The Blackening | 2022 | R | – 3.6.10

Why is “The Blackening” rated R? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “pervasive language, violence and drug use.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes a kissing scene, a discussion of infidelity, a man pulling off his clothing to reveal his underwear while dancing, several scenes of people being threatened by a killer, people being shot with arrows leading to death and injuries, a few fight scenes leading to death and injuries, a few scenes of people taking drugs and drinking alcohol, discussions of DWIs and vehicular manslaughter, many arguments, and nearly 80 F-words and other strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

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Seven friends gather at a cabin in the woods only to discover that someone has planned a deadly game, which will pit them against each other, as each one strives to get out alive. With Antoinette Robertson, Dewayne Perkins, Sinqua Walls, Grace Byers, X Mayo, Melvin Gregg, Jermaine Fowler, Yvonne Orji, Jay Pharoah and James Preston Rogers. Directed by Tim Story. [Running Time: 1:36]

The Blackening SEX/NUDITY 3

 – A woman walks through a dark house alone and a man grabs her from the shadows, pulls her close to him and they kiss passionately; the woman tells the man to take his pants off as the scene ends (sex is implied).
► A woman tells a man that she will touch his genitals later, in exchange for a favor. A man confronts a woman about being involved with a man that cheated on her repeatedly.
► A man dances while under the influence of a drug and removes his shirt and pants (we see him wearing a tank undershirt and boxer briefs) and he wiggles his buttocks toward the audience. Women wear low-cut tops that reveal cleavage.

The Blackening VIOLENCE/GORE 6

 – Two people fight with a man trying to kill them, he is shot in the head with an arrow and falls to the floor, he sits up and pulls the arrow out and a woman beats him with a large candlestick repeatedly (below the frame) until blood and matter spray on her clothing and face. A man and a woman discover a game with a board that includes a head that is a racially insulting image (a small head painted black with bright red lips); when they look at the board the head laughs maniacally, goads them to play saying, “It’s time to die” as the lights go out and we hear a metallic noise as the man is shot in the throat with an arrow (we see blood pour from the wound), collapses off-screen and the woman fights with the killer, who’s wearing a mask that resembles the game board piece. A woman tied into a chair tries to get loose and we see her wig pulled off, she kicks a man in the room in the crotch and gets out of her restraints, runs up a flight of stairs and pounds on a locked door as the man follows her, and people outside the door try to open it and scream (we understand that the woman is killed); one man retrieves a gun and shoots the lock off the door, it opens and an arrow is shot out from the darkness hitting the man in the shoulder (we see blood and the arrow through his back) and people argue about pulling the arrow out before doing so. A man and a woman push a door closed on a man threatening to kill them, he puts his foot in the door to block it and a woman stabs him, he yells and pulls his foot back inside the door (we see blood on his boot). A man is shot in the chest with an arrow, he yells and snaps it in half, and a woman pulls the arrow out from the back and pokes herself in the shoulder with the point (we see some blood). A man helps three people to his car and locks them in to go investigate something he sees, he returns and we see him with blood on his hands as he pleads to be let back in the car; he is then shot with an arrow through the throat (we see blood). A man holds a fireplace poker and walks out of a house; we see a CCTV image of the man as he walks along the driveway and he is struck by an arrow and dragged off-screen by a man wearing a mask. A woman holds three arrow points in her hand and uses them to slash a man across the abdomen, she then hits him in the throat, leaps in the air and kicks him, stabs him several times in the abdomen and he falls to the ground (presumably dying).
► A killer searches for three people hiding in a house and when he finds them, one man vomits on the killer’s face (we see goo) and the killer falls back and down a flight of stairs (we later see chunks and goo on the killer’s clothing). A man is shot with an arrow, he stumbles back and another man throws chili powder in his face and kicks him into a deep well. A woman swims across a lake at night and a man shoots arrows at her until another man jumps on him from a tree and punches him several times knocking him to the ground; the man on the ground stabs the other man in the leg with an arrow, straddles him and punches him in the face a few times. People find two bodies in a basement (we see some blood on their clothing).
► Three people run out of a house and through dark woods as a man with a crossbow watches them from the shadows. A video shows bodies being thrown into a very deep well. Three people search through a house and go to the basement to try to find a friend. Several people yell and panic in several scenes trying to make a plan to get away from a killer. Several people in a room yell and panic when the door to the room closes and locks them in; a voice emits from a game board and a TV screen turns on to show a woman tied into a chair pleading to be let go as the people in the room are told that they must play a game and answer all the questions correctly or the woman in the chair will die. People playing a game are told to “sacrifice the Blackest” of them. We hear that a character served time in prison for vehicular manslaughter after driving while under the influence of alcohol and killing a woman. A character holds what we are told is a plastic explosive device threatening to blow others up. Six people sit on a wall, are sprayed with a blast of water, and are thrown off-screen.
► A door in a house creaks as it opens and a woman calls out and moves toward it; a man touches her shoulder from behind her and she elbows him hard in the nose. A woman walks through a dark house alone and a man grabs her from the shadows (please see the Sex/Nudity category for more details). A man in a convenience store follows a woman as she shops, she is startled when she turns around and sees him and she calls him, “Texas Chainsaw Massacre man.” People look out the window of a house and see that their car tires have been pierced by arrows.
► People argue in several scenes. A man refuses to shake hands with another man and snubs him in several other scenes. A man and a woman argue briefly. A man tells a woman, “People can grow apart and die.” People argue about whether to split up to get away from a killer. People argue about the weapons they each choose.
► A game board contains racially insulting items and a killer wears a mask that resembles a racially insulting image. A man tells a woman that a picture of a zebra looks like her. A woman says, “White people scare me.” Two men argue about whether a man’s Armenian wife is “white.” People argue with a woman about her father being “white.” A woman holds her chest and breathes heavily saying that her “Molly kicked in.” A man says that he “voted for Trump, twice” and others in the room charge toward him. A man says, “All lives matter.” A confederate flag is found hanging in a room in a basement. A man tells a woman, “You got guts all over your face.” People are told that they are going to play a “Black Sophie’s Choice.”
► A man says that he throws up when he is nervous and he gags in a few scenes, without vomiting.

