THE BEADS 2024 – NOLLYWOOD MOVIE REVIEW
In The Beads, Moyinoluwa Ezekiel weaves a supernatural thriller in which bride-to-be Ranti (Zainab Balogun) relives her wedding day over and over after a mysterious string of sacred beads gifted by her grandmother triggers a time loop, each iteration ending with a fatal gunshot at her ceremony.
The film charts Ranti’s frantic attempts to piece together clues from each loop, ranging from family betrayals and hidden grudges among her aunties to supernatural forces tied to the beads—until she finally unravels the truth and breaks the cycle, allowing her to survive and consummate her marriage.
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The story begins one day before Ranti’s wedding, when her grandmother Maami, presents her with a necklace of ancestral beads said to guarantee marital bliss. These beads, however, are imbued with mystical forces that tie Ranti to her own fate, intertwining her consciousness with the day of her nuptials.
On the morning of the wedding, Ranti awakens in a flurry of excitement and nerves.
Her maidens Ehi fussing over her makeup, Shade clumsily juggling ice and hot tea—and her aunties Adanna and Ruki oversee her traditional Yoruba attire, hinting at underlying family pressures.
Meanwhile, Demola arrives at the ceremony venue with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Williams, and the officiating elders, including Ranti’s father, Mr. Obi, setting a stage of both joy and unease.
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Under a canopy of festive drumming, Ranti and Demola exchange vows. Just as the garlands are about to be tied, a single gunshot rings out and Ranti collapses, lifeless, at the altar.
Instead of darkness, Ranti jolts awake back in her bridal bedroom, the beads around her neck glowing ominously. She’s trapped, forced to replay the wedding day until she can prevent her own death.
Armed with knowledge from countless rewinds, Ranti identifies the person behind the assassination attempt and preempts the gunshot in the final loop. With the beads’ magic finally neutralised, she steps forward into a surviving ceremony, her wedding vows now unbound by fate.
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The film closes on a note of bittersweet triumph, as Ranti and Demola share their first dance, the beads rendered silent, symbolising a future of free will over predestined doom.
Cast: Zainab Balogun, Lateef Adedimeji, Idowu Philips, Chioma Omeruah, Ronke Ojo, Bridgett Adebayo and many more
Director: Moyinoluwa Ezekiel
Runtime: 104 minutes
Watch trailer here
