In 2020, “Karen” emerged as a timely insult to entitled white women who ask to speak to the manager. Time and time again in the news there were stories of women upset about their neighborhood children selling bottles of water, having a cookout, or walking their dogs. For the first time, the public pushed back against the narrative that white women are simply endangered and acting out of concern when calling the police on black people doing harmless, normal neighborhood activities around them.

That conversation inspired Coke Daniels to write and direct a thriller based on an evil Karen.

“Last year during the global pandemic and civil unrest, I — like many of us — felt anger, despair and hopelessness. The overwhelming amount of support from people around the globe, who want to see change, has been such an inspiration.” — Coke Daniels

Taryn Manning stars as the titular Karen who learns a black family is moving into her neighborhood. She does whatever she can think of to try to force them out of their home. The IMDB synopsis reads simply: “A racist, entitled white woman in the South terrorizes her new Black neighbors.”

Here’s the trailer:

Of her role, Taryn Manning said: “I felt a social responsibility to take on this role. Even if I had to play the villain to affect change around the globe, then I was more than willing to step into the role. What’s been going on is devastating. It’s time for change and for me to be a part of the bigger picture, meant a lot to me.”

Karen finished production in February 2021. It doesn’t have a release date yet, but it should be soon!