‘The Blackening’ & ‘Asteroid City’- Film Reviews

Since I pulled a double feature almost two weeks ago (the first in nearly a year), it would be easy to talk about two recent June releases that couldn’t be any different from each other: The Blackening and Asteroid City. Which did I like more? Read all about them below…

‘The Blackening’

The Blackening is one I had debated checking out for the last few months. The trailer made me laugh, but there was little attention surrounding it before the release of the latest horror satire from director Tim Story. There wasn’t a lot of word of mouth when it premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, and not much talk out of the nationwide advance screenings, showing this could very much be one of the worst movies of the year, which is what you don’t want to hear for a comedy in theaters. And yet, this is one that I didn’t anticipate enjoying. While some people may find it predictable, seeing this with your friends on a Saturday night can make it much more fun.

What’s the Story: Based on the 2018 short of the same name by comedy troupe 3Peat, a group of friends- Allison (Grace Byers), Lisa (Antoinette Robertson), Nnamdi (Sinqua Walls), Shanika (X Mayo), Dewayne (Dewayne Perkins), King (Melvin Gregg), and Clifton (Jermaine Fowler)-are spending their little College reunion at a remote cabin in the woods over the Juneteenth weekend. Everybody’s catching up and planning to kick loose with a night of partying. When the lights go out and they have to find the power box, they come across a door leading to a basement where they discover a board game called “The Blackening”, with a creepy Sambo caricature in the middle. Soon, a mysterious voice tells them to play the game to reveal everyone’s blackness. Answer a question wrong will cause death by a masked man with a crossbow.

As history in cinema taught us anything, black characters in horror movies rarely stand by chance because there’s always the cliche of having them die first or not survive long enough to make it to the credits. With an all-black ensemble leading the way, they hilariously parody Black culture while acknowledging the cliches typical to the genre, including being pursued all night by the crossbow maniac and contemplating their blackness with their friendship on the line. Though it’s not as perfect as it wanted it to be, the script, courtesy of Perkins and Tracy Oliver, doesn’t forget to be unexpectedly funny every which way.

I came to appreciate that the humor doesn’t come across as a full-on spoof of a particular film as the characters are treated in how the audience would react or even question the dumb decisions they’ll make. As I watched, I found it to combine The Cabin in the Woods, Scream, and, unexpectedly, the first Scary Movie. Some of the hardest laughs came from when the jokes were geared toward the group in answering these valid questions about naming the famous Black actors who appeared on Friends that I saw coming but still killed me or how black people know the classic O’Reilly Auto Parts jingle. If I were in the group, I wouldn’t consider myself the blackest because I’m so white I know the lead singer’s name from AFI.

And the thing with The Blackening, it offers more comedy than scares. And that’s usually the case with every horror comedy out there where the goal wasn’t trying to be scary based on a couple of jump scares and building the tension with the weapon of choice around the traditional cabin in the woods setup.

However, the cast makes this entertaining since their on-screen chemistry is excellent. These are the types of characters I didn’t realize I liked, but you feel as if you know them based on their personalities, and you quickly connect with their dynamic with one another, partly because they improvised some of their dialogue. Most will recognize Grace Byers from Empire, Sinqua Walls from the recent White Men Can’t Jump remake, or Jermaine Fowler From Coming 2 America. Picking a favorite was tough, but Fowler as the nerdy Clifton stood out as that one friend nobody remembers and is the geek of the group, especially for owning an Android. He should’ve annoyed me in trying too hard to be the quintessential Urkel-type, but he certainly got some great lines here.

After watching the short afterward, there can be a case where extending a four-minute short can be stretched out for so long, but you feel the time fly by and going to places that surprised my unsuspecting self. Story’s direction is also nothing exceptional, which makes sense given the $5 million budget and limited settings taking place at night. But, as someone with a poor track record on his resume, this is perhaps Story’s best film, right up there with Think Like a Man. Coming from a black dude, this was to my liking, even though I know it won’t be to everyone else’s, especially when its usage of “N” bombs is plenty. As I walked out, I was shocked we aren’t talking about this more for a comedy I hope doesn’t become under the radar later.

The Blackening is surprisingly good. As a fan of horror comedies, it’s not necessarily scary. Still, it got the job done in making me constantly laugh through a pretty clever script revolving around stereotypic tropes and a great dynamic between the cast.

