The Blackening is so fun that you might not notice how well crafted it is.
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The precarity of black characters in horror movies is one of moviedom's longest-running and most depressing jokes. So much so that even a random ass X-Files parody called Evolution sold itself in the trailers with Orlando Jones uttering the line "I've seen this movie, the black dude dies first." Which is why the marketing for this almost all black cast slasher send-up going with the tag line "we can't all die first" was not only hilarious but also a great sign of things to come. And thankfully the movie itself pays off on its promise and premise.
The Setup
The film centers around a group of college friends reuniting for a weekend to catch-up and celebrate Juneteenth. But things take a terrible turn when the group are trapped and threatened by a masked figure that wants to test their blackness...with failure being a death sentence...
The Blackening is one of my favorite movie-viewing experiences this year. The film is funny, insightful, and features a collection of excellent performances from every actor. A best-case scenario for this kind of movie. Here's what stands out.
What Does It Mean to Be Black?
A lot of the racial commentary about being in black in America is how non-black society treats black people. And understandably so. Systemic racism is alive and well and it takes an incredible level of denial and ignorance to pretend like it isn't. What a lot of folks may not know or understand is how "being black" can feel like a series of shared experiences and knowledge you have to have to feel included by your black peers. So if you have a white parent, marry a white person, or don't have any knowledge of about popular black culture, you might get jabs (both sincere and joking) from people in your life about how black you really are.
One of The Blackening's cleverest moves is to make this conflict core to the movie. The game that has this group trapped in a cramped basement is a flurry of trivia that black people "should" know, whether it's Nas lyrics and the additional versus to "Amazing Grace." This goes double when the game-runner starts telling people to target the "blackest" member of their group and everyone pulls out the cards that have been played against them their entire lives (see being a gay man).
All of which is delivered with just the right amount of comedic delivery to make a point, but keep the audience laughing.
Slasher Send-Up
Another reason this movie works so well is because of how much fun its having with the slasher genre's tropes. Some of it is cultural commentary (i.e. this group understandably does not trust anyone with a badge to be on their side) and other times its hilarious revelations like....wait this slasher villain can't fight?
And that's before this self-aware group starts suggesting things they know everyone will hate like splitting up to increase their survival chances, turning to someone they think has a gun to solve the problem and beyond. It requires a lot of love and affection for the genre to send it up so well.
Character Arcs
On their face, slasher movies are mostly meant to provide thrills. They're about vibes and tension and the bloody pay-off to that tension. As good as Halloween is, it's not a deep dive into any of the characters.
Which is what makes The Blackening extra satisfying, because not only is it hilarious but it also establishes and payoffs a number of character conflicts throughout the film ranging from disagreements between friends, people attempt to turn over new leaves, and even the central villain has a dead-on motivation that loops into the movie's themes. It's a movie that's so fun that you might not notice how well crafted it is.
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