The Fantasy Review‘s Spoiler-Free Review of The Blackening (2022).
Rating: 3/5
The Blackening (2022) was a fun, clever slasher movie that reminded me of Cabin in the Woods (2011) and Scary Movie (2000). Although it was pretty good, it didn’t do anything better than those two movies had already done.
Positives
The opening scenes were great! We had the perfect balance of comedy and scares/a creepy atmosphere. I felt like I was watching something smart, and it was all about to go down!
The main characters were brilliant! They were funny and all had a unique take on things, making their interactions engaging.
I loved the plot, for the most part. The concept was cool, with these characters being forced to play a creepy, very racist board game and win, or they die.
Negatives
The Blackening is supposed to be a slasher movie but they seemed terrified of killing any of the characters! Sure, the opening didn’t have the same qualms, but as soon as they refused to kill someone later on I just knew there was no threat to their lives anymore.
In order to be scared I needed to think the characters were in peril, and while they thought they were, I could see they would all survive.
Oh and the “twist” wasn’t that surprising. It’s not a huge negative for me because I don’t think it was supposed to be that hidden, but I love twists I never saw coming (hence why I love the Saw franchise!) so this was a little disappointing for me.
Conclusion
While I think The Blackening is a funny and clever movie, I think previous movies in the same subgenre have done the same things better. I would have liked to have seen characters facing actual deadly threats too, rather than this kind of lazy plot armour they all seemed to have.
