If you think of self-aware horror movies like those Russian nesting dolls, you could start with “Scream” and then open the doll to reveal “Scary Movie,” and then open THAT doll to reveal “The Blackening,” a fantastically funny and razor-sharp social satire that kicks off with a prologue paying homage to the “Scream” movies and references horror classics such as “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre,” “Friday the 13th,” “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” “Saw” and many others along the way.
Even the marketing campaign for “The Blackening” is a nod to the trope about Black characters being the first to die in horror films (which is more of a long-running joke and a perception than documented fact). With a poster featuring the all-Black lead cast and the tagline “WE CAN’T ALL DIE FIRST,” the film is based on a live sketch formulated by Dewayne Perkins when Perkins was on the Chicago comedy circuit, which was then turned into a Comedy Central short film and is now a subversive and slyly effective feature-length film, directed by Tim Story (“Barbershop,” “Ride Along”) and co-written by Perkins (who also co-stars) and Tracy Oliver (“Girls Trip,” “The Sun Is Also a Star.”)
With director Story, cinematographer Todd A. Dos Reis and editor Peter S. Elliot expertly capturing the look and rhythms of the “Cabin in the Woods” style horror films, “The Blackening” is set in an expansive and, yes, remote house on Juneteenth weekend, where a group of Black friends will gather for a 10-year college reunion celebration. In the aforementioned opener, Morgan (Yvonne Orji) and Shawn (Jay Pharoah) are the first to arrive, but by time the rest of the group shows up Morgan and Shawn have gone missing. Ah, they’re probably just playing a prank, right? Right?
After a couple of unsettling vignettes — one involving a creepy guy in a convenience store, the other featuring a judgmental and possibly racist white cop who is actually named Officer White (Diedrich Bader) — the group settles in for a weekend of doing shots, playing Spades, catching up and renewing old connections, as well as revisiting old conflicts. The group includes:
- Nnamdi (Sinqua Walls), a handsome, smooth-talking former player who claims he’s now a one-woman man.
- Lisa (Antoinette Robertson), a successful lawyer who was once burned by Nnamdi but is giving him a second chance.
- Dewayne (Perkins), Lisa’s gay best friend, who has a deep distrust of Nnamdi.
- King (Melvin Gregg), who has a shady past but claims he’s now legit.
- Allison (Grace Byers), whip-smart and powerful, and one of the more grounded and outspoken of the group.
- Clifton (Jermaine Fowler), an outcast nerd who is socially awkward but sweet and smart.
- Shanika (X Mayo), who is here to PARTY, baby!
The screenplay does a fine job of establishing the dynamic of the group before we’re plunged into the bloody stuff. It starts when they discover a creepy game room with a board game called The Blackening. All the doors slam shut and a voice tells them the rules of the board game are simple: You have to race against the clock to answer questions about Black culture, and if get ‘em wrong, someone will die. (There’s a strong possibility this unseen individual has kidnapped their missing friends Shawn and Morgan, so they’re taking this seriously.) Also, if you don’t agree to play the game, someone will die.
This leads to some tense but also laugh-out-loud moments as the group tries to answer such challenges as reciting the second verse of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” and naming Black actors who guest-starred on “Friends.” (At first, everyone claims to have never seen the show, but when it comes to crunch time, the answers come flying out.)
The unseen killer notes that in situations like this, the Black character is often the first to die — so he’ll spare their lives if they sacrifice the one member of the group they deem “the Blackest.” Suddenly, everyone is scrambling to NOT seem so black, e.g., “I believe ALL lives matter!” and “I voted for Trump!” Issues are raised, e.g., are you “Blacker” if you’re from Africa or you were once in a gang, and “less” Black if you’re gay? Clichés and stereotypes are explored and shattered. There’s a lot of finger-pointing and back-stabbing, as you often get in horror films
The action expands into other corners of the house and outside, even as characters debate whether they should split up, which always seems to be a bad idea in horror movie situations, or run into the woods, which is ALSO often a bad idea, or even trust one another. After all, there’s the possibility one of them is the killer, or is at least working in cahoots with the unseen menace.
With the ensemble cast doing superb work, “The Blackening” is a horror comedy that packs a serious punch.
