The Blackening director Tim Story on getting to be as offensive as possible with his horror comedy
At the center of the new horror comedy The Blackening is a board game in which the characters are asked a variety of questions designed to test their Blackness. One such question requires them to name every Black character that survived a horror film. Most of us wouldn't survive the round.
It's with that conceit that writers Tracy Oliver and Dewayne Perkins and director Tim Story approached this very Black send-up of horror films, that is also very faithful to the genre. Scary Movie this is not. Yes, there are laughs, but there's also a fair number of thrills and chills sure to delight die-hard horror fans. Story says that was deliberate.
"You always want to be sure the stakes are real," the director tells EW. "In this film, knowing that I was going to be tackling horror, I just wanted to be respectful of it and be sure that, for some of the audiences that are going to come into this expecting to be scared every now and then, that I have to deliver that."
The film (in theaters this weekend) stars Antoinette Robertson, Perkins, Sinqua Walls, Grace Byers, X Mayo, Melvin Gregg, Jermaine Fowler, Yvonne Orji, and Jay Pharoah as a group of friends who, of course, find themselves in a cabin in the woods with no cell reception and no way of getting out. When a killer in a strange mask begins taunting them, Saw-style, they're tasked with surviving his sadistic board game.
The Blackening is both a send-up and an ode to horror films and Black culture, embracing and skewering stereotypes without a need or desire to let white audiences in on the joke. Clifton (Fowler) is roasted to within an inch of his life for not knowing how to play Spades, such a specific reference but one that's sure to resonate with folks unaccustomed to seeing themselves live to the final credits.
Story discusses staying true to horror classics, "hugging the Black culture," and being as offensive as possible.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Were you a fan of horror movies before this?
TIM STORY: Going back to start preparing for this movie, I actually had to realize how much I was. I grew up on the early slashers like Friday the 13th and Halloween and Child's Play and all of those type of movies. They were just a part of life. I didn't give them much thought. You just watch them every now and then. In going back to studying, I started to watch these things again and realized how much fun I had with them growing up, how much I knew them — knew when this was going to come or when that was going to happen. So I must admit, I realized that I'm probably a bigger fan than I gave respect to.
Were you inspired by any of those films that you loved while making this?
Oh, absolutely. One of the things we knew we were making with this was kind of a joke to the slasher movies. There's a very specific setup and there's a specific third act to it and so forth and so on, how you get into it. So I was really inspired to go back and watch those movies, because it always did involve a group of people and being in a place where they probably shouldn't be, that cabin in the woods or the cabin that's near nothing. But that's what was fun, to go back and see the similarities that I was going to be approaching in the film, but also try to make it our own, try to make it the same but different.
And did directing a horror film change how you felt about them?
I guess there was always a respect for them, but they're fun to make. They have their rules just like comedy and drama have their rules, but I must admit I became even more of a fan of the genre. I've always given so many of the directors respect to the genre, but you just give a little bit more because to truly pull off something that is terrifying is not easy. You've got to go someplace and sometimes hold onto that shot longer than I'm used to. Then as far as sound and music and not tipping your hand too soon, there's a bigger respect that I've gained for my peers that have come before me in making this.
Now, as a Black person who can't play Spades, I feel personally attacked by this movie. That hit really close to home for me.
Well, that's what we love. So many people are finding somebody that they really see themselves in and are having a lot of fun. Trust me, there's so many people who said the same thing. "I don't know how to play Spades. And I probably would be that person in the middle of that." It's kind of awesome for us to hear that because we feel that's what people are finding so accessible — many times you do see yourself in one or two of these characters.
I also love how Black and how specifically Black this film is. Was there anything in the film or in the script where you were like, "Oh, that's too Black even for me"?
No. We never limited ourselves to just do what felt authentic for us. Probably, as you can tell, throughout the whole movie we're kind of hugging the Black culture. Although having a lot of fun with it, we're showing how much we love us. That's what I think has been exhilarating through this whole process, is to be able to make a movie that you feel comfortable in. You feel like any of those little inside jokes will work here, so don't be afraid to do them and don't be afraid to speak about them. If there's any place for those inside culture jokes and references to work, it's in this movie.
What was the inspiration behind that scary-ass mask?
[With] that and the game, we wanted to be sure we made something that, to be blunt, was offensive. And the more offensive we could make it... If you're going to do big lips, the lips got to be ashy. They got to be dry and cracked. We just kept going into this place that these characters would be extremely offended by. And we just kept having a lot of fun with it.
Now, it might be a bit early for this, but have you thought of sequels or making this into a franchise?
Oh, yes. We had so much fun making it, and then when we saw the finished product, we were in love with what we created that we can't help but to think to go do this again. We're excited about the prospects of doing it again. Like we always say, we need the audiences to go out and vote and say, "Hey guys, we'd love for you to come back one more time." If that happens, we will definitely do it because the ideas have already started percolating.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and brevity.
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