Deep Cuts Horror Hit List #13 “The Blackening”

Hey there, folks.

Sit is Sunday, October nineteenth. And of course, it is widely understood that in any horror movie, the first person to die.

Is the black person.

Yes, but what if a horror movie has an all black cast, Well, can't kill us all And welcome to this episode of Amy and DJ folks Weggo. Welcome as we continue on our horror hit list, Number thirteen is.

Near and dear.

It is one of our absolute favorites, probably could be higher on the list, but it's a newer entry and this is the most fun you can have watching a horror movie.

It's almost so funny, and it makes so many culturer cultural references that as a white person you might be afraid to laugh at some of it.

Or you might even know what the hell they's talking about.

You know what.

There might be moments where like, I don't get it. Ye, So I actually think if you have friends who are black and you are white, and you were listening to this, please watch it in a mixed setting, like a mixed group, because you'll understand things in a different way.

It's funny no matter what.

But I think it's even more funny if you have people who understand it on different levels.

Yeah, and folks, they lean in to the blackness and this movie it's number thirteen on our list and it is called The Blackening, And it was bro to part of the posters they used when they were promoting this movie. The movie posters said we can't all die first. I mean, that's that really is the case. And it was a great promotional campaign that played on something that in our culture is kind of understood. Yes it's not all movies,

And the joke also as the movie progresses is they're trying to figure out who the blackest is among them, and the comedy that ensues trying to figure out the blackest of the group is hilarious streak.

And everybody's then trying to show their what their their non black credentials.

But like, wait a minute, no, no, my dad is white.

Somebody else. I voted for Trump twice. Yes, And that might be the funniest scene. Actually, we got to put this on again today. That's the funniest scene. But yet it is The Blackening. It's pretty new movie. It was in June of twenty twenty three. It's only an hour and thirty seven minutes long. It is perfect, and it is rated R. It's comedy and it's horror. This is laugh out loud, not just a couple of here and there like throughout this movie is funny.

It's laugh out loud.

But it's also very good at creating suspense drama. There are there are there is there's more than one. Actually I don't want to give it a but they are being hunted. So there is actual horror movie elements. This isn't just a comedy that has a little bit of horror. It really does toe the line between both really well, like exceptionally well.

And I guess it to make the point, just the concept of the movie tells you that it is a horror and a comedy.

Because what's a classic horror.

Scenario being out in the middle of the woods in a cabin. This is a cabin in the woods scenario. Now what's funny about that? Black folks ain't supposed to be out there in a cabin in the woods. They play on this idea in culture and yes, sweetheart, you want to go hiking all the time?

I love cabins in the woods, and I.

Say, why do you got why you got me out here once again?

As you're driving through a dark, lonely wooded street, You're like, how is it that I'm here again in the middle of the woods where black people aren't supposed to be.

And you know what, every one of my friends, especially my boys, what I tell them where I am, they have no sympathy, Like what happens to you out there? You deserve it, even so you're not supposed to be out there. Oh my god, I had.

You watching what was the movie on summer Midsummer?

I'm like, this is where we're going, babe, where there are almost no black people.

Yes, that's scary in and of itself.

Sweden was nice, though I take Sweden over some parts of the South. No, but this is and this is a treat of a movie. Here the synopsis here. This is a longer one, but explains it so you take it all right.

The Blackening Center is around a group of black friends who reunite for a June teenth weekend getaway even funnier, that's hilarious, only to find themselves trapped in a remote cabin with a twisted killer forced to play by his rules. The friends soon realized this ain't no motherfucking game. Directed by Tim's Story and co written by Tracy Oliver who girls trip, Hello, who didn't love that movie? So you can see their comedic barbershop Tim story did so. Yes,

It's just a great setup and a great so good concept. Now it did well at the box office. I can't remember if it finished one or two, but it made noise that weekend because look, seventeen point seven million dollars doesn't sound like a huge haul. But this is a small budgeted movie, a five million, very lean budget. Here

And it get it's an improv thing, right.

Yes, And he went from there and became this so kudos to him, and he is hilarious. Has even a funny dancing scene in this movie. It's great Grace Buyers, Jermaine Fowler, Melvin Gregg, you'll recognize Antoinette Robertson, J Farrell of SNL fame Kuah Wall we love him, of course. And then Yvonne Orgi what was the name of her show on HBO, but you know her comedian, She's awesome. But the director as well, Tim's story, you know his movies Think like a Man, Right along with Right Along too,

The acting is superb, the writing is remarkable. You will be laughing out loud throughout the entire entire movie. How many times have we watched this?

It gets better every time, it really really does.

We even watched this with my parents the other weekend.

That was a good night. That was a fun night.

They were laughing out loud.

Any of y'all have ever seen this movie, especially black folks right now, If you're thinking, wow, TJ.

Watching this with three white people.

Well in two of them being your parents.

Really white people. Yeah, there were some scenes in there, but.

It's just it's it's stuff, and for me, it's nothing we talk like this, this is all familiar, and yet this is very black movie. It leans into that. But to watch this that was.

