'The Blackening' Review: Sharply Funny and Authentically Black Horror Satire Slays
The Blackening
R: For pervasive language, violence, and drug use
Runtime: 1 Hour and 37 Minutes
Production Companies: MRC, The Story Company
Distributor: Lionsgate
Director: Tim Story
Writers: Tracy Oliver, Dewayne Perkins
Cast: Grace Byers, Jermaine Fowler, Melvin Gregg, X Mayo, Dewayne Perkins, Antoinette Robertson, Sinqua Walls, Jay Pharoah, Yvonne Orji
Release Date: June 16, 2023
In Theaters Only
It has been so damn long since Black audiences got an honest-to-God comedy flick about the contemporary Black culture that understands the definition of satire. Justin Simien’s Dear White People, which aged poorly, was the last of its kind. And most of my veteran readers already know how I feel about He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, who always misinterprets his blatant offensiveness for satire. With The Blackening, based on the YouTube sketch from Chicago-based comedy troupe 3Peat, somebody with functioning brain cells finally dropped a satire as sharply funny as it is authentically Black.
Seven longtime college friends—King (Melvin Gregg), Allison (Grace Byers), Shanika (X Mayo), Dewayne (Dewayne Perkins), Sinqua Walls (Nnamdi), Lisa (Antoinette Robertson), and Clifton (Jermaine Fowler)—reunite at a cabin in the woods to celebrate Juneteenth together. They catch up, do drugs, drink, and play Spades. Right when their game is about to start, the lights go out. They find a random game room hidden in the cabin, coming across a trivia-style board game with a black-faced mascot called “The Blackening” awaiting them. A message from a masked archer appears on a nearby TV, telling the group to play the game or their missing friends Morgan (Yvonne Orji) and Shawn (Jay Pharoah) will die. They face the ultimate test: to sacrifice the one deemed “Blackest” amongst them, testing their loyalties and survival skills.
In a time when the stereotype-promoting He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named diluted the quality of Black comedies, The Blackening arrives like a breath of fresh air. The script by Tracy Oliver (Girl’s Trip) and original short creator Dewayne Perkins has an openly progressive, millennial-minded nature that addresses African-American values in modern culture with an unapologetically Black sense of humor. Expanding on the YouTube short’s concept of mocking Black tropes in the horror genre, its openly meta behavior begs you to interact with the screen alongside the characters. The humor adds more than a direct white-to-Black behavioral commentary through its sharp trivia-based game, inserting hilarious, deep cuts that only we’d understand. When it hits some repressive knowledgeable pressure points, it’ll have you roaring in your seat, cackling at the top of your lungs. If you’re in your twenties like me or have at least 60% of Black media/cultural knowledge, The Blackening might challenge you to get schooled. A reference to Set It Off did me in, and I feel embarrassed about it.
Because Tracy Oliver can write fleshed-out characters with colorful personalities, the ensemble is likable and funny, capturing that longtime friendship chemistry. Oliver and Perkins take their sweet time establishing character archetypes and their respective dynamics. The beating character-focused arc is on Lisa, who gets back together with her non-committal boyfriend Nnamdi and not telling her gay best friend Dewayne, who'd disapprove. Shanika’s the partygoer, Clifton’s the nerd, Lisa’s the safeguard, and King is the reformed bad boy, but several details about them make for good comedic banter and satire. I have to hand it to these friends who know their ‘90s knowledge well because my ass would’ve died at question number two. A personal favorite back-and-forth lies between Allison and her mixed-race background. Whenever she makes a horror-cliched suggestion or goes on a morality tangent, someone would state, “That’s your white side speaking.” That might seem mean-spirited, but because of how well Oliver and Perkins establish their ensemble’s core dynamics, much of the comedy is good faith.
Much like the characters they portray, the ensemble cast is hilarious. They thoroughly fuel the adrenaline with their great onscreen chemistry, even when the story loses gas. Jermaine Fowler's Clifton is a major standout. He has this soft-spoken stammer with panicky mannerisms. Clifton is the only Republican among the liberals of the group, so the way everyone reacts to his right-wing dialogue is hysterical. In an interview with ComicBook.com, Fowler said he based his performance on Paul Dano's character from Prisoners. It tracks and works wonders in his favor.
Not to give anything away, but I adore the antagonist's layered motivation. The reveal of the antagonist itself is predictable. But the screenwriters develop a tight backstory that hammers a refined central message about Black people being non-judgmental to others' Blackness through said antagonist. Plus, I adore how the antagonist has an “Are you Black enough?” superiority complex reminiscent of the works of He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named.
This complaint might sound petty, but The Blackening should've been named after its tagline, "We Can't All Die First." There’s a universal agreement on that, right? Everyone on my Twitter timeline said this when they saw its standout tagline above the title in the poster and the trailer.
Some are calling The Blackening the “modern Scary Movie.” I disagree, given how low-energy Tim Story’s direction is. Scary Movie and its lesser sequels were full of endless visual gags that coincided with the ensemble cast's performances. In The Blackening, the writing does the heavy lifting, for the direction isn't in harmony with the script's speedy energy.
Well into its second act, specifically when the crew must split up, the comical beats slow down, resulting in drawn-out pacing. The film, in desperation for visual gags, is stretched too thin. The skit had consistent kinetic energy and a sense of absurdism, while Story’s direction is algorithmic, not elevating the silliness when required. With an animated script that essentially becomes a Black Scooby-Doo movie, the gag and horror potential are wasted. When the characters leave the cabin, jokes fail to land due to choppy editing and poor action direction. Story makes brief slapstick attempts and fails due to awkward staging and camerawork. It feels weird to say, “Tim Story does bad slapstick” when his last movie was Tom & Jerry.
Finally delivering on a Black satire with sharp writing and witty characters, The Blackening is a laugh-out-loud riot that'll make you holler at the screen alongside its self-aware characters. Thank God for Tracy Oliver!
