Horror-comedy “The Blackening” started as a way to skewer a tired trope: the frequency with which Black characters are killed first in horror movies. Though this cliche has been called out frequently by horror fans and Black audiences, here it serves as the entire premise for a feature film, posing a provocative question: if all the characters in the horror movie are Black, who dies first?
A 2018 Comedy Central sketch by the comedy group 3PEAT was the proof of concept for “The Blackening,” and the video, in which a group of friends debate “who’s the Blackest?” while a psycho killer stalks at the door, went viral. For the feature, the star and writer of the sketch, comedian and Emmy-nominated TV writer Dewayne Perkins partnered with writer/producer Tracy Oliver (“Girls Trip”) and director Tim Story (“Barbershop”) to expand the idea to feature length. Perkins also stars as Dewayne, one of the central members of a group of tight-knit college friends who descend on a rural country home for a weekend getaway and celebratory reunion for the Juneteenth holiday.
A group of friends in a remote location staying in a mysterious old cabin — we can assume what happens next — but “The Blackening” seeks to test our assumptions, using a slasher movie formula as a vehicle for fast, funny and whip-smart cultural commentary.
