Those of you who kill at trivia night — I do not — will probably love “The Blackening.” It’s a horror-comedy where, like, if you can’t name the five or so Black guest stars on the show “Friends,” you die. Good luck!
The tagline of “The Blackening”…
Unknown (as Blackening): “Your time has run out. It’s time to die.”
…is, “We can’t all die first.”
Antoinette Robertson (as Lisa, reading): “‘The Black character is always the first to die. I will spare your lives if you sacrifice the person you deem the blackest.'”
Grace Byers (as Allison): “The blackest?”
The new horror-comedy is poking fun at that trope. You know, where minority characters often don’t last very long in the genre.
Melvin Gregg: “I think it was all a missed opportunity every time they killed us first.”
Alex Miranda: “Yeah.”
Think Jada Pinkett Smith in “Scream 2.”
Jada Pinkett Smith (as Maureen): “Aaahhh!”
Jermaine Fowler: “Jada, Omar Epps, Samuel L. Jackson got ate by that shark.”
Tim Story: “I was about to say that.”
Samuel L. Jackson *as Russell Franklin): “First, we’re going to seal off this…” [A shark eats him.]
Dewayne Perkins: “He said, ‘But y’all gonna pay me like…'”
X Mayo: “‘Like $2.5 mil. Cool!'”
But this story does start innocent enough, with seven friends going away for a fun weekend.
Grace Byers (as Allison): “That’s what we do on Juneteenth!”
It was fun on set, too.
Jay Pharoah: “Living in the moment, making every moment real, the authenticity. That’s something that you feel, you just feel the authenticity of this movie in every scene.”
But, only to find themselves trapped in a cabin with a killer who has a vendetta.
Alex Miranda: “Funny, scary, insightful, thought-provoking. That’s a lot to cram into one film.”
Antoinette Robertson: “I think it makes you look at us differently, because you’re not used to seeing different hues of Blackness, like fully fleshed-out characters. You’re not used to seeing, like, how vast we are, how complicated we are.”
And after starting this demented board game, they have to pit their street smarts and knowledge of horror movies against the murderer …to survive.
Dewayne Perkins: “Will they?! Find out June 16th!”
X Mayo: “Yes!”
The game asks all kinds of Black history and culture trivia questions — but nothing about food? That’s a missed opportunity.
Jay Pharoah: “I’m just spitballing, but something like potato salad should never have this in it. one, eggs, two, mustard, three, relish, or d, raisins.”
Sinqua Walls: “How much cheese should go in mac and cheese?”
Jay Pharoah: “Yeah, yeah, yeah.”
Sinqua Walls: “That’s real.”
So, who would have definitely lost?
X Mayo: “If I would have to pick a person who would have died, it would be Dewayne.”
Dewayne Perkins (as Dewayne): “Y’all can’t pick me. I’m gay.”
X Mayo: “Like, if he doesn’t have like a bunch of weapons that were there, he had to get, like, ‘MacGyver’ on him and try to figure something, he’s like, ‘OK, gurl, this is my time, God bless.'”
Dewayne Perkins: “I would say, like, ‘Oh, this would be easier if it was meant for me to live.'”
[Group laughs.]
Dewayne Perkins: “I was like, ‘Why would I have to try so hard?'”
X Mayo: “‘I don’t want to have to do any work.'”
“The Blackening” has crept into theaters in wide release.
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