Where movies like Scream deconstruct sadism but also appeal to our cruel side, this cabin-in-the-woods movie about what it means to be scared of difference, which boasts an almost entirely black cast, is brazenly sweet. There will be blood? Not really – director Tim Story is pretty abstemious where the claret is concerned and has little time for torture porn, possibly because – vis a vis serving up brutalised, black bodies – his view is, “Enough already!”
The Blackening, which is co-written by Tracy Oliver (the woman behind bawdy, hugely successful buddy comedy, Girls Trip) is well-acted, suspenseful and funny, and has a great joke about a pair of awesome trousers. Made for $5 million, this movie is truly a little gem.
