The Blackout: BRWC Review. By Jake Pepper.
Parodies can be a difficult genre to make worthwhile. Sometimes it can be hard to take something that a lot of people enjoy and make fun of it, but also make it smart enough to make an impact. We usually see one or two a year and the standouts are too few and far between. The horror genre seems to be the best genre to take a stab at (no pun intended) when it comes to attempting a genre parody. Movies like Cabin in the Woods and Tucker and Dale vs. Evil do a great job of taking the typical tropes of horror movies and mocking them in a clever way.
The Blackening is the latest release to try something new and put its own spin on many common horror movie stereotypes. Director Tim Story and company try to poke fun at the stereotypes involving black characters in horror movies and it makes what is easily one of the funniest movies of the year.
The story follows seven black friends who plan a reunion for the weekend of June 10th at a cabin in the woods. Most of the group haven’t seen each other in years but everyone is back in place with each other as they plan to have a great weekend together. While at the cabin the group discovers a secret game room inside of which is a board game called The Blackening. Our group soon discovers that they are now in the middle of a game of life or death, with a mysterious voice telling them to now play the game and win or they will die one by one.
It was a pleasant surprise to see. So far this year there haven’t been too many comedies that have stood out. The Blackening may be the best comedy of the year so far. There’s a lot crammed into this little comedy but there’s so much to enjoy. Tim Storey is able to get so much out of so little. With an exceptionally talented cast and a well-written script, you couldn’t ask for a better combination. Everyone is on their game here and the laughs keep coming.
Not only does the film do a great job of having fun with black character tropes, but it manages to have fun with the horror genre as a whole. There is never really a dull moment as the story progresses and the jokes keep flying. Sometimes there are jokes you might miss because you’re still laughing at the last one. Everyone in the cast really brings everything and there is no weak link in the group. The standouts are definitely Jermaine Fowler as Clifton and Dwayne Perkins, who also co-wrote the film, as Dwayne. Their characters steal every scene and have so many key moments throughout the film.
While there are a few little things every now and then that don’t work, The Blackening is an all-around entertaining watch. It’s always funny throughout; The cast all play off each other quite well and if you’re a fan of the horror genre you should get a kick out of the tropes, they make fun of them. It gets a full recommendation from myself, and is worth seeking out.
Rating: 7.5/10
We hope you enjoy BRWC. You should check us out on our social channels, Subscribe to our newsletter, and tell your friends. BRWC is short for battleroyalewithcheese.
Cool posts from around the internet:
