Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror

Last updated
Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror
Horror Noire (2019) poster.jpg
Promotional release poster
Directed byXavier Burgin
Written byAshlee Blackwell
Danielle Burrows
Based onHorror Noire: Blacks in American Horror Films from the 1890s to Present
by Robin R. Means Coleman
Produced byAshlee Blackwell [1]
Danielle Burrows
Starring Keith David
Jordan Peele
Rachel True
Tony Todd
Tananarive Due
Robin R. Means Coleman
Ashlee Blackwell
CinematographyMario Rodriguez
Production
company
Stage 3 Productions
Distributed by Shudder
Release dates
Running time
83 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror is a 2019 American documentary film directed by Xavier Burgin and based on the 2011 non-fiction book Horror Noire: Blacks in American Horror Films from the 1890s to Present by Robin R. Means Coleman. [3] [4] The film examines the evolution of the genre of black horror. It features interviews with Coleman, along with such figures as actors Keith David, Tony Todd, and Rachel True, director Jordan Peele, and author Tananarive Due.

Contents

Horror Noire was produced by Stage 3 Productions for Shudder, and premiered at Grauman's Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, California, before being made available for streaming on Shudder. It received critical acclaim, with critics praising its informativeness, entertainment value, and variety of interview subjects in the fields of both filmmaking and academia.

Synopsis

The documentary features interviews with a number of African-Americans with experience or expertise in horror films: Meosha Bean, Ashlee Blackwell, Robin R. Means Coleman, William Crain, Rusty Cundieff, Keith David, Loretta Devine, Ernest Dickerson, Tananarive Due, Ken Foree, Mark H. Harris, Richard Lawson, Tina Mabry, Kelly Jo Minter, Miguel A. Núñez Jr., Paula Jai Parker, Jordan Peele, Ken Sagoes, Monica Suriyage, Tony Todd, and Rachel True.

The 1915 film The Birth of a Nation , which portrayed African-Americans (many played by white actors in blackface) as sexually aggressive towards white women and the Ku Klux Klan as a righteous force, is discussed for its emboldening of racist depictions of black characters in later films. [3] [5] [6] The minimal representation of black people in horror films released between the 1930s and 1950s is considered, with them often being relegated to roles as servants or background characters, or perhaps implied in the form of lustful monsters like King Kong and the prominently-lipped Gill-man. [5] [7] The 1968 film Night of the Living Dead , which features African-American actor Duane Jones as its protagonist, is highlighted for its portrayal of a heroic black character amid a turbulent decade marked by significant events in the civil rights movement. [8]

The blaxploitation genre which emerged in the 1970s is explored. Blaxploitation films such as Blacula and Abby are discussed, along with the role of voodoo in films like Sugar Hill , and the production and themes of Ganja & Hess . [6] The role of African-Americans in 1980s and 1990s horror films is examined, with attention being given to tokenism, the use of black characters as "sidekicks" for white leads, and tropes such as black characters being the first to die (it is noted that a large percentage do not die first, though they often die at some other point nonetheless), black characters sacrificing themselves to help save white characters, and the concept of the Magical Negro. [6] [7] [9] The film Candyman is highlighted for its portrayal of the vengeful spirit of an African-American man, and the film Tales from the Hood is regarded for its depictions of racism, gang violence, and police brutality. [5] Eve's Bayou , though not generally classified as a horror film, is also discussed, [5] and Demon Knight is noted for featuring Jada Pinkett Smith as a black final girl. The intersection of horror films and hip-hop music is also covered. [6]

Increased positive representation of African-Americans in 21st-century horror films is examined, with films like Attack the Block and The Girl with All the Gifts being mentioned. [5] The 2017 film Get Out is discussed, [5] with attention given to its black protagonist, its white antagonists, its themes, the state of American politics and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement during the film's production, and the film's ending. The documentary concludes with its subjects holding that African-American-centered films have proved to be marketable and profitable, and hoping that positive African-American representation in horror films will continue in the future. [6]

Release

Horror Noire had its world premiere on February 1, 2019 at Grauman's Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, California. [2] [10] On February 4, 2019, the film was shown on a double bill with Tales from the Hood at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. [2] Horror Noire was made available for streaming on the streaming service Shudder on February 7, 2019. [2] [11]

TV series

AMC greenlit an anthology sequel spin-off TV series based on the film. It premiered on their horror streaming platform Shudder on October 28, 2021. The series later premiered on AMC on February 4, 2022 as part of Black History Month.[ citation needed ]

