When you stack the deck with Black people, they can’t all die first. That’s the humorous concept of The Blackening, a horror-comedy that pokes fun at the fact that in many horror movies, it’s the Black person who is first to bite the bullet (or get stabbed, or eaten by a shark). The problem: the movie isn’t very funny.

It should be noted that I’m a white guy, so I’m not exactly in the target demographic. But I’m also a horror fan, and I do like to laugh, so I have that going for me, right?

Anyway, The Blackening will land with some folks and it won’t with others, but it’s definitely no Get Out. Not nearly as funny as it thinks it is, the movie works best when it’s playing it straight–as a cabin-in-the-woods slasher. Though not without a few chuckle-inducing jokes, most of its attempts at humor rely on semi-obnoxious characters acting manic in the face of strange occurrences.

As a slasher, The Blackening is decent. While not the scariest movie out there, director Tim Price introduces a venomous masked villain who ratchets up the intimidation factor–nothing like a racist killer with a house of horrors to get your blood boiling. Price delivers some solid kills and an especially satisfying third act.

But The Blackening was never meant to be a straightforward horror flick, which makes it all the more disappointing. The concept is great, and all of the pieces are there, but they simply don’t connect the way they’re supposed to. 

Review by Erik Samdahl unless otherwise indicated.