It’s possible that we collectively manifested a slasher comedy that features an all-Black cast. We’ve seen horror films directed and written by Black folks (not just Jordan Peele), not to mention the countless Black horror creatives that aren’t mainstream but still have so much to give, but new additions to the genre are always welcome. The Blackening (2023) may not have Jordan Peele, Nia DaCosta, Misha Green, Akela Cooper or somebody else we’re familiar with, in the horror realm, behind it, but there’s certainly an understanding of the genre from a Black perspective.
The Blackening trailer immediately reminds us of the trope regarding Black folks dying first in horror movies. Of course, that’s not always true, and sometimes Black folks can survive a horror film, but in the past, countless horror films have done their Black characters dirty (by writing and/or dispatching the characters poorly). Thankfully, we’ve got way more Black directors, screenwriters, and such behind horror projects these days.
You can’t watch this trailer and not talk about how it isn’t afraid to include most of what Black horror fans say out loud or internally when watching horror. I mean, one character isn’t wrong to question why they’re going to a cabin in the woods, not to mention the extreme reluctance from the group when a character suggests they split up. Judging by the trailer, The Blackening (2023) is going to be very meta in a way that’ll prove to be effective. Black horror fans will certainly go see this upon its June 16 release and get a kick out of it.
There are clearly Black folks behind this slasher comedy, and I’m crossing my fingers it doesn’t flop (or prove to be problematic somehow). We can rejoice, for now, that a slasher has almost an entirely Black cast (unless the killer is also Black), and that we’re also calling out Black Trump supporters in the film, because they unfortunately exist.
(featured image: Lionsgate)