Reception

Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 100% based on 32 reviews, with an average rating of 8.8/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror more than lives up to its title, offering a smart and entertaining overview of American film history through an overlooked lens." [12]

Joe Lipsett of Bloody Disgusting wrote that "Horror Noire is always entertaining, but more importantly, it is an opportunity to acknowledge and advance the narrative about the contributions of Black talent in front and behind the camera", and suggests the documentary as "essential viewing for horror audiences". [6] Similarly, Richard Newby of The Hollywood Reporter called the film "essential viewing for the genre fan. But more than that, for the black horror fan it's a historical document that charts our place in the genre". [13] Jonathan Barkan of Dread Central called the film "always informative, and expertly crafted", as well as "a triumph of masterful execution, engaging storytelling, and brutal honesty." [9] Noah Berlatsky of The Verge called the documentary "enlightening", and wrote that its "greatest strength may be the way it manages to embrace the viewpoints of scholars and fans at the same time." [5] Bilge Ebiri of Vulture referred to it as "an excellent example of how to make cinema history accessible, informative, and even moving for a broader audience", and "an essential reclamation project." [14]

Collider's Matt Goldberg gave the documentary a grade of "A", writing that it demonstrates that "the horror genre is perhaps most worthy of study because of how it shows us how black people are depicted in American popular cinema." [8] Polygon 's Jenna Stoeber also gave the film a positive review, calling it "a timely and engaging perspective on black representation in American cinema." [15] Rathan Krueger of Consequence of Sound called the film "a fantastic history lesson", and wrote that it "crams a lot within its short time frame, but it's always entertaining". [16] Kieran Fisher of Film School Rejects called it "powerful" and "an accessible, informative, and important addition to film discourse." [17] Bob Chipman of The Escapist commended the film's structure and concluded that "if you've got even a little bit of interest in film history, especially if you like horror, it's definitely worth your time." [18]

Accolades

YearAwardCategoryResultRef(s)
2019 Detroit Film Critics Society Awards Best DocumentaryNominated [10] [19]
2020 Online Film Critics Society Awards Best Non-Theatrical ReleasesWon [10]
Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards Best DocumentaryWon [20]

Podcast

Horror Noire: Uncut, a six-episode podcast featuring extended interviews from the Horror Noire documentary, premiered on Shudder on February 7, 2020. [10] [21] [22]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Englund</span> American actor and director

Robert Barton Englund is an American actor and director, best known for playing the supernatural serial killer Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare on Elm Street film series. Classically trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Englund began his career as a stage actor in regional theatre, and made his film debut in Buster and Billie in 1974. After supporting roles in films in the 1970s such as Stay Hungry, A Star Is Born, and Big Wednesday, Englund had his breakthrough as the resistance fighter Willie in the miniseries V in 1983. Following his performance in the original A Nightmare on Elm Street in 1984, he became closely associated with the horror film genre, and is widely-regarded as one of its iconic actors.

Johannes Roberts is a British filmmaker, screenwriter and producer. He is known for directing horror films such as The Other Side of the Door, 47 Meters Down and its sequel, The Strangers: Prey at Night and Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City.

<i>Noroi: The Curse</i> 2005 Japanese film

Noroi: The Curse is a 2005 Japanese horror film directed and co-written by Kōji Shiraishi. It stars Jin Muraki as Masafumi Kobayashi, a paranormal researcher investigating a series of mysterious events for a documentary. The film employs a pseudo-documentary style of storytelling and utilizes found footage conventions, with the majority of the narrative being presented as if it were Kobayashi's documentary, made up of footage recorded by Kobayashi's cameraman. The film's cast also includes actress Marika Matsumoto, who plays a fictionalized version of herself, as well as Rio Kanno, Tomono Kuga, and Satoru Jitsunashi.

Found footage is a cinematic technique in which all or a substantial part of the work is presented as if it were film or video recordings recorded by characters in the story, and later "found" and presented to the audience. The events on screen are typically seen through the camera of one or more of the characters involved, often accompanied by their real-time, off-camera commentary. For added realism, the cinematography may be done by the actors themselves as they perform, and shaky camera work and naturalistic acting are routinely employed. The footage may be presented as if it were "raw" and complete or as if it had been edited into a narrative by those who "found" it.

Radio Silence Productions is an American film and television production company, founded in 2011 by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, Justin Martinez and Chad Villella. The group is known for the horror films Ready or Not, Scream and Scream VI, as well as their previous work together as Chad, Matt & Rob.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Race in horror films</span>

Depictions of race in horror films has been the subject of commentary. Critics have discussed the representation of race in horror films in relation to the presence of racist ideas, stereotypes and tropes within them. The horror genre has conversely also been used to explore social issues including race, particularly following popularization of social thrillers in the 2010s.

