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Tim Story’s Horror/Comedy has a wonderful cast but fails to break down the stereotypes of the genre in a meaningful way.

PLOT: Seven Black friends go away for the weekend and end up trapped in a cabin with a killer who has a vendetta. Will their street smarts or knowledge of horror films help them survive? Probably not.

REVIEW: I absolutely love the concept of The Blackening. As a lover of the Scream franchise, I love a film that dissects the genre’s tropes. Although this is more comedy than horror I still hoped that there would be clever dissections. There are moments like that but they’re not as prominent as I had hoped. The film is satirical for long stretches, but there are also moments where it feels like the film has forgotten its purpose. The friendships feel real, and the dynamics of their relationships, while stereotypical, are true to life. It was my first time watching many of these actors and I thoroughly enjoyed them. Antoinette Robson and Grace Byers were both outstanding and looked like they were destined for greater things. But it’s X Mayo that steals almost every scene. She’s a special kind of funny. She’s a special kind of funny.

Unfortunately, most of the story beats are very stereotypical when you get away from the comedy. It’s not a problem, but there’s little to make the show stand out. While some stereotypes are intentionally used to prove a particular point, they tend to be generic. The board game, which is prominently featured in all marketing material, is almost irrelevant. I thought it would play a bigger role in the plot, after the intro suggested it would. It feels like it was only used as a prop. I liked the message despite how obvious it was. I also enjoyed the absurd twists, like

Saw

. I love a good villain monologue. Although I did have an eye roll or two. The mask design is cool, even though everything else about the killer seems generic. I wish they had chosen a more intelligent explanation for the origins of their killer, as it is confusing. I still understand their reasoning, even if I don’t think it worked.I mostly know Tim Story as the director of Fantastic Four

and Barbershop, so I wasn’t expecting an expert on the horror genre. I was still disappointed by the odd shifts in tone that occur. “Scary”, it seems, is more about the darkness and jump scares than trying to create fear. While this is more for laughter, the failed horror attempts are distracting. The film makes a point of pointing out the stupid decisions made by characters, but then the character does something even worse and is not called out. I was not in the target demo but I still enjoyed The blackening

. It’s not a groundbreaking film, but there are some enjoyable moments. We need more satirical films to help advance the horror genre. But to do that, there needs to be a little more clever introspection versus just commenting on stereotypes and going through with them anyway.The Blackening is

IN THEATERS EVERYWHERE JUNE 16TH, 2023.6

Entertainment - Media News Watch originally published at Entertainment - Media News Watch