Grade: B

Release Date: June 16, 2023

Runtime: 97 Minutes

Rated R for pervasive language, violence and drug use

Distribution: Lionsgate

‘Asteroid City’

So many Hollywood filmmakers have created a name for themselves based on their approach to narrative to grab their audience, and Wes Anderson is such an acquired taste. To me, I’m someone who can admire him, especially during his early days. His detailed color palette, symmetrical camera work, and odd but whimsical premises one would expect to see from other universes found a charming fanbase for decades while others never seem to understand the fascination. His eleventh feature, Asteroid City, had me up and down with anticipation since it looked fantastic, but the reactions from the Cannes Film Festival didn’t convince me. However, I hoped this would be better than his last effort, The French Dispatch, which was good but not as memorable as anything else he’s done. Here, this is one where it’s shocking a mixed bag from myself where I thought it wasn’t too bad, but I can’t call it one of the acclaimed writer/director’s best outings.

What’s the Story: In the small fictional desert town of Asteroid City in 1955, war photographer Angie Steenbeck (Jason Schwartzman) and his four children, son Woodrow (Jake Ryan) and three daughters, are stuck when their car breaks down right where the Junior Stargazer convention is going on while still dealing with the death of his wife, for which he hasn’t told his kids. The town has little to offer besides a diner, an unfinished bridge, and a small crater. While there, a bunch of people arrives, including actress Midge Campbell (Scarlett Johansson) and her daughter Dinah (Grace Edwards), young teacher June (Maya Hawke) and her bus full of elementary students she’s chaperoning, and scientist Dr. Hickenlooper (Tilda Swinton). After the appearance of an extraterrestrial caused a disruption, the military quarantined the town, leaving all the strangers to start questioning what everything means to what we believe and why.

The thing about Asteroid City is that it will not be the important Anderson flick to willingly covert non-fans after all this time. Because once you see one, you’ll immediately understand most of them through his signature style inside this world, and this is no different. Everything comes with his usual checkmarks, from his dry dialogue delivered from its characters to catching your attention quickly through its exceptional production design, all done by collaborator Adam Stockhausen in depicting the ’50s era and finding it technically marvelous from Robert Yeoman’s cinematography and Alexandre Desplat’s score brimming through almost every frame.

With the screenplay he co-wrote with Roman Coppola, this was one of those times where I found it kind of challenging to keep track of what was going on and not make it thought-provoking as it should’ve been. The stories Anderson crafted in his head are never that straightforward. Since I didn’t know much going in, everything that’s going down in the titular town is sometimes at its best in attempting to be some kind of meditation on how we process grief or feel as if there’s more time in learning about life with the arrival of an alien. What bothered me was the meta-framing device that goes from the 4:3 black-and-white stage play sequences to the Asteroid City segments. The concept is intriguing. But, despite producing a few laughs from Bryan Cranston’s Rod Serling-type figure and Adrien Brody, it often breaks the momentum. That made me wish the town plot was on its own, but others may differ. Still, there are some excellent laughs with the eccentricities you know and occasionally love, one of which was Liev Schreiber’s daughter taking these odd dares that got me.

But this got itself a stacked cast that might be his best since The Grand Budapest Hotel. Out of everybody, though, Jason Schwartzman and Scarlett Johansson were the two best since their characters, Augie Steenbeck and Midge Campbell, had the most depth when they exchanged conversations with each other through their motel windows. There are some regulars we noticed before, such as Edward Norton, Tilda Swinton, Willem Dafoe, and Brody. But some new faces to bask in the glory with Steve Carell, Rupert Friend, Maya Hawke, Jake Ryan, and Tom Hanks. Hanks was good, as well as Schwartzman’s father-in-law in a role that was probably meant to be played by Bill Murray, but it’s nice to see an actor of his stature be a part of an Anderson film. Based on their screen time, you’re more likely to remember a few names than others. Some have a scene or two like Margot Robbie. Yet as much as it’s a staple to have his characters have distinct personalities, this was one where I needed them to show more emotions, making them hard to latch onto.

Something tells me I must watch this again when it’s out on VOD to ensure I was in the suitable headspace to gather the sense of fun for a second viewing. Though over the few days after seeing it, this is somewhere down in the middle where I don’t think Asteroid City is one of the year’s best, but I can still somewhat respect what this was going for despite feeling slightly underwhelmed. This had me thinking Anderson should go back to the days of the brilliant Rushmore and The Royal Tenebaums, which gave a more grounded feel and able to find more charm.

Overall, Asteroid City is a classic Wes Anderson film written all over that doesn’t skimp on showcasing its amazing ensemble and visually stunning production design. There is, however, a disconnect within the story that made it a bit difficult to declare it one of his best. Not worth watching if you already don’t care for him, but it’s an easy, guaranteed viewing experience for those who do.