Funny, and your folks were cracking the hell out with this one.

My dad was literally laughing out loud this movie, laughing out loud. Rotten Tomatoes agrees their score eighty seven percent, and the audience agreed eighty five percent. So, I mean, this was a movie that was well reviewed and well liked by pretty much everyone who has seen it.

All right, critic consensus, Now, I haven't seen an audience consensus consensus. They had one on this one, so I included them both. So from the critics, the critic consensus was this, while it could stand to be a little funnier and quite a bit scarier, the Blackening is a thoughtful satire that skewers horror tropes and racial stereotypes.

All Right, I thought it was pretty damn funny.

It's hard, I mean, a little funny.

It could have been a little scarier, maybe, but I thought it was really funny.

It seemed like somebody might have been nitpicking.

Yes, perhaps they wanted to find something about it. The audience consensus, I feel like, is a really good way to view this movie. The Blackening is a laugh out loud horror comedy that's perfect for watching with a big group of friends.

Yeah, that needs to be done. You have to get a group together because you're all going to be arguing about what you would do and which one of the group is in your group, or which character are you and that.

Kind of thing.

Yeah, and for white folks, like I said, if you don't get the joke, if you have a lot of people there, someone will explain it to you.

There's not a lot of you know what, there's a little bit of that. There's a there's a kool Aid scene.

Maybe might be confusing to some folks.

Oh yes, I wouldn't have gotten that. I would not have understood understood the kol Aid reference.

Well, okay, there's a lot of stuff in there. But the audience reviews came in this way that Blackening was hilarious. It's rare to have a comedy that has so many fresh and upcoming faces where the ensemble is kinetic, hilarious, engaging, and so talented. Even as a remake from a short skit, this is one of the funnier self aware comedies this year. That's I like.

That self aware comedies.

It's true, like they go ahead and they go there and they know what they are, and I appreciate. Like the whole Friends thing had me laughing out loud. Oh, that was one of my favorite parts of the movie, because you know, black people didn't never watch Friends.

See it's a black That was such a black moment that we've all had. It was amazing to where you were not supposed to be a part of that thing from white culture. But then you have to admit, like, wait a minute, y'all watch that show.

So all right, The Blackening is a slasher movie that's also a slap dash, enjoyable social satire. That the satire turns out to be sharper than the scares isn't a problem. It's all part of the film's slovenly demonic party atmosphere.

Yeah, I agree with that the way to put it might be funnier than it is scary, and that's okay.

I think I think that's a true state. But it's still a horror.

Movie, all right.

Let me go to a couple of the negative ones down here. Robes sporadically funny but mostly repetitive, choppily edited and dull without being zany, hilarious, campy, or bold enough. It's like Boo a Medea Halloween without Medea to invigorate it.

Oh, I couldn't disagree more.

Okay, there was some I took issue with us when I included it for a reason that seemed.

A little so much unnecessary. Also, Medea would not have made it funnier at all.

This seems a little now.

Maybe they just didn't get it.

They didn't get it.

I wonder who wrote it.

Well, some of them have their pictures next to it, and I think that might be a challenge maybe for a critic. I think it might be a challenge to watch a movie like this that is actually not made for you as not trying to pander to you to where you do have to try to understand another culture. You do try to understand a joke and if you don't get it. So I did read a lot of reviews that seem from people they didn't get it. They

Movie because they didn't know they didn't get it.

That's kind of a problem, right, I mean, isn't that a lot. We talk about this all the time. You and I say similar ages, similar parts of the country, but just so many different references that we're surprised and actually like like shocked that we don't understand references.

So I do think it's.

Kind of an opportunity actually to have fun and learn a little along the way. Here's a negative one as well. This movie not only fails at both horror and comedy what but it also panders to the black community so hard that it's hard to watch. Literally, the N word is said probably nine and ninety nine times, and almost all of the jokes relate to blackness. It's called the Blackening. I don't know what they thought they were watching.

I thought that's.

I don't know, Maybe you don't have to watch it, right if you don't want to. But I I never walked out of a theater because the joke was one that I didn't think was written for my community. Right, you're looking at you actually don't like it because it's specific to somebody that's not you, and you have no interest in trying to be open to it. It's weird how a simple movie review like that tells us so much, Like what are you talking. It's not funny because it's black.

This, Eh.

Look, I recognize that I got some of the jokes because I'm in a relationship with you.

I get that.

But I still think even never having known things on another level, I still would recognize how funny it was.

I mean, I just totally take issue with that.

But I do think it's a point to consider that, yes, people, sometimes art is made for different or in the lens or through the lens of different cultures, and that's actually a really cool thing to be able to witness, watch and learn from and enjoy.

It doesn't have to be about white people for white people.

I do think that's so interesting that even the writer of that review couldn't recognize their own limitations that they put.

On themselves, right, That's that's my criticism. The jokes are too black for me.

