The Blackening (R)
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This came out a few days before Juneteenth in 2023, but I didn't see it until 2026. (In March; I'd prefer to have watched it on Juneteenth (June 19), but it was expiring off Netflix. Still, Juneteenth barely factors into the plot, so I guess it's not a big deal.) I suppose I'm not exactly the target audience for this movie, but I liked it well enough, and I think just about anybody should be able to enjoy it (as long as they're fans of comedy horror movies in general, and you know, not racist). I thought it was both funny and scary (though as is usually the case with horror comedies, the comedy does somewhat dilute the horror). Is it a good commentary on racial issues? I honestly couldn't say, and I don't think that's for me to decide. But I'm also not sure how much it's actually trying to be. But at least I can say that the entire main cast were Black, and there should definitely be more movies like that.

It starts the day before Juneteenth, when Shawn and Morgan arrive at a house in the woods, which they and six other friends have rented for a reunion/Juneteenth celebration. (The group were friends in college ten years ago, but for the most part I have no idea how much contact they've had with each other since then.) The two of them discover a game room, in which they find a board game called "The Blackening", which features a Little Black Sambo caricature, in the form of a head at the center of the board. The head tells them to pick a card, which has a question on it. Shawn answers incorrectly, and is killed by an arrow. Morgan tries to escape, but is captured.

The next day, their friends arrive at the house. One group that traveled there together includes Lisa, Allison, and Dewayne. (I get the impression Lisa and Dewayne may have remained close after college, as Dewayne is apparently Lisa's "gay best friend".) When they get to the house, they are joined by King and Nnamdi, the latter of whom is Lisa's ex-boyfriend, who cheated on her. Dewayne is not happy to learn that they're back together. Meanwhile, at a convenience store, Shanika runs into an old classmate named Clifton, who had apparently been invited to join the reunion, unbeknownst to the other friends. (He was never really part of their circle.) The two of them later show up at the house in the woods. The group is questioned by a park ranger named White (Diedrich Bader, unfortunately the only actor in the movie with whom I was familiar, though they're all good). They show him proof that they'd rented the house, and he leaves.

They wonder where Shawn and Morgan are, but meanwhile start playing Spades, while drinking and doing drugs and generally having a good time together. Then the power goes out, and while searching for a circuit breaker, they discover the game room. They find the "Blackening" game, and a TV screen activates, showing them that Morgan had been tied to a chair, and Shawn was dead. To save Morgan as well as themselves, they are forced to play the game, drawing cards with questions related to African-American culture. They do well for awhile, but eventually fail to completely answer one of the questions, and the killer attacks Morgan, but she manages to get away. Her friends eventually find that she's in the basement, and try to help her escape, but the killer gets her.

And, okay... up to this point I think I've revealed too many details, but I won't be doing that any further. Suffice to say, the remaining friends go through a series of ordeals, trying to escape the killer. I won't spoil the reason behind the killings, but while I didn't find it completely unpredictable, I do think the details were fairly interesting. All in all, I thought it was a pretty good movie on multiple levels, but maybe not quite a great movie. Then again, I would totally understand if other viewers found it to be better than I did. I did really like all the dynamics between the various characters, and I thought some good topics were raised. I'm definitely glad I saw it, and... yeah, I don't really know what else to tell you. Except that this may become the first movie in a franchise, which I would totally be down for.