Director Tim Story’s horror comedy The Blackening is said to take place during a Juneteenth weekend getaway, so it’s very fitting that Lionsgate has decided to give the film a wide theatrical release on June 16, 2023 – which happens to be Juneteenth weekend. The Blackening made its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival and Lionsgate came out the winner of a bidding war over the distribution rights with an offer that was said to be (according to Deadline) just short of $20 million.
Story directed The Blackening from a screenplay by Tracy Oliver and Dewayne Perkins. Inspired by a Perkins-scripted 3Peat comedy sketch that aired on Comedy Central in 2018, the film is about
a group of Black friends who go away for the weekend only to find themselves trapped in a cabin with a killer who forces them to play a game with life-or-death consequences. The idea asks a reasonable question: since it seems that Black characters are usually the earliest victims in horror films, what happens when all the characters are Black?
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Perkins (The Upshaws) stars in the film alongside Antoinette Robertson (Dear White People), Sinqua Walls (Shark Night), Grace Byers (Empire), X Mayo (The Farewell), Melvin Gregg (The Way Back), Jermaine Fowler (The Drop), Yvonne Orji (Insecure), Jay Pharoah (Unsane), and James Preston Rogers (Pixels).
Lionsgate’s Jason Constantine had this to say about the distribution deal: “The Blackening is a wildly entertaining horror movie that delivers jump-out-of-your-seat scares while also hilariously subverting the genre. Tim Story, Tracy Oliver, and Dewayne Perkins have delivered a movie that works on multiple levels — as huge fans of the genre, they’re able to be true to the conventions while turning them on their heads.“
Story and Oliver produced The Blackening with Marcei A. Brown, Jason Clark, E. Brian Dobbins, and Sharla Sumpter Bridgett. Perkins co-produced, and Vicky Story is associate producer.
Story’s previous directing credits include Barbershop, Taxi, Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Hurricane Season, Think Like a Man, Ride Along, Think Like a Man Too, Ride Along 2, Shaft, and Tom & Jerry.
How does The Blackening sound to you? Are you looking forward to seeing the movie next June? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
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