Shudder is an American over-the-top subscription video on demand service featuring horror, thriller, and supernatural fiction titles, owned and operated by AMC Networks. The streaming service offers original films, TV series—such as Creepshow, based on the 1982 film of the same name—and documentary series. Shudder's library also features non-original programming, including well-known horror films, and annually airs a Halloween "Ghoul Log".

<i>Hell House LLC</i> 2015 American film

Hell House LLC is a 2015 American found-footage supernatural horror film written and directed by Stephen Cognetti and produced by Joe Bandelli. The film, shot as a documentary, follows a group of Halloween haunted house creators as they prepare for the 2009 opening of their popular haunted attraction, Hell House. Tragedy strikes on opening night when an unknown "malfunction" causes the death of 15 tour-goers and staff. The film reveals the lead-up to the tragedy and what really went wrong that night, the details of which have remained a mystery to the public. The film was released on a number of video on-demand platforms, including Amazon Video, Shudder, YouTube, Vudu, and iTunes, on November 1, 2016.

<i>The Boulet Brothers Dragula</i> American reality competition TV series

The Boulet Brothers' Dragula is an American reality competition television series produced by Boulet Brothers Productions, hosted by the Boulet Brothers. The series originally aired on YouTube and has aired on Netflix in the United States, OUTtv in Canada, and Amazon Prime in the United Kingdom and Australia. Starting with season 4, the series moved to Shudder in all territories. The series will become a Shudder exclusive, with all seasons being hosted on the platform.

Billy (<i>Black Christmas</i>) Fictional character in the Black Christmas film series

Billy is a fictional character from the Black Christmas film series, first appearing in Black Christmas (1974) as a deranged murderer who taunts and kills a group of college students during the Christmas season. Created by Bob Clark and A. Roy Moore, the character was partly inspired by the urban legend "The Babysitter and the Man Upstairs", as well as a series of real murders in Montreal during the 1943 holiday season.

<i>Creepshow</i> (TV series) American horror anthology television series

Creepshow is an American horror anthology television series that was released on Shudder in 2019. The series serves as a continuation of the 1982 film of the same name and features twenty five episodes with two horror stories per episode. The series premiered on September 26, 2019.

<i>Critters Attack!</i> 2019 American horror film

Critters Attack! is a 2019 horror comedy film. It is a reboot of the 1986 film Critters, and the fifth entry in the Critters franchise. Although returning actress Dee Wallace was assumed to be portraying a new heroine distinct from her Helen Brown character, Wallace herself confirmed that she was reprising the original role, with a name change to "Aunt Dee" due to potential legal issues.

<i>Blood Quantum</i> (film) 2019 Canadian horror film

Blood Quantum is a 2019 Canadian horror film written, directed, and edited by Jeff Barnaby and starring Michael Greyeyes, Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, Forrest Goodluck, Kiowa Gordon, Brandon Oakes, Olivia Scriven, Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs, and Gary Farmer. The film depicts the effects of a zombie uprising on a First Nations reserve whose residents are immune to contracting the plague because of their indigenous heritage, but must still cope with the consequences of its effects on the world around them, including white refugees seeking shelter on the reserve.

Sharksploitation is a subgenre of exploitation film that involves sharks or shark attacks. The genre emerged in the wake of the 1975 film Jaws and its sequels, but fell in popularity soon after. The 1999 film Deep Blue Sea brought it back to public prominence. Other examples of sharksploitation films include Mega Shark Versus Giant Octopus (2009), Dinoshark, Sharktopus, Snow Shark (2012), Ghost Shark (2013), Avalanche Sharks (2014), and the Sharknado film series (2013–2018).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aaron B. Koontz</span> American writer, director and producer

Aaron B. Koontz is an American producer, writer and director. He is the founder and CEO of Paper Street Pictures, a film production company in Austin, Texas. He is also a producer behind The Pale Door, the Scare Package franchise, and Shelby Oaks, from YouTuber Chris Stuckmann.

<i>Sharksploitation</i> (film) 2023 American documentary film

Sharksploitation is a 2023 American documentary film written and directed by Stephen Scarlata, who also produced the film alongside Kerry Deignan Roy and Josh Miller. The documentary examines the sharksploitation film subgenre, which centers around sharks and shark attacks.

