Sometimes I love the horror genre, but then there’s other moments where I’m reminded how far it has to go in terms of progress. The Blackening is a film I would have had absolutely no idea was happening unless I had been doing research on horror films coming out this year and this movie is from freaking Lionsgate! There’s been articles here and there about the film but the push for it to be noticed in a variety of places shows a set of deeper issues within the horror genre.
The Blackening Synopsis:
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 co-written by Tracy Oliver (Girls Trip, Harlem) and 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, a comedy horror film directed by Tim Story, stars Grace Byers, Jermaine Fowler, Melvin Gregg, X Mayo, Dewayne Perkins, Antoinette Robertson, Sinqua Walls, with Jay Pharoah and Yvonne Orji. The film has been written by Tracy Oliver & Dewayne Perkins. As of today, checking the press site information for the film shows it has a hashtag for social media (it’s the film’s name so no variety there) but when it comes to a presence on social media itself…there’s nothing.
Seeing that could be making sense, the film isn’t out until June 16th, but the film premiered last year in September during the Toronto International Film Festival!
“Based on 3Peat Comedy’s acclaimed sketch of the same name, director Tim Story’s savvy and vicious skewering of genre film tropes poses the sardonic question: if the entire cast of a horror movie is Black, who dies first?“
-Blurb from the film’s page for TIFF 2022
The Blackening has a fantastic trailer and those involved in the film have evidently given a lot to push it to succeed. Lionsgate tends to waver on how far they push marketing for their horror-related films. But this genuinely sucks because it also signals that even if you’re a film with a successful director and studio behind you after a festival premiere, it doesn’t mean much. There’s a website for the film, so at least there’s that and in November of last year a Twitter account was created for the film, but it deserves more support. Don’t let Lionsgate’s lack of efficient marketing for its lesser known films stop you from embracing it yourself! The Blackening comes to theaters on June 16th, so mark your calendars today and follow the account on Twitter so you don’t forget it!
Transgender Ally Resources:
- National Center for Transgender Equality
- Mercury Stardust’s 2nd Annual TikTok-a-Thon for Trans Healthcare
- Trans Lifeline
- Guide to Being an Ally to Transgender and Nonbinary Young People
- Lambda Legal
- Stand With Trans Book List
- What is deadnaming?
- Trans-Voice Virtual Support Group
- Sylvia Rivera Law Project (SRLP)
- Trans/Gender Non-Conforming Justice Project
- Trevor Project International Resources
- TransLatin@ Coalition
- Transgender Freedom Project
- Legal Resistance Network
- Mapping Attacks on LGBTQ Rights in U.S. State Legislatures
- 2023 Anti-Trans Legislation
