Despite the once common notion of "the Black man or woman" dying first in horror movies being debunked, it hasn't stop everyone from Wes Craven in Scream 2 to Jordan Peele in Get Out from parodying the idea. This also includes comedy troupe 3Peat, who created a hilarious skit for Comedy Central titled The Blackening about a group of friends who decide to spend some time together at a cabin in the woods.
Once they arrive, they have to deal with a masked killer who essentially has the group rank their blackness as a way to decide what order they die in. Of course, the ideas of Blackness or what makes someone Black is arbitrary at best, leading to hilarious moments within the social commentary and murder.
Well, the skit is getting the full-featured movie treatment. Directing The Blackening is none-other than Barbershop and Ride Along franchise director Tim Story, with a script co-written by Tracey Oliver and Dewayne Perkins. The movie has already gotten an early positive reception following its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2022 and is set to be a new 2023 movie.
With that said, here's everything we know about The Blackening.
The Blackening release date
Just in time for Juneteenth weekend, The Blackening is set to be released only in theaters June 16. Expect the film to make its way to VOD sometime later following its theatrical run.
The Blackening cast
Dear White People and The Haves and the Have Nots star Antoinette Robertson is making her movie debut as lead Lisa. The Blackening co-writer and actor on Netflix's The Upshaws Dewayne Perkins is portraying a character coincidentally named Dewayne. Comedian and former Saturday Night Live star Jay Pharoah is stepping into the role of Shawn. Fans of Issa Rae’'s groundbreaking HBO comedy Insecure will recognize Yvonne Orji as Morgan. Empire and Harlem lead Grace Byers is playing as Allison.
Rounding out the cast includes Sinqua Walls (Power), X Mayo (American Auto), Melvin Gregg (Snowfall), Jermaine Fowler (Sorry to Bother You) and James Preston Rogers (Weird: The Al Yankovic Story).
The Blackening plot
Here is the official synopsis of The Blackening from Lionsgate:
"The Blackening centers around a group of Black friends who reunite for a Juneteenth weekend getaway only to find themselves trapped in a remote cabin with a twisted killer. Forced to play by his rules, the friends soon realize this ain't no motherf****** game.
"Directed by Tim Story (Ride Along, Think Like A Man, Barbershop) and screenplay and screen story by Tracy Oliver (Girls Trip, Harlem) & Dewayne Perkins (The Amber Ruffin Show, Brooklyn Nine-Nine), The Blackening skewers genre tropes and poses the sardonic question: if the entire cast of a horror movie is Black, who dies first?"
The Blackening trailer
Check out the trailer for The Blackening released by Lionsgate below:
You can also watch the original Comedy Central sketch right here:
The Blackening director Tim Story
Los Angeles-native Tim Story, better known for movies including Barbershop, Fantastic Four (2005 & 2007 films), Ride Along and Think Like A Man, has seen his films gross over $1.1 billion worldwide, with six of the USC Film School grad’s movies debuting at No.1 at the box office. On the television front, Story has gone on to direct episodes of CSI: Miami in addition to ABC's short lived comedy Queens. Before stepping into film and television, he was known as a music video director for recording artists including Jon B., Tyrese, 'NSync and India Arie.
