THE BLACKENING

8 friends who haven't been all together in 10 years, rent a house in the woods to reconnect over the Juneteenth holiday. However, before their bags are even unpacked, there's a killer on the loose looking to make them his next victims. The film sadly relies (lazily I might add) to white people jokes, which accounts for about three-quarters of jokes told throughout the film. However, these are front loaded into the film so once you get past them, it's most easily digestible. In addition to playing on the trope of black people never survive horror movies, this looks to rewrite that narrative. The film does a nice job of being both horror and comedy, never being too campy or too much of a spoof; but rather seemed to take the subject matter more seriously. Unfortunately, the reveal of who the killer(s) wasn't much of a surprise as it's quite predictable yet they still do manage to thrown in a twist before all's said and done. The only stand out I can take the time to credit is Jermaine Fowler as Clifton: a smart, yet unsterotypical character who has some of the best jokes. Overall though, the film is very average and nothing to write home about. 5/10