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Critics Consensus

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.

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Audience Says

The Blackening is a laugh-out-loud horror comedy that's perfect for watching with a big group of friends.

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Leila Latif Sight & Sound The Blackening proves to be one of the silliest, smartest and most memorable comedies of 2023. Oct 1, 2023 Full Review Wendy Ide Observer (UK) Horror purists might find the picture lacking in genuine scares, but go into it expecting a hang-out comedy with a few jumps rather than a horror movie with a few jokes, and it’s unlikely to disappoint. Rated: 4/5 Aug 27, 2023 Full Review Linda Marric The Jewish Chronicle The Blackening takes very few prisoners and has a lot more to say about race than people are likely to give it credit for. It is funnier than most horror parodies I’ve seen over the past decade. Rated: 3/5 Aug 25, 2023 Full Review Dana Barbuto Boston Movie News Drawing on classics of the genre like “Scream” and “Get Out,” the movie is self-aware and hilarious with rapid-fire one-liners and fresh takes on classic horror beats. Rated: B Jul 7, 2024 Full Review Jeffrey Lyles Lyles' Movie Files While it felt like there were plenty of jokes and cliches left to address, The Blackening is a satisfying and funny opening salvo. There’s certainly no reason this can’t become a franchise or at least stretch out to a trilogy. Rated: 8/10 Dec 7, 2023 Full Review Maria Lattila WhyNow (UK) The Blackening proudly stands next to films like Scream, Cabin in the Woods and Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil as a viciously funny horror-comedy and a sharp meta narrative about the whole genre. It’s just a shame it slightly fumbles the bag at the very end. Rated: 3/5 Sep 28, 2023 Full Review Read all reviews

Oscar Rommelfanger Because white people suck Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/22/24 Full Review SummerJay Hopefully, this will become a cult classic 😂‼️ Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/01/24 Full Review Big Heavy Best movie of the year. Had a blast watching this! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/29/24 Full Review samuel funny comedy different from scary movie Rated 4 out of 5 stars 12/15/23 Full Review Neesh E. Hilarious and was real. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/25/23 Full Review Jackie Idk. It was cool but seemed like something was missing Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 07/20/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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The Blackening: Movie Clip - Pick a Card The Blackening: Movie Clip - Pick a Card 0:59 The Blackening: Movie Clip - Let's Get It The Blackening: Movie Clip - Let's Get It 0:39 The Blackening: Exclusive Movie Clip - Ranger White The Blackening: Exclusive Movie Clip - Ranger White 1:06 View more videos

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The Blackening: Featurette - From Sketch to Feature The Blackening: Featurette - From Sketch to Feature 2:22 The Blackening: Exclusive - Summer Movie Greeting The Blackening: Exclusive - Summer Movie Greeting 0:54 The Blackening: Trailer 2 The Blackening: Trailer 2 1:43 The Blackening: Trailer 1 The Blackening: Trailer 1 2:26 View more videos

Synopsis The Blackening centers around a group of Black friends who reunite for a Juneteenth weekend getaway only to find themselves trapped in a remote cabin with a twisted killer. Forced to play by his rules, the friends soon realize this ain't no motherfu**in' game. Directed by Tim Story (Ride Along, Think Like A Man, Barbershop) and co-written by Tracy Oliver (Girls Trip, Harlem) and Dewayne Perkins (The Amber Ruffin Show, Brooklyn Nine-Nine), The Blackening skewers genre tropes and poses the sardonic question: if the entire cast of a horror movie is Black, who dies first?

Director

Tim Story

Producer

Tim Story, Tracy Oliver, E. Brian Dobbins, Sharla Sumpter Bridge, Jason Clark, Marcei A. Brown

Screenwriter

Dewayne Perkins, Tracy Oliver

Distributor

Lionsgate

Production Co

Universal Studios, Media Rights Capital (MRC), Catchlight Studios, MRC Film, Lionsgate, The Story Company

Rating

R (Pervasive Language|Drug Use|Violence)

Genre

Comedy, Horror

Original Language

English

Release Date (Theaters)

Jun 16, 2023, Wide

Release Date (Streaming)

Jul 7, 2023

Box Office (Gross USA)

$17.7M

Runtime

1h 37m

Sound Mix

Dolby Digital

Aspect Ratio

Digital 2.39:1

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