Horror movies with a social bent are not a new concept, nor are satires built on racial inequality. Both of those familiar themes are combined together in director Tim Story’s latest The Blackening, a thriller-comedy where a group of friends fight to survive, even if it means making some sacrifices along the way. A cutting satire on those themes mentioned above, it's a movie that could still use a little sharpening while leaving the audience in stitches.
Release Date: 6/16/23
Directed By: Tim Story
Written By: Tracy Oliver & Dewayne Perkins
Starring: Grace Byers, Jermaine Fowler, Melvin Gregg, X Mayo, Dewayne Perkins, Antoinette Robertson, Sinqua Walls, with Jay Pharoah, and Yvonne Orji
Rating: R, for “pervasive language, violence and drug use.”
Runtime: 97 Minutes
A group of college friends are reuniting to celebrate Juneteenth weekend at the beginning of The Blackening, and all sorts of personal dramas are in the air before the terror starts. Lisa (Antoinette Robertson) has just gotten back together with Nnamdi (Sinqua Walls), but she hasn’t told her best friend Dewayne (Dewayne Perkins) yet.
While that’s not the full extent of the social web that’s woven in this movie, it’s a snapshot of the background that goes into the murder mystery aspects built into the story that’s about to unfold. The resulting web is enough to see such a movie down the path of a traditional whodunnit, but to see it applied to The Blackening’s slasher send up gives this terrifying tale a novel angle.
Rather than trying to out a killer amongst their group, there are moments where this ensemble turns on each other in hysterical fashion in order to survive. All the while, the question that’s at the heart of the marketing continues to be asked throughout the proceedings: in a horror movie with an all-Black cast, who dies first?
The Blackening takes a little while to get going, but locks in pretty quickly once it does.
For as much fun as The Blackening is, it starts off a bit slow. While slashers still have that period of backstory and setup that set the table for the rest of the thrills, it’s unfortunately the weakest part of this picture’s DNA. This section’s pacing feels a bit glacial compared to what follows, with the setup dragging a bit when compared to what follows.
When The Blackening starts to lock into its rhythm of survival and shenanigans, it does so pretty quickly. The jokes are fast and well-crafted, and the entire crew of performers compliment each other through every step of the way. Though you might already pick out a couple of the twists present in the plot, it never distracts as the speed of those later acts lets loose.
Overall, this is an enjoyable comedy that‘s having a lot of fun with what its doing, and who it’s doing it with. While it may sound like I had a problem with patience in The Blackening, keep in mind the movie is a slasher that runs 97 minutes. Pacing is everything in that sort of scenario, and while there’s a lot that pays off throughout the obstacle course that awaits our characters, the sharpness that’s eventually present is sorely missed at the starting line.
Tracy Oliver and Dewayne Perkins' script doesn’t take any short cuts with its humor or twists.
Skewing social inequalities, both in real life and in entertainment, isn’t anything new to pop culture. Yet The Blackening tackles those twin issues in a refreshing, yet relevant way. Tracy Oliver and Dewayne Perkins’ script knows not to hammer any particular joke over the head, but rather to make swift confident strokes that get the point across. It’s also pretty damned funny, cleverly sending up all the issues that are encompassed in the overall plot.
What’s even better about The Blackening is how Oliver and Perkins adapted the original 2018 sketch from 3Peat into a full-fledged movie. Expanding short form concepts into longer narratives is never easy, as what turns out to be novel in a sketch can only go so far through a full movie. Some of those growing pains may have shown in figuring out how to set up the playing field in the first act, but the core concept of the short film lends to the strength of the later acts.
Even in adapting the scene shown in the short, the writing of Tracy Oliver and Dewayne Perkins doesn’t just repeat the work that provided The Blackening’s foundation. As far as feature adaptations of short films are concerned, this is probably one of the best thought out products. It honors that original’s vibe and message, and uses that as a gateway to even more hilarity ensuing from the challenges of just “how Black” the cast is.
If you mixed the commentary of Scary Movie with the laughter and mystery of Clue, you’d get The Blackening.
Between the bickering and friendships of our characters, and the satirical commentary on society and horror movies, The Blackening feels like a cross between Scary Movie and Clue. That energy is where the film’s strengths lie, as once things start chugging along, the momentum carries the experience straight through until the end. While some twists may be a bit on the predictable side, the payoff still sticks the landing thanks to the performances of this wicked ensemble.
If there’s anything that sums up The Blackening at its best, it’s the jokes that land during a series of mid-credit cutaways. Without any details, an entire debate on the right way to handle a certain situation is talked out, with a comedic button that ties it altogether. It may feel a bit slowly paced in the beginning, but the confidence and speed this film moves with as it goes along certainly makes up for lost time.
The Blackening started with a short sending up who dies first in a horror movie made up of a full Black cast. Expanding on that idea to a greater extent is when the film is at its best, since it inspires both further exploration of those themes, while also throwing in some other jokes for comedic punch.
It could be a little sharper with its message and pacing, but once the games begin The Blackening is a crowd pleaser that’s going to make for a great theatrical experience. That love might even extend to some longevity as a potential Juneteenth staple for friends and family as they gather to celebrate.
