As outrageous and bemusing as the title may suggest, ‘The Blackening’ is a horror comedy that follows a group of friends as they spend a week end away in a cabin in the woods. Following the all black troop as they become trapped by an unknown assailant, the friends try to band together, avoid horror tropes and stay alive.
Initially what unfolds before us is the mandatory set dressing, - a couple of the group get to the cabin before anyone else and provide a sort of preview of what is to follow. We have the remote location, lack of phone reception, an intricately laid out house with traps and a masked murderer on a yet undisclosed journey of revenge.
The film does not spare a second before it already uncovers its multi-functional narrative, delivering self-aware jokes of the premise, dismaying any preconceived notions of taking itself too seriously and actually managing to get a few good scares in before the action officially takes off.
Delivering a slew of comedic exchanges, the cast work in support of each other, rather than overshadowing one another. With an impressive cast, comprised largely of comedians, Grace Byers, Jermaine Fowler, Melvin Gregg, X Mayo, Dewayne Perkins, Antoinette Robertson, Sinqua Walls, Jay Pharoah, Yvonne Orji and Diedrich Bader all work in harmony to provide for hilarious dialogue, shocking slapstick and rousing emotional revelations.
Inescapably, the film also mocks the token white guy trope, with Bader depicting a law enforcement officer. Again, turning things on their head, the film does subvert expectations and shows the character to be sincere in his actions, trying to help the group out. With an unrestrained and hilariously frank exchange between the sheriff and three members of the group, the film allows us to appreciate the comedy resulting from our differences and the still existing barriers to being a wholly integrated community.
The film works well in highlighting and undercutting the oh-so-familiar and tired tropes that have for so long been associated with both horror film and specifically black characters in those movies. By having a field day in knocking almost anything and everything the writers could think of to redress in terms of clichés, the actors seem to have a fun time working off of each other to drive the point home.
The underlying reason for our antagonist that had set everything in motion turns out to be a very intimate and personal vendetta. One of the group, Clifton, had previously felt excluded by his compatriots, as he was taunted by the others years ago after a game of 'Spades', declaring his ‘black card’ revoked. Leading to a drunk driving accident, resulting in the death of a pedestrian, Clifton had felt enmity and mounting hostility towards those he had expected to be most understanding and accepting of him.
What pushes ‘The Blackening’ beyond a simple parody is its ability to provide for true moments of introspection and deliver insight when it comes to examining one’s identity. One of the initial game challenges, as the group panic, locked in the basement and are forced to play a game (à la Jigsaw from the Saw movies), - is determining who is the least black. What follows is a spouting of preconceived motions that are attached to people to make them fit into a certain mould, resulting in an ironic and hilarious trial of the group's individual 'blackness'.
The film further explores what specifically it means to be Black in the US, taking a look at one’s occupation, social mannerisms, sexuality and even language. Borne of a 3Peat sketch short, Perkins and Tracy Oliver team up as writers, with Tim Story directing, to deliver an uncompromisingly forthright and farcical take on a horror comedy, successfully raising issues of community, identity and belonging as a core to its narrative. Definitely worth the watch, 'The Blackening' works so well as a comedy, as well as integrating a message of acceptance and understanding at its core.
Score: 3/4
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