All right, So we're gonna we're gonna come back and tell you why it made our list, who it's for, who it's not for, anyone who just wants white things, and what you can pair it with. We'll also tee the head to our next movie on our list. We continue our horror hit list with number thirteen on our list. We are talking about one of our favorites, laugh out loud, funny horror comedy, The Blackening. It came out in twenty

Yeah, and it's still I mean, this still legitimately is a horror movie, but no, it's not the scariest thing you're going to watch.

But it.

You don't get shorted on deaths and murder and mystery and fear and tension. You don't get shortered on that in the least bit. But it's so funny throughout, and so many of the performances, even when they're not delivering lines or jokes, they're just in their personalities so engaging and even adorable to a certain degree. And sing and the brother the plays the guy who's married to the white woman.

That's hilarious.

He has one of the best lines in there. When you were talking earlier, some jokes you might not get where they're all sitting around trying to figure out who is the blackest. His argument was I'm not the blackest. I'm married to a white woman. And everybody said, no, brother, that does not help your case.

And I don't think I.

Would have gotten that joke, and they just moved on. They didn't explain it in the movie. Everybody got it and it was hilarious. That kind of stuff in this movie is why you have.

To watch this with a group, yes, agreed group, biggest group you can get.

So who's the movie for TJ Black people.

Absolutely, this is for black folks, and I appreciate it being that way, and I think it's for anybody who wants just a little window, if you want a little insight into black friendship actually and to black problem solving, into really black culture in how we view other parts of culture, including the O'Reilly theme song even has a

It just happens to be black.

That's so true.

I even loved at the end, like just something as funny and yet telling about them trying to figure out how to get help because obviously they couldn't call the police.

That's a good jokes and there was nothing. They weren't laughing and it was just dead pain.

It was just like what do we do?

It was a call.

Yes, it's a real issue that folks have had, real folks in the community scared to call. They don't think we burned the place down. They don't think we stole it. I've absolutely had that moment in my life before. I shouldn't be here. They don't think it was me.

Yeah.

And then so TJ. Who is this movie not for?

Oh, if you're racist, this thing for you, if you got any racist tendencies, and the least bit this is not for you. If you've been texting with young Republicans over the past seven months, this is not your movie. That's just a joke, y'all. Don't come for me. If you've been watching the news, you know what that joke was about. I'm just kidding. But my point is not open to go to looking and seeing something that maybe you're you don't know. You need to be a little

I think this is a great movie to do that.

You know, our movie before was a Japanese film, and we kind of talked about it's not the same thing, but there are some similar aspects where you're acknowledging, Hey, I don't totally get this, but I'm guessing this is a Japanese thing. And then you kind of become more aware of those types of instruction. It's a part, yes, and even though it's not familiar, you can actually appreciate. So I think this movie is actually really cool in that regard, and I loved it all right.

Food drink pairing. What would you suggest, Babe?

I usually don't recommend kool aid, but there's a part of this movie that really takes you back, So I would recommend because of kool aid laying around, you know, I go a little old school, go ahead and get a little sugar in you for the night. This one takes you back. Food pairing. This made me feel even though it wasn't a big part of the movie. Food wasn't It very much felt like a cookout kind of atmosphere.

It feels like a cookout.

Yeah, that actually that's and we were talking about it. There wasn't any food in this movie, which actually is unusual. Usually you like have a there's a dinner, there's especially when you've got people in a cabin together. I don't think they had time to cook like stuff started going bad really quickly, and I think you know they had some fun. They were shots, they were doing shots, so maybe you could put some shots to that too.

There was some molly involved, but we don't want to record.

We don't want to recommend any sort of illegal substance, but there was definitely molly going on.

In one of the funniest scenes as well.

It was hilarious. But I think you can probably put anything with this. Anything you want to eat to have fun. This is a party atmosphe I like the idea of a barbecue. If you had a big group of your friends and get together in a cabin in the woods, what would you be eating. Go ahead and put that all on the coffee table and dig.

In your recommendation. This is a movie if you were having a party, this is one new stop. If you got ten people over fifty, you do sit. You can have a party specifically to watch this movie. This is a good one.

I totally agree. I loved this movie all right. So our next movie, I like how we really just give everyone whiplast year because this is just going in the complete other direction.

But our next.

Movie Who It is about as scary as it gets you actually have a scene that you do not ever want to rewatch. Now you're already getting upset about it because you're thinking about the scene. It actually physically hurts you to think about the scene. But the acting on this one, I believe that the lead in this movie that we're gonna bring to you in our next should actually be considered for an Academy Award.

We're not going too far. This is legit. This is not just a thing. She is stellar. Oh yes, yes, yes, So stay tuned for that. And another tease of this one of everything on the list, this is the one when Robot asked to rewatch it? I said, can we please not? It is that much of a scary movie.

That's a good tease, all right, And with that, everyone, thank you for listening to us. I'm Amy Roebuck alongside TJ.

Holmes. You sure I know.

I don't know why I hesitated with my own name.

Be changing anytime.

Okay, that was a funny tease. That was really funny. We'll talk to y'all soon.