The Blackening is a dark horror comedy directed by Tim Story. It is a satire of horror movies and racial stereotypes while being both suspenseful and outrageously funny.

A group of former college friends receive an invite for a reunion/party at a cabin in the woods on Juneteenth. Unbeknownst to them, the party is a cover for a trap meant to kill them all.

This ensemble cast was excellent and worked so well with one another. The main cast included Antoinette Robertson, Dewayne Perkins, Sinqua Walls, Grace Byers, X Mayo, Melvin Gregg and Jermaine Fowler. This cast took their characters and avoided the simple stereotypes while developing the characters very successfully considering the short time of the film.

There was a great amount of self-awareness in the movie, playing up on the horror movie tropes. They even go as far as to make references to other movies such as Scream.

The movie does have some things to say about the plight of black people as well as the selfishness of a group of people. The message of the movie never threatened to overwhelm the entertainment, which is not always the norm. This group of people were not innocent in this and you can understand the reasoning behind what happens to them. However, you cannot help but cheer and root for them to make it through the challenges and games that they are being forced to undertake.

One of my favorite jokes in the film, subtle as it was, was when Diedrich Bader’s park ranger character, Mr. White, is referred to as a ‘white savior.’ by one of the cast. That was hilarious and a great example of how smart this movie’s dialogue and writing was.

I found this extremely intelligent and hilariously funny. I was thoroughly entertained by the film that moves at a brisk pace and never felt boring.

4.4 stars