Seven black friends go away for the weekend only to find themselves trapped in a cabin with a killer who has a vendetta. Will their street smarts and knowledge of horror movies help them stay alive? Probably not.
A combination of mystery, thriller, social satire, horror flick, and comedy, “The Blackening” may have tried to do too many things simultaneously while never quite fully connecting on any of them. The film opens as sort of an homage to “Cabin in the Woods,” with Lisa (Antoinette Robertson) and Dewayne (Dewayne Perkins) driving into the country for a weekend getaway with a group of high school friends ten years after graduation, notably during the Juneteenth holiday.
Already at the cabin prepping for festivities are Morgan (Yvonne Orji) and her boyfriend Shawn (Jay Pharoah), who stumble through an unlocked door labeled The Game Room. In the center of the room is a board game called The Blackening, which features a bas-relief blackface caricature. The figure intones rudely for one of them to pick a card, which Shawn does reluctantly. The question: “Name one Black character to ever survive in a horror film.” Shawn guesses Jada Pinkett Smith and Omar Epps from “Scream 2,” but Morgan replies that he is incorrect. This faux pas does not bode well for Shawn – or for that matter, for Morgan, and thus, the game is afoot.
“The Blackening” is based on the premise that if Black people are typically always the first to die in a horror picture, what would happen if the entire cast was Black? This serves as the basis for a fair amount of sly cultural commentary that elicits more than a few chuckles along the way.
Lisa, Dewayne, and Allison (Grace Byers) eventually arrive at the cabin and meet up with King (Melvin Gregg) and Nnamdi (Sinqua Walls). An uncredited Diedrich Bader plays Park Ranger White – a suitable metaphor since he is profiling King as an unwelcome trespasser because he happens to be a person of color. When Allison presents proof of their registration, Ranger White receives a bit of well-deserved sarcasm before departing in his SUV.
Despite his gayness, Dewayne is not particularly happy to see Nnamdi, especially when he discovers that the breakup with Lisa was only temporary. The remaining cast members Shanika (X Mayo) and a Steve Urkel kind of guy named Clifton (Jermaine Fowler), arrive after stopping at a convenience store to pick up party favors on the way, where they encounter the only two other white people in the movie.
Though the dialog’s content could have developed more fully, the film is not without merit, particularly given its relatively low budget. The production values, such as cinematography, are crisp and sharp. The interior and exterior night shots are well-lit and easily followed even in the menacing, ever-present shadows. In addition, there are no cheap scares resulting from someone or something leaping into the foreground, accompanied by shrill violins – an overused and hackneyed technique to draw shrieks from an audience. Upscale cars and clothing serve to defy further racial stereotypes – something the writers and director clearly intended.
Though things start slowly, the action picks up by the third act. At the end of the proceedings, the large group of survivors – all Black, of course – congregate triumphantly off the front porch, basking in the glow of their well-earned victory over the racist villain wearing a blackface mask. When one of them asks if somebody should call the cops, their response is hilarious.
Written by Tracy Oliver and Dewayne Perkins and directed by Tim Story, “The Blackening” delivers several good scenes worth savoring across multiple genres. Unfortunately, there aren’t enough of them to fill the brief 126-minute runtime.
In Theaters Friday, June 16th
