The Blackening takes a refreshing stab at Black horror tropes (Picture: Lionsgate)
The Blackening is one of those unique films that has all the makings of becoming a cult classic.
For those too young to remember the ludicrous laughs of Scary Movie in the early noughties, this is absolutely your modern answer.
Quite literally a Black horror comedy, this Tim Story-director caper induces belly-aching laughs and genuine moments of tensity while perfectly executing a thread of racial commentary which was last nailed by Jordan Peele in Get Out. The Blackening is all of that combined while clearly drawing inspiration and paying ode to Peele’s iconic feature-length debut as well as classic slashers like Scream and Saw.
However, this is by no means a copycat as it carves out its own niche while leaning into the absurdity of it all. Case in point, a goliwog doll attached to a ouija-style board that demands the most terrifying acts from its cautious victims. It’s so outrageous that it shouldn’t be right but, for once, it actually feels okay to see the humour in something so bleak.
The Blackening follows a group of seven friends who go away for the Juneteenth weekend, only to find themselves trapped in a cabin with a killer who has a vendetta. They’re forced to come together and use their street smarts and knowledge of horror movies against the murderer to stay alive.
Every aspect of the script is well considered with Black and African-American culture woven into typical horror tropes – you wouldn’t get Jigsaw asking his victims Black pop culture trivia in order to save their lives for example. Even though the content is heavily derived from racial topics and banter, it never feels overbearing which is a tricky hurdle to overcome when ironically overkill can be prevalent in horror.
The dynamite cast hold the brilliantly wacky script together (Picture: Lionsgate)
The Blackening is out in UK cinemas now (Picture: Lionsgate)
Rule number one: Never leave the group (Picture: Lionsgate)
Most of the jokes and commentary would be too insane to include in any other movie but Story and writers Dewayne Perkins and Tracy Oliver give it just the right amount of airtime and comedy to make it work.
It’s incredibly thrilling watching each character showcase what Black people would or wouldn’t do in cinematic life-or-death situations – things we’ve all screamed at the screen hoping our non-white protagonists make it to sunlight the next morning – and each time it’s a truly raucous ride.
The Blackening certainly teeters on the edge of slapstick and it could easily fall apart if not for the strong cast holding it together.
Grace Byers, of Empire and Harlem fame, delivers a full-throttle turn as the ‘white’ one of the group – an intriguing character who for all her class is married to a gun-toting hoodlum – while the film’s screenwriter Dewayne blesses us with a stunningly standout performance as the funny gay friend, always there with the brilliantly-timed witty one-liners. This will surely be a role that puts him on the map and rightfully so.
The chemistry between the cast plays out so seamlessly that it makes it so easy to believe that these friendships are genuine – and that you’re on this trip with them. Plus, when those edge-of-your seat scares come, you really are rooting for them to escape the maniac trying to pick them off one by one.
Cinematically, The Blackening is the first time the jokes have been on us Black folk but actually felt so darn good.
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It has all the makings of a cult classic.