Film Review: The Blackening upends racial tropes in the horror genre

Yvonne Orji and Jay Pharaoh in The Blackening

• The Blackening
• ★★★★☆
• Cinema release

The Juneteenth holiday forms the backdrop for the comedy horror The Blackening (15a). The holiday, which commemorates the end of slavery in the United States, is predominantly celebrated by Black Americans and is the perfect excuse for a group of Black college friends to reunite.

Their destination is a cabin in the woods, deep in redneck country. Morgan (Yvonne Orji) and her boyfriend, Shawn (Jay Pharoah), are the first to arrive and discover a racist board game with a Jim Crow figurine at its centre.

When the figure speaks to them, the couple is put in an impossible situation, leading to Shawn’s death and Morgan’s mysterious disappearance.

When the rest of the group arrives, they are too caught up in drama to worry about where Morgan and Shawn are. Lisa (Antoinette Robinson) is dating love rat Nnamdi (Sinqua Walls) against the advice of her gay best friend Dewayne (Dewayne Perkins). The group’s loyalty is divided, but alcohol is a great leveller, so they hit the bottle and settle in for a wild weekend in the cabin.

When the game speaks out, the gang learn Morgan and Shawn’s fate. If they don’t want to end up dead, they must answer a series of questions, but when the game questions their Blackness, prejudices emerge, and they are pitted in a deathmatch. Do they fight amongst themselves or unite to beat the game?

The Blackening isn’t scary or bloody enough for diehard horror fans, but its real strength is its comedy. It takes the horror trope where Black characters die first and upends it. This gang is well aware of the onscreen fate of Black people and will do anything to avoid becoming the next dead Black character. A mix of funny and smart, The Blackening is Jordan Peele-lite, a fright worth braving.