Black horror is a horror subgenre that focuses on African-American characters and narratives. It is largely a film genre. Black horror typically, but not always, has Black creators. It often has social and political commentary and compares racism and other lived experiences of Black Americans to common horror themes and tropes. Early entries in the genre include the 1940 Spencer Williams Jr. film Son of Ingagi and the 1968 George Romero horror film Night of the Living Dead, which is considered one of the first Black horror films for having the Black actor Duane Jones in its lead role. Blaxploitation horror films of the 1970s, namely Blacula (1972), and the vampire film Ganja & Hess (1973) became prominent examples of Black horror films in the 1970s. Other Black horror films appeared during the 1990s, notably the 1992 Bernard Rose film Candyman and the 1995 anthology film Tales from the Hood, which was directed by Rusty Cundieff and has been described as the "godfather of Black horror".

References

  1. Hafdahl, Meg; Florence, Kelly (2020). Science of Women in Horror: The Special Effects, Stunts, and True Stories Behind Your Favorite Fright Films. Skyhorse Publishing. ISBN   978-1510751743. We spoke to Ashlee Blackwell, creator of the site Graveyard Shift Sisters and writer and producer of the documentary Horror Noire (2019)[...]
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Shudder Announces Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror, Premiering February 7". AMC Networks. January 7, 2019. Archived from the original on June 8, 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  3. 1 2 Obenson, Tambay (February 15, 2019). "For the Filmmakers Behind This Timely Documentary, Black History Is Black Horror". IndieWire . Archived from the original on March 11, 2020. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  4. Kelley, Sonaiya (March 15, 2019). "Shudder's 'Horror Noire' traces the history of black films and filmmakers in the genre". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on July 17, 2020. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Berlatsky, Noah (February 8, 2019). "The enlightening doc Horror Noire lays out black history through black horror films". The Verge . Archived from the original on June 11, 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Lipsett, Joe (February 7, 2019). "[Review] Shudder's 'Horror Noire' is Essential Viewing for Horror Fans". Bloody Disgusting . Archived from the original on March 14, 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  7. 1 2 Adjei-Kontoh, Hubert (February 7, 2019). "From Blacula to Get Out: the documentary examining black horror". The Guardian . Archived from the original on February 10, 2019. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  8. 1 2 Goldberg, Matt (February 15, 2019). "'Horror Noire' Review: A Captivating Deep Dive into the History of Black Cinema and the Horror Genre". Collider . Archived from the original on June 8, 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  9. 1 2 Barkan, Jonathan (February 6, 2019). "Horror Noire: A History Black Horror Review – A Celebration of Horror's Unheard Voices". Dread Central . Archived from the original on June 8, 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Millican, Josh (February 18, 2020). "1 Year Later: Director & Producers Reflect on the Impact of Horror Noire". Dread Central . Archived from the original on June 9, 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  11. Squires, John (January 7, 2019). "[Trailer] Shudder Original Documentary 'Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror' Coming Next Month". Bloody Disgusting . Archived from the original on June 9, 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  12. "Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango. Archived from the original on 2020-06-14. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  13. Newby, Richard (February 7, 2019). "How 'Horror Noire' Primes Viewers for a Year of Black Horror". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on June 9, 2020. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  14. Ebiri, Bilge (February 11, 2019). "Horror Noire Is a Lively, Essential History Lesson". Vulture . Archived from the original on October 25, 2020. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  15. Stoeber, Jenna (February 7, 2019). "Shudder's Horror Noire provides a timely look at black horror history". Polygon . Archived from the original on June 8, 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  16. Krueger, Rathan (February 8, 2019). "Film Review: Horror Noire Sinks Its Teeth into the Genre's Sordid History of Representation". Consequence of Sound . Archived from the original on June 11, 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  17. Fisher, Kieran (February 7, 2019). "'Horror Noire' Is a Powerful Documentation of Black Film History". Film School Rejects . Archived from the original on August 17, 2023. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  18. Chipman, Bob (February 22, 2019). "Horror Noire". The Escapist . Archived from the original on June 8, 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  19. "The 2019 Detroit Film Critics Society Awards Nominations". Detroit Film Critics Society. December 9, 2019. Archived from the original on May 17, 2021. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  20. "Here are the Winners of the (Gasp!) 18th Annual Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards". Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards. April 6, 2020. Archived from the original on March 21, 2019. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  21. Squires, John (January 23, 2020). "Shudder's New Arrivals for February Include 'My Bloody Valentine' Remake and 'Return of the Living Dead 3'". Bloody Disgusting . Archived from the original on June 13, 2020. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
  22. "What to Stream on Valentine's Day". The New York Times . February 13, 2020. Archived from the original on June 13, 2020. Retrieved June 13, 2020.

Further reading