One of the year’s best horror-comedies, The Blackening is hilarious throughout but never forgets it’s also a horror movie. The satire is clever, the social commentary is poignant without being obtuse, and the ensemble cast has great chemistry. Like many holiday-set horrors that came before it, it’s guaranteed to become an annual Juneteenth viewing among fans.
The Blackening‘s 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD releases pack in even more laughs to with special features, including an audio commentary from director Tim Story (Fantastic Four, Barbershop), actor/co-writer Dewayne Perkins (Brooklyn Nine-Nine), and co-writer Tracy Oliver (Girls Trip).
Here are eight things I learned from The Blackening commentary…
1. The opening text was not in the script.
The opening text – which reads “The following is based on true events… that never happened.” – was not in the script. Story added it after production to set the tone for the movie.
“The guys didn’t know I was gonna do this thing at the beginning of it,” he notes. “But I was trying to make sure people knew that this movie was a comedy and they should have some fun. It gets a little chuckle.”
Perkins commends it as “simple and effective.”
2. Tracy Oliver texted Yvonne Orji a plea to be a part of the movie.
Standard operating procedure for Hollywood casting is to go through agents, but Oliver eschewed protocol by texting a plea directly to Yvonne Orji to play Morgan. It worked, and she shot the cold open for two days alongside Jay Pharoah.
Oliver explains, “I bypassed the agents and sent a desperate text bearing my heart and soul and said, ‘We ain’t got no money, but please come do this. I guarantee you it’s a hit.’ And it is! And she’s very happy with it.”
3. The Blackening was a comedy sketch and a short film before becoming a feature.
The Blackening is based on a 2018 short for Comedy Central that Perkins wrote and appeared in, itself adapted from a comedy sketch he penned two years prior. He details the film’s unique journey to the screen:
“I was in Chicago in 2016, and I was asked to write an opening sketch for an all-Black sketch comedy show in Chicago. I wrote a sketch called, at the time, Horror Story about a group of Black friends who go to a cabin and then a killer forces them to pick who’s the Blackest in order to die. And then that sketch got put into a larger theatrical production of the show called Black Side of the Moon at Woolly Mammoth.”
He continues, “Then from there, it got turned into a sketch for Comedy Central, where me and my group 3Peat, we filmed it in the woods of northern New York at like 3 AM. It was one of my first overnight shoots. It was good vibes. We put it up, it went viral, and then Tracy saw it and called me.”
Perkins was understandably nervous, as The Blackening was his first major feature, but Oliver was confident that the material would find an audience. She tells him:
“It just felt like we needed that. This was post-Get Out, but I felt like this was unique. I didn’t feel like this was an offshoot of Get Out. I felt like this stood on its own, and it’s equally smart as it is funny and scary and suspenseful. And then just to have a mostly Black cast, it just felt really, really unique, honestly. I just immediately was like, ‘Oh, I want to be part of this. This is really cool. I’ve never seen anything like this.’ When I get a feeling, I kind of act on it, and I just felt like you were onto something, Dewayne.”
4. Tim Story was originally only supposed to produce.
Story originally boarded the project as a producer, but he liked the script so much that he ultimately decided to step into the director’s chair as well.
“I read that script, one of the funniest things I’ve ever read, like literally. Of course, you guys know I was only supposed to produce. I read it, laughed out loud – this is where I’m a little cocky – and decided I didn’t want anybody else to fuck it up.”
“And we’re very grateful!” Perkins chimes in. “Very, very grateful.”
“But you also saw it. Like, I read the script and just saw it. I just had to do it,” Story concludes.
5. Jermaine Fowler didn’t audition, so his voice was a surprise.
While all the other main cast members auditioned for their roles, Jermaine Fowler was given an offer without the reading. He developed his character’s distinct voice and mannerism himself.
“We had no idea this voice was coming until it came,” Oliver reveals.
Story interjects, “He had the whole character and he went, ‘I want to do this.’ and it’s like ‘Oh, okay!'”
“Yeah, it was a surprise,” Oliver laughs.
6. The filmmakers had to beware of Kool-Aid and Lizzo.
When working with brands, films need to be careful not to portray them negatively to avoid potential legal issues. Such was the case with King’s concoction of Kool-Aid with heavy doses of sugar and vodka (dubbed King’s Kool-Ayyy, because “you drink it, it make you go, ‘Ayyy!”).
Story shares, “We could not say certain things to mess up the Kool-Aid people.”
Trademarks can also be tricky. The custom komono that Perkins wears in the film originally had the phrase “100% That Bitch” – a lyric from Lizzo’s breakout single “Truth Hurts” that she went on to trademark – embroidered on the back. It was later changed to simply “That Bitch” to avoid infringing on the singer’s trademark.
7. The Cabin in the Woods, Scream, and Friday the 13th influenced the film.
Perkins’ original concept was clearly born out of love for the genre, so it should come as no surprise that he’s the horror expert among the creatives. He discusses a few of his inspirations:
“Some of my favorite horror movies are like Cabin in the Woods. I really loved how they kind of flipped the [script]. All of the Screams, all of the Friday the 13ths. There’s just so many movies that I feel like taught me what horror was. But also being who I am, I know that if me and the people that I hang out with were in these exact situations, it wouldn’t work the same, but yet it would still have the same vibe.”
Oliver adds, “Tonally I think we only really had Scream and maybe Scary Movie to kind of look towards, and neither one was the exact thing we were going for.” Be that as it may, The Blackening makes multiple references to the Scream franchise.
8. A sequel is being discussed.
While a sequel hasn’t been greenlit, Story, Perkins, and Oliver tease a potential continuation several times throughout the commentary. Although they’re reticent to share details, it will tackle a different horror subgenre than slashers if it comes to fruition.
A follow-up could also give Story a chance to fulfill his wish for a joke about hot sauce. He confesses, “The only thing that we didn’t get into this movie that I’m still mad at to this day is I didn’t have an homage to hot sauce.”
“We’ll get in the sequel. Hot sauce and a wedding,” Oliver responds, providing the biggest kernel of information about where the story might go. Assuming it picks up with the surviving characters, perhaps we’ll see Lisa and Nnamdi tie the knot after their fresh start (and Dewayne’s approval).
The Blackening is available now on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD.
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