Master is the feature debut of writer and director Mariama Diallo. It's a movie dripping in detail, from its smartly layered script, to the precise performances by the cast, to its meticulous production design by Meredith Lippincott and Tommy Love. It's a film that aims high at its thematic aspirations of race, identity and academia but is able to deliver it through a lens that remains engaging and never feels too sententious. In other words, it's one hell of a debut. Diallo establishes herself as a unique voice with plenty to say and a talent to look out for in the genre space.

Master tells the two intertwined stories of Gail Bishop (Regina Hall) and Jasmine Moore (Zoe Renee). Gail has steadily and patiently been rising through the ranks of a prestigious New England university named Ancanster. The film opens on her being appointed the school's top honor of House Master. She is the first Black person to receive the title, an achievement that Gail is initially proud of, offering a direct line to all students to talk or voice concerns.

Jasmine is a new arrival to Ancaster and one of the very few people of color to make up the student body. Both she and Gail are subjected to constant microaggressions and reminders of white supremacy both big and small as they struggle to get through their respective school year. There's an endless well of shameful reality to pull from that makes Master a poignant drama in its own right.

Jasmine's space is often invaded by her roommate Amelia (Talia Ryder) and her friends who hang out there. Jasmine initially attempts to befriend them, but despite their obvious wealth, they never bother offering to pay her back when she picks up pizza for all of them, nor do they clean up after themselves after eating all over her bed. When describing everyone in the room, they fail to come up with anyone to compare Jasmine to beyond Beyoncé and Venus and Serena Williams.

Likewise, Gail finds herself a similar outlier among the faculty at Ancaster, the only other Black woman being English professor Liv Beckman (Amber Gray). When a party is held at Gail's historic home on campus, she winds up in a subservient role to her white guests, fetching them food and drinks and (just like Jasmine) being left alone to clean up. She’s compared to Barack Obama by her colleagues.

Eventually, the racism becomes far more overt and severe. Jasmine isn't allowed in to a party her supposed friends stroll right into. Gail is stopped by security who isn't even aware of who she is. A noose is found in Jasmine's room. A cross is burned in the middle of campus. It all quickly becomes too much for either woman to handle alone.

This would all be enough to make for a solid film about the literal frustrations and terrors of everyday racism, particular in an college setting, but Diallo adds an extra element of supernatural horror to up the ante a bit. The school is supposedly cursed and haunted by the ghost of Margaret Millett, a woman hanged for witchcraft back in the day. In the 1960s, Ancaster's first Black graduate was found dead in her room from an apparent suicide by hanging. It just so happens to be the same room Jasmine is assigned.

From the very beginning, Diallo imbues the film with a looming sense of unease. The awkwardness of Gail and Jasmine's interactions with their peers feels like it can escalate into frightening territory at any moment. A loud and raucous frat party quickly spirals into a disorienting house of horrors as Jasmine finds herself lost in a sea of rich white kids screaming out a certain word to a popular song. Both women find themselves suffering from frequent nightmares that only grow in severity. A hooded figure or two is spotted roaming around campus.

Master spins an increasingly tense ghost story that explores big and contentious ideas through smaller, personal stories of struggle. By its end, it would almost feel overwhelmingly (and truthfully) bleak, were it not for the film's greatest strength seething below: An underlying anger that fuels the whole piece. Think of it as a horror film with no gore but a whole lot of bite.

'Master' is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.