The Blackening movie review & film summary (2023) | Roger Ebert (2024)

“We can’t all die first” is anexcellent tagline perfectly fulfilled by Tim Story's "The Blackening,"an ode to horror parodies like “Scary Movie.” This film’s comedy, characters, and commentary will be hilarious to all audiences but scratch a familiar itch among Black viewers. Of all of the film-watching customs within the Black community, shouting at and ridiculing horror movie characters for their ludicrous decision-making is integral, as is the expectation that we won’t see our people live until the end. It’s what inspired the title of Jordan Peele’s “Nope” and much of the “Scary Movie” franchise, but “The Blackening” takes nuggets of its predecessors and makes something entirely singular.

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Built on the 2018 Comedy Central short film by comedy trio 3Peat (of which co-writer Dewayne Perkins is a member), "TheBlackening" follows a group of old college friends reuniting for a Juneteenth celebration at a cabin in the woods. After catching up and a few games of Spades, they find themselves in the clutches of a killer. With only their street smarts and knowledge of Black culture to get them through, what ensues is a riotous culture cry of a film.

Central to their cat-and-mouse debacle is the film’s titular board game, The Blackening (which features a racist Sambo in its center), which everyone must play to survive. If they can answer its questions—such as how many seasons “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” had a dark skin Aunt Viv or name five Black actors who guest starred on “Friends”—they’ll be granted a few extra minutes of survival. But once the questions run out, the movie turns to full-fledged slasher territory.

From a “Scream”-esque cold open to a televised game master reminiscent of “Saw,” “The Blackening” wears its horror influences on its sleeve. The script (co-written by Perkins and Tracy Oliver of “Girl’s Trip”) is beyond hysterical, jam-packed with punchlines and wordless moments of physical comedy alike.Violence is played here more for laughs than scares, but there’s certainly bloodshed to be had amidst tense chase scenes and brawny faceoffs.

The cast has incredible chemistry that motivates not only the movie'sfear but its comedy as well. There’s not a weak link to be found, but Dewayne (Dewayne Perkins), the gay best friend of the film’s most central character, Lisa (Antoinette Robertson), is consistently its humor and heart. Upon discovering that Lisa is hooking up with her serially unfaithful college ex, Nnamdi (Sinqua Walls), Dewayne is angry and defensive but hurt. This triangle of distrust creates asecondary plot, contributing not only empathetic beats about friendship and redemption but plenty of uproarious moments between the trio. Throughout, Robertson and Walls have true romantic harmony.

Even as "The Blackening"hones in on its relationship vs. friendship dilemma, the rest of the ensemble refuses to be ignored. From the absolute absurdity of Clifton (Jermaine Fowler), the awkward, Android-truther “Carlton” of the group who reveals his support for Trump, to the rambunctious, no-bullshit Shanika (X Mayo), “The Blackening” leaves no comedic stone unturned. Melvin Gregg shines as King, Nnamdi’s nonchalant ex-gangster best friend, and Grace Byers, as Allison, creates laugh-out-loud physical comedy while on an accidental Adderall trip. Asthe only biracial friend in the group, Allison is both the subject and emcee of the film's jokes about the spectrum of Blackness.

Given the script'sseamless hilarity, it can be easy to glide over all of the subtext within. But through character conversations and the thesis of the Blackeninggame, the movie sharply examines the role of Black people in horror, media, and culture. Characters are playing the game and fighting for their lives, but underneath, “The Blackening” points a finger at the ways Blackness is defined by a rubric and the litany of ways to have your card revoked.

It’s all in lighthearted fun to strip Blackness because of not seeing “Friday,” and Story acknowledges this. However, "The Blackening"also directs a cutting gaze at a realitythat in a world where white people incessantly seek to define Blackness, intra-community judgment and jokes can be harmful to people who haven’t had the privilege to be tapped into their culture until later in life. And while Story's moviecertainly doesn’t contain the profundity of modern Black horror masterpieces like “Get Out,” it isn’t meant to.

“The Blackening” is an unapologetically Black comedy through and through. It maintains its wit and bite to the very end, boastfully serving audiences a hilarious film we didn’t know we needed.

Now playing in theaters.

Film Credits

The Blackening movie review & film summary (2023) | Roger Ebert (2)

The Blackening (2023)

Rated Rfor pervasive language, violence and drug use.

