A new reason to become a fan of the genres if you aren’t already

When you hear the word “documentary”, your first thoughts aren’t anywhere near the feeling of an adrenaline rush, the suspense that brings you to the edge of your seat, or even remotely black representation. Director Xavier Burgin will hopefully change that with Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror. This documentary, newly released on Shudder, is based on the non-fiction book Horror Noire: Blacks in American Horror Films from the 1980s to the Present.

Writing for the Hollywood Reporter, Richard Newby gives a basic idea of what to expect from the documentary:

“The documentary… brings together some of the most prominent and educated black voices in horror history to discuss how the horror genre’s representation of black people has changed over the years.”

Horror Noire covers the history of black representation in the horror genre all the way up to Jordan Peele’s monumental directorial debut, Get Out (2017); but it only covers history. Newby does the rest of the heavy lifting by addressing the future for black horror in the rest of the article, beginning with a focus on Jordan Peele’s upcoming agenda. His new movie, Us, is set for release in March of this year; Peele and his production company will also provide us with the much-anticipated Twilight Zone reboot and an HBO adaptation of Lovecraft Country, a horror novel about the Jim Crow South.

Newby then moves on from Peele’s seemingly endless contribution to advancements in black horror:

“…audiences can also look forward to the black-led Relive, Sweetheart, and films like Captive State, Doctor Sleep, and the recently released Escape Room that feature black people in prominent roles.”

Thanks to every example of upcoming works that Newby provides, the future for black representation in the horror genre doesn’t look as bleak as the past. Every new instance of proper representation will hold the door open for upcoming black leaders in the horror genre.

For more details about Horror Noire, check out Richard Newby’s “How ‘Horror Noire’ Primes Viewers for a Year of Black Horror,” The Hollywood Reporter, (Feb. 7, 2019).

-Ian