The Blackening LANGUAGE 10

 – About 76 F-words and its derivatives, 2 sexual references, 46 scatological terms, 27 anatomical terms, 29 mild obscenities, 38 derogatory terms for Black people, name-calling (racist, slave to the white man, cheater, sore loser, moody, reckless, evil racist, offensive, cheap labor, the Trump thing, Texas Chainsaw Massacre man, psycho, MAGA [anatomical term deleted], ex-gangster, combative, prank, crazy, stupid, skanky), exclamations (any who, Namaste, oh my gosh, oh please, shut-up, are you kidding me, what is your problem, bugging out, wake up and pay attention, kill yourself), 3 religious profanities (GD), 13 religious exclamations (e.g. oh Lord, oh my God). | profanity glossary |

The Blackening SUBSTANCE USE

 – A woman says that she has ‘shrooms as well as Molly and herb for a party weekend, a woman tells a man to close his eyes and open his mouth and she throws a pill in his mouth telling him that it is Molly, we hear that a woman gave another woman an Adderall pill and she behaves oddly, and people smoke marijuana cigarettes. A woman drinks a glass of wine, two men drink some punch and complain about how it tastes, a man mixes a pitcher of punch with a lot of sugar and vodka, people drink while playing cards, and people talk about someone being “literally a drunk.”

The Blackening DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Racism, racial stereotypes, horror film tropes, friendship, infidelity, disappointment, being bullied, being judged, ignorance, infidelity, trust, self-respect, survival, mistakes.

The Blackening MESSAGE

 – It’s not easy to outsmart a killer.