film was a “tough decision.”
“It’s so different than anything I’ve ever done, and I was very afraid of the role,” she said. “I didn’t know if I could pull it off, but that’s what made me want to do it even more. I wanted to see if my acting could go to the next level.”
Norwood said working with Hunter helped her stay “as present as possible,” and compared her scene partner to basketball player Michael Jordan.
“Michael Jordan brings out the best in whoever he plays with, and [Hunter] brought out the best in me,” she said. “I never knew what she was going to do because she never did the same take twice. I had to stay on my toes.”
Hunter credited the writers for her scene-stealing performance, saying the character “lept off the page.”
“That’s what happens with good writing. You get a feel and an image immediately so the characters are hovering there, and you reach into it,” she told Yahoo Entertainment.
Directors (and twin brothers) Sam and Max Eggers told Hunter stories about their grandfather that made the character of Solange feel more rooted in reality.
“Not only is she an archetype, she’s also a real elderly person with her cantankerousness and manipulation and viciousness,” Hunter said.
Hunter and Norwood rehearsed together for a week before filming, which helped Norwood overcome her nervousness.
Norwood hopes the audience feels all the emotions that are presented to them onscreen — from horror to comedy — and root for Belinda too.
“With my character, I want people to understand that I fought for everything. I fought for my life, I fought for my dignity, I fought for my baby and I fought for my liberation,” she said.
Norwood has been having a career resurgence in 2024 that includes putting twists on some of her beloved past projects. She’s featured on the remix and in the music video of Ariana Grande’s “The Boy Is Mine” along with Monica, with whom she recorded the original track in 1998. She also reprised her role as Cinderella in Descendants: The Rise of Red.
The Front Room is currently in theaters.
