The Blackening Trailer: The Slasher Comedy Takes Inspiration From A Racist Genre Trope
3Peat's uproarious 2018 comedy short film "The Blackening" is finally getting the big screen treatment, with a feature film of the same name from Lionsgate set to hit theaters in time for Juneteenth weekend this year. It's the perfect release date for a horror comedy with an all-Black cast that asks the question: if everyone's Black, who does a slasher killer go for first? Like the short on which its based, "The Blackening" turns the thought exercise — which is based on decades of horror history in which Black characters are disproportionately killed off — into a jumping off point for stereotype-skewering conversations about Blackness.
Yesterday, a great poster for "The Blackening" dropped on the film's official Twitter, showing the seven-person ensemble holding onto household objects that could double as weapons while the blood-splattered tagline in the background reads, "We can't all die first." Now, there's a brand new first trailer to give us a proper look at the movie.
Watch the trailer for The Blackening
"The Blackening" premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last year, where it earned positive early reviews, including one from IndieWire, written by /Film contributor Rafael Motamayor. As Motamayor points out, the film expands on the concept introduced in the hilarious four-and-a-half minute short from 3Peat, turning it into a true horror film in addition to a comedy.
The original short, which I can't recommend enough, features a group of Black friends in a cabin who must decide among themselves which of them is "Blackest" in order to survive a white serial killer who, in keeping with the horror trope, isn't sure who to kill first. Members of the group confess to a series of white people past-times in an attempt to save themselves, admitting to watching "Gilmore Girls" and letting their dog kiss them on the mouth, among other things. The feature film apparently adds in a bit of a backstory for the killer, as the group who gets together for a Juneteenth vacation discovers a creepy board game with a strange mascot that asks them questions about their Blackness.
Dewayne Perkins, who co-wrote and starred in the original short, returns in both capacities for the movie. He co-authored the script with "Girls Trip" writer Tracy Oliver, and "Barbershop" and "Fantastic Four" filmmaker Tim Story is on board as director. In addition to Perkins, the talented cast includes "Saturday Night Live" alum Jay Pharoah, "Insecure" star Yvonne Orji, "Coming 2 America" actor Jermaine Fowler, "Teen Wolf" actor Sinqua Walls, "American Auto" star X Mayo, "Dear White People" breakout Antoinette Robertson, "Empire" actor Grace Byers, and "Snowfall" actor Melvin Gregg.
"The Blackening" hits theaters on June 16, 2023.