[Interview] ‘The Blackening’ Cast, Writers, Director Talk Juneteenth Horror Comedy

Every holiday deserves its own slasher, and the new horror comedy The Blackening delivers just that for Juneteenth, and we recently talked to the film’s director, writers, and cast about the previous classics that influenced the movie, the balance of scares versus laughs, and more.

The film centers around “a group of Black friends who reunite for a Juneteenth weekend getaway only to find themselves trapped in a remote cabin with a twisted killer. Forced to play by his rules, the friends soon realize this ain’t no motherf****** game.”

Directed by Tim Story (Ride Along, Think Like A Man, Barbershop), from a screenplay by Tracy Oliver (Girls Trip, Harlem) and Dewayne Perkins (The Amber Ruffin Show, Brooklyn Nine-Nine), The Blackening skewers genre tropes and poses the sardonic question: if the entire cast of a horror movie is Black, who dies first?

The cast includes Yvonne Orji (Insecure), Jay Pharoah (SNL), Dewayne Perkins (Brooklyn Nine-Nine), Antoinette Robertson (Dear White People), Sinqua Walls (Power, White Men Can’t Jump), Grace Byers (Empire, Harlem), X Mayo, Melvin Gregg (Snowfall), Jermaine Fowler (Coming 2 America), and more.

Halloween Daily News recently took part in a roundtable interview with director Tim Story, writers Tracy Oliver and Dewayne Perkins, who also stars in the film, and cast members Antoinette Robertson, Jay Pharoah, X Mayo, Melvin Gregg, and Jermaine Fowler, where questions were asked alternately by HDN and another participating journalist.

You can watch our exclusive roundtable interview with The Blackening cast, writers, and director below, premiering at 10:31 a.m. EST on Friday, June 9.

The Blackening opens in theaters on June 16, timed with Juneteenth weekend.

Watch more exclusive interviews here!

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