Back in 2006, the slasher Holla was a refreshingly competent change of pace for all-black horror movies, which had become saturated with the likes of Zombiez, Vampiyaz, Bloodz vs. Wolvez and other similarly repugnant garbage. Holla was by no means a classic, but it helped raise the bar for...
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a harrowing horror classic that has no doubt been dissected (no pun intended) a million times since its release, but there's one aspect that doesn't seem to get discussed very much: A FREAKIN’ BLACK GUY SAVES THE DAY. For a black person to be...
Although it was made in 2012, The Legend of Black Annie wasn’t released until 2015, just two months after that OTHER "black Annie" movie hit theaters. Coincidence? You be the judge. Regardless, anyone who rents this movie expecting to see a tap-dancing Quvenzhane Wallis will be sorely disappointed --...
The Sharknado series began as a charmingly low-brow, tongue-in-cheek sendup of the disaster and killer animal movies you can catch on SyFy every weekend. It was initially innocuous, relatively low-key camp, but over time, the series has bought into its own viral appeal and now tries way too hard...
Chosen Survivors provides one of the earliest examples I've found of a "heroic death" by a black character in a horror movie. The phenomenon of black heroic death has served a purpose similar to that of the black "authority figure": it's a way for mainstream films to present more...
Damon is a decent little supernatural morality tale that aims a bit higher than many other shoestring-budgeted "urban" horror movies of the early 21st century (Vampiyaz, Zombiez, Bloodz vs. Wolvez, etc.) and manages to hit that very, very modest target. Yes, the bar is low, but there’s at least...
Over the years, Charles Manson has achieved cult hero status amongst people who are apparently willing to forgive (or forget, or just not give a damn about) the fact that he not only orchestrated the murders of nine innocent people (including 8-months-pregnant actress Sharon Tate), but also that he's...
When I was in college, I took an African history class in which my professor went on a tirade about how much she hated the movie Congo. I can't remember the specifics of why, but let's just say at the very least that the historical accuracy of the story...
According to IMDb, African-American writer-director Kennedy Goldsby has five feature films to his credit, but in reality, he has four. You see, 2011's The Trap Door and 2015's Death's Door are in fact the same movie. Having suffered through both, I know. This isn't some kind of Exorcist: The...
Propelled by the likes of Trick 'r Treat and the V/H/S and ABCs of Death series, horror anthology movies made a comeback in the early 21st century -- with varying results. One of the more under-the-radar efforts was Scary or Die, a low-budget but high-quality portmanteau that takes a...