96 minutes

Cast

Antoinette Robertsonas Lisa

Sinqua Wallsas Nnamdi

Dewayne Perkinsas Dwayne

X Mayoas Shanika

Melvin Greggas King

Grace Byersas Allison

Jermaine Fowleras Clifton

Diedrich Baderas Officer White

Yvonne Orjias Morgan

Jay Pharoahas Shawn

Director

  • Tim Story

Writer

  • Dewayne Perkins
  • Tracy Oliver

Cinematographer

  • Todd A. Dos Reis

Editor

  • Peter S. Elliot

Composer

  • Dexter Story

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The Blackening movie review & film summary (2023) | Roger Ebert (2024)

FAQs

What is The Blackening movie about? ›

Is The Blackening more scary or funny? ›

While it could stand to be a little funnier and quite a bit scarier, The Blackening is a thoughtful satire that skewers horror tropes and racial stereotypes.

What is The Blackening a parody of? ›

There are nods to plenty of horror films, and horror parodies like “Scary Movie” and its many sequels, but this film is so much smarter than those. It's inspired by films like “Saw,” “The Shining,” “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and others, which are subtly referenced rather than just reenacted for comic effect.

Is The Blackening movie demonic? ›

“The Blackening” is a slasher movie that's also a slapdash enjoyable social satire. That the satire turns out to be sharper than the scares isn't a problem — it's all part of the film's slovenly demonic party atmosphere.

What is the point of The Blackening? ›

The Blackening tells the story of friends reuniting over the Juneteenth weekend, the US holiday which celebrates the end of slavery. "Growing up there was always the one black person, the token black person that would get killed first," Story says.

Is The Blackening a true story? ›

The movie is based on a 2018 sketch that Perkins conceived of as part of the Chicago-based comedy troupe 3Peat. In “3Peat Presents: The Blackening,” a group of friends is forced to decide who among them is the Blackest after an on-the-loose killer is thrown off by the fact that they're all Black.

Was The Blackening a flop? ›

"The Blackening" made an estimated $6 million. "This is a fantastic weekend for movie theaters because there's a depth and breadth of content that is amazing, but that means they're sharing the wealth," says Dergarabedian. "The collective box office was incredibly strong.

How gory is The Blackening? ›

Satirical horror comedy has language, violence.

The film has violence, including people being shot with crossbows, stabbed, and beaten.

What happens at the end of The Blackening? ›

It does appear that Clifton dies in The Blackening's ending as well, but there is some wiggle room for him to still be alive. He is shot in the chest with an arrow by Shanika during the final confrontation and then Dewayne (Dewayne Perkins) kicks him over a ledge and into the well.

Is blackening inappropriate? ›

The MPAA rating has been assigned for “pervasive language, violence and drug use.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes a kissing scene, a discussion of infidelity, a man pulling off his clothing to reveal his underwear while dancing, several scenes of people being threatened by a killer, people being shot with ...

Who is the villain in The Blackening? ›

Clifton is the main antagonist in the 2023 horror/comedy The Blackening. He portrays himself as a nerdy, innocent man, but in truth, he is a vengeful manipulator.

What is the plot of The Blackening wikipedia? ›

It stars Dewayne Perkins, Grace Byers, Jermaine Fowler, Melvin Gregg, X Mayo, Antoinette Robertson, Sinqua Walls, Jay Pharoah, and Yvonne Orji. The film, set on Juneteenth, follows a group of black friends targeted by a masked killer while staying at a cabin in the woods.

Is The Blackening really scary? ›

My one criticism would be that it's a little lacking on the horror side. It's more of a comedy about horror than a horror-comedy. I didn't really mind that, but I could have enjoyed it even more if there were stronger horror elements. I had a great time with this movie and will definitely watch it again.

What is the rating for The Blackening? ›

The Blackening (2023)

Rated R for pervasive language, violence and drug use.

Does The Blackening have end credits? ›

If you're looking for a good comedy, especially one that properly lampoons everything about horror films, then The Blackening is for you. Post-Credit Lowdown:There are some scenes right at the beginning of the credits, but nothing after.

Who was the killer in The Blackening? ›

They look through his pockets to see that he is the first killer's twin brother, and they deduce someone hired them to be there. The friends go into another room, where they find Ranger White's and Clifton's bodies, only for the latter to spring awake and reveal himself as the mastermind.

What is the movie off the black about? ›

What is the meaning of film blackness? ›

Blackness in this book functions as a term for art modalities that evince black visual and expressive culture. Film blackness particularly focuses on ques- tions of intertextual consequence, visuality, performativity, cultural history, and the politics of cinematic form.

Who is the bad guy in The Blackening? ›

When the group gets outside, it is revealed that Clifton is the mastermind of the sadistic game, which involved them pulling a card to reveal a black person only question in a racist game board. He had a specialized belt that would be used to close and open doors when he was with people he wanted dead.

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