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Originally published on PopMatters.com I have a secret passion; the less addicted of you might call it an addiction. I like to watch. I rent base, filthy movies and slip them into brown paper bags so no one can tell. I sit alone in seedy, near-empty theaters, pleasuring myself with this trash. I'm too embarrassed to tell anyone about my...

Black people originated the slang of bad meaning good, but that doesn't mean they can't also be bad meaning bad. They've played some of the more memorable baddies in horror history. Here are some of the baddest black villains to grace a horror movie screen. Whatcha gonna do when they come for you? Blacula, Blacula and Scream, Blacula, Scream The poster child...

Rappers are busy people, what with all the ho juggling, money stacking, and ride pimping. That's why so few of them have time to fully devote to the craft of acting. And yet so many of them are doing it, mucking up our precious horror films with their half-assed performances. Now, the time has come to set them straight...

Don't feel like seeing black blood spilled? Wanna see the black guy escape with his life (and a new respect for power tools)? Here are some films that have been rated NDN (No Dead Negroes)... Movie Actors Who Live Year Abby Carter, Terry 1974 Cook, Nathan 1974 Cowden, Michael 1974 Kinchelow, Felice 1974 Marshall, William 1974 Moore, Juanita 1974 Ray, Joan 1974 Robinson, George 1974 Speed, Carol 1974 Stoker, Austin 1974 Alligator People, The Dickerson, Dudley 1959 Goodwin, Ruby 1959 Townsend, Vince Jr. 1959 Amityville II Gunn, Moses 1982 Ross, Ted 1982 Amityville 1992 Carpenter, Willie C. 1992 Amityville:...

Everyone knows that the "black guy" (or gal) usually dies in horror movies -- so much so, in some instances, the characters themselves seem to be aware of their inevitable fate. Thus, we have the phenomenon of black "heroic death," in which black characters (usually peripheral) voluntarily sacrifice themselves -- or at least, volunteer for tasks that mean certain...

Most actors and actresses have to pay their dues before they become famous, and one genre well versed in due-paying is horror. Popular with producers out to make a quick buck yet reviled by critics, horror movies are both high in number and low in esteem, making them perfect entry-level fare for aspiring thespians. In fact, some of the...

Most confirmed horror deaths by black actors. R.I.P., brothers and sisters, R.I.P. Tony Todd (15) Are You Scared 2 Candyman Candyman 2 Candyman 3 The Crow The Eden Formula Minotaur Murder-Set-Pieces Night of the Living Dead Nite Tales Scarecrow Slayer Shadow: Dead Riot Shadow Puppets The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Wishmaster Pam Grier (6) Bones Class...

How Much Have Black Horror Roles Increased? Tracking the number of modern horror movies per year with significant* Black roles. For  details on specific movies, refer to: 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s *Admittedly, "significant" is a subjective term that varies by era.

It goes without saying that over the years, Hollywood has had some issues with adequate racial representation in starring roles, and horror is certainly not immune to that problem. However, that doesn't mean there haven't been some excellent "mainstream" (for lack of a better word) fright flicks starring black folk. For this list, I'm excluding all-black films (e.g., Blaxploitation, "urban,"...

Like every other Internet gnome trolling the Web for treasure, I traced the progress of the film Snakes on a Plane for months, drinking in the online parodies and speculating on the possibility of sequels (Giraffes on a Speedboat) or even prequels (Dodos on a Frigate). I cheered when New Line Studios ordered five days of re-shoots to bump...