It’s no secret that Black characters don’t have a life expectancy when it comes to surviving a horror film. I remember being so excited to see Jada Pinkett Smith and Omar Epps in Scream 2, only to have them die before the title reveal. What’s so interesting about the trope of Black characters dying first is that it’s the polar opposite of what would actually happen in real life. No shade to anyone else, but in actuality, Black people would be the only ones to survive. Why? Because our lived experiences of navigating life in America often resemble surviving a horror film which has honed our common sense over time. This is why clever slapstick horror satire The Blackening rises to meet a new generation in a timely take on the stereotype.
It’s been ten years, and a group of nine Black college friends uses Juneteenth weekend as an opportunity to reunite for a weekend getaway. Morgan (Yvonne Orji; Insecure) and Shawn (Jay Pharoah; Saturday Night Live) arrive first as we hear Tina Turner’s cover of “I Can’t Stand the Rain” spin on vinyl. Before settling in, they come across a game room and find a board game located in the center of the room —The Blackening.
When they lift the cover, they find a Sambo-like caricature (a dark figure with bright red lips with bulging eyes) as the face of the game. The game comes alive, demanding that Morgan and Shawn answer the questions or die. The questions are based on Black culture, so we’re hopeful for the couple. But, when Shawn gets the card that reads: “Name one Black character that survived a horror movie,” the audience gasps in disbelief when he gets it wrong. This leads to the first kill in the film and ushers us into the rest of the movie.
Let’s get to the rest of the crew. We’ve got Lisa (Antionette Robertson; Dear White People) and her bestie Dewayne (Dewayne Perkins, who co-wrote this film as well as the short film in which it was adapted), who arrive with their biracial Black friend Allison (Grace Byers; Harlem). Nmadi (Sinqua Walls; White Men Can’t Jump), Lisa’s toxic ex, who Dewayne can’t stand. Reformed gangsta, King (Melvin Gregg; Nine Perfect Strangers), who the friend’s joke is a slave to the white man because of his white wife. Rounding out the team is the life of the party Shanika (X Mayo; American Auto). Oh, and Clifton (Jermaine Fowler; The Drop).
After realizing that staying at a remote cabin in the woods is not a choice that us Black folks would normally make, the friends start to ease into the weekend. Everyone seems to be close-knit and full of life. Once they link up, it’s only a matter of time before they bust out the drank, crank up the music, and start a tense game of Spades.
After wondering where Morgan and Shawn are, the group stumbles upon the same game room and board game, The Blackening. Thinking that the game is just that, they start to play, not knowing that the consequences of breaking the rules are deadly.
It’s not hard to deduce what the film will bring. With a tagline that begs the question: If everyone in the movie is Black, who dies first? It pokes fun at a genre that has had problems including its Black characters in a meaningful way. To date, watching a horror film where Black characters survive is still served up as a horror delicacy.
As a twisted killer with a crossbow forces our characters to play the game, the audience is guided through a trip down memory lanes that include nods to other horror films like Scream, Saw, You’re Next, and The Shining.
Penned by Perkins and Tracy Oliver (Girls Trip, Harlem), this story isn’t concerned about the macabre. Although we got a few great spooky moments thanks to Tim Story’s (Ride Along, Barbershop) direction. The point is less about jump scares as much as it is pointing out the erasure of a people in a genre and celebrating Blackness at the same time. In fact, that’s probably why we’re always getting killed off. Black culture is vibrant, living, and breathing — it pulsates throughout all of America because, without us, they have no culture.
What’s extra special about this film is that people outside of the diaspora will still be able to enjoy and not feel bad about laughing alongside the family. Still, there’s a push and pull of history that ping pongs between the history of our ancestors and systemic racism we’ve been imbued in and the history of the evolution of Black culture, which has provided many of us with our own escape among our shared experience in this country.
The Blackening doesn’t bite its tongue. It’s sharp and witty but not heavyhanded in its delivery. The cast is amazing and each character gets their time to shine. The audience will have fun connecting the film’s characters with their circle of friends.
No spoilers here, no jokes revealed, no twists, and no turns. The Blackening must be experienced for yourselves, and no one should ruin the joy to be had.
The Blackening is a mainstream horror comedy that brings justice to every Black character wrongfully terminated in a horror film. There’s a balance that needs restoring; this film does that and paves the way for a revolution within the genre.
The Blackening releases in theaters June 16.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
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