In writer-director Mariama Diallo’s debut feature and horror-thriller Master, three women are trying to find their place at a prestigious, elitist and predominantly white New England university.

Professor Gail Bishop (Regina Hall, Scary Movie franchise, Nine Perfect Strangers) has recently been promoted to the position of “Master” at a residence hall, the first time the college has appointed a Black woman to the post. Determined to breathe new life into a centuries-old tradition and break with the university’s racist past, Gail finds herself wrapped up in the life of Jasmine Moore (Zoe Renee, Black Lightning), a happy and optimistic freshman. Jasmine’s time at Ancaster College soon takes a turn, however, when she is assigned a dorm room rumoured to be haunted.

Things go from bad to worse when Jasmine clashes in the classroom with Liv Beckman (Amber Gray, The Underground Railroad), a professor in the middle of her own racially charged tenure review. As Gail attempts to maintain the peace and fulfil her duties as Master, Ancaster’s pristine facade starts to reveal something far more sinister.

As the official synopsis for Master puts it, “After a career spent fighting to make it into Ancaster’s inner circle, Gail is confronted with the horrifying prospect of what lies beneath, her question ultimately becoming not whether the school is haunted, but by whom.”

Diallo previously wrote and directed the very funny horror short Hair Wolf, which screened at Sundance Festival in 2018. As for Master, it recently premiered at this year’s Sundance, and will soon screen as part of the South by Southwest Film Festival programme.

Master releases in cinemas and on Prime Video globally March 18th. Watch the trailer below: