31 Days of Black Horror: Black Box, 2020

Black Box directed by Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour is a sci-fi/ horror, released as part of ‘The Welcome to Blumhouse’, 8 film deal on Amazon Prime. Black Box centres around a recently widowed father, Nolan (Mamoudou Athie), who is struggling to raise his young daughter, Ava (Amanda Christine) after losing both his wife and his memory in a car accident. After months of frustration, Nolan seeks out an experimental treatment from neurologist, Dr. Lillian Brookes (Phylicia Rashad). Nolan begins to remember fragments of his past but it’s a past that does not line up to what his friends and family have told him. He begins to question himself and the man he is/ who he was before his accident while digging further and further into his dark subconsciousness. Black Box may some obvious comparisons to a great episode of Black Mirror or Jordan Peele’s Get Out, as both visually convey similar sunken places within the Black subconsciousness but Osei-Kuffour is a capable writer/director that can stand on his two feet with this unnerving feature, and one that showcases a promising career in horror with its creepy ass imagery. All the performances here knock it out of the park, but particularly child actor Christine, as Ava brings adds a devastating quality to the film as she tries her best to leave little reminders for her dad and tearfully begs him not to forget her.

Black Box excellently conveys the true terror of what it feels like losing your memory, your mind and what it means to lose a piece of yourself within these lapses. Dr. Brookes’ experimental ‘black box’ is a computer program of the virtual reality-type, that collects and projects core memories into a a patient, forcing Nolan to relearn how to walk in his own shoes, remap memories in a skin that just does not seem to fit, as something feels unfamiliar but also uncanny at the same time. Nolan embarks on a journey to find himself again which leads him down a dark and twisty path. Black Box is a truly terrifying horror dealing with the fallout of head trauma and how this trauma within one’s own mind can manifest into a repressed monster from the depths of a person’s damaged core memories. Which leaves you questioning who or what you are deep down.

31 Days of Black Horror: Eve’s Bayou, 1997

Although lacking in traditional horror and scares, Kasi Lemmon’s directorial debut, Eve’s Bayou is a beautiful Southern Gothic drama that has an air of being eternally haunted. Our narrator, a young girl named Eve (Jurnee Smollett) sets up the narrative with a chilling introduction, “Memory is a selection of images, some elusive, some imprinted indelibly on the brain. The summer I killed my father, I was ten years old”. The film charts the dissolution of Eve’s family life through the eyes of a young child, with elements of magical realism in the form of Eve’s psychic aunt played the captivating Debbi Morgan and a local voodoo witch, Elzora (Diahann Carroll).

The events surrounding the film all take place during a sweltering summer in 1960’s Louisiana. Eve’s family are the ideal picture of a perfect family, to the outside world they are blessed with wealth and own their land, her parents are respected around the community and throw lavish parties. Her father, the local doctor, the charming Louis (Samuel L. Jackson), is celebrated by his neighbours and idolised by his daughters, however Eve’s image of her perfect family is tainted when she discovers that her father is constantly unfaithful to her mother which drives her to wish him dead through voodoo. Turns out dad gets around doing them house calls and he is anything but subtle. The rest of the film deals with how Eve and her relatives deal with the fallout of this reveal and how everyone’s memory reflects a different image of the past to suit what they want to see rather than what happened. Characters constantly try and manipulate Eva’s perception of the past to keep the rose-tinted glasses firmly on for themselves. Emphasising how two sides of the same story can be vastly different in the eye of the beholder, which becomes clearer with the film’s ambiguous ending. Eve’s Bayou is a work similar to that of Faulkner, Harper Lee or Tennessee Williams in how Lemmons’ perfectly captures the stifling atmosphere of the south and how that creates a claustrophobic environment as toxic family secrets spill out in the open air.

31 Days of Black Horror: The Girl with all the Gifts, 2016

Colm McCarthy’s, The Girl with all the Gifts, is a sci-fi/horror that turns the zombie genre on its head. The film is set in a future where a fungal infection has whipped out most of the human population. If one becomes infected, you turn into an uncontrollable cannibalistic zombie of the 28 Days Later Speed variety. Our girl with the gifts is Melanie (Sennia Nanua), a bright young girl of the hybrid second generation, a type of child who has been exposed to the infection and who craves human flesh but when not triggered by they can still think, talk and live like a human child. The children are kept under strict restraint in shocking conditions, isolated in an army base to be experimented on by the cruel Dr. Caroline Caldwell (Glenn Close) in the hopes of finding a vaccine. After a terrifying outbreak occurs at the base which leaves Melanie, Caldwell, and some other survivors on the run, in search of another facility before they are picked off by the many ‘Hungries’ they encounter on the way.

The Girl with all the Gifts, deals with the themes of agency and difference in relation to a modern zombie apocalypse. Melanie constantly questions Caldwell’s methods on the road and draws attention to how truly unhuman most of humanity is, while society still views her as the monster when she really isn’t that monstrous compared to other folks in the film. Caldwell constantly asks too much from Melanie, who everyone seems to forget is a sweet, curious girl at heart. The film’s interesting conclusion completely shatters the hero/Jesus trope of cinema by having a defiant Melanie essentially doom humanity (as we know it) but not giving up her own life for the greater good (whispers the greater good), and in doing brings forth the dawn of a new age where humanity as we know it is done for. But hey that might not be a terrible thing. McCarthy subverts our expectations of the zombie genre by shining a more empathic light on the Hungries by asking us what if we, the humans, are the problem? And this is simply nature’s way of cleaning house. Just like Romero and Boyle, McCarthy has inserted an iconic film into the zombie canon, one that speaks to me more and more during these dark, Covid times.

31 Days of Black Horror: Candyman, 1992

“I am the writing on the wall, the whisper in the classroom. Without these things, I am nothing. So now, I must shed innocent blood. Come with me.”

– Candyman

Bernard Rose directs a masterful thriller centred around the fear surrounding an urban legend and the effects it has on the community who have created a bogeyman-like entity. Candyman revolves around a young graduate student, Helen Lyle ( Virginia Madsen), researching urban legends for her thesis with particular interest surrounding one local legend about a figure named Candyman, played by the wonderful Tony Todd. The legend states that if his name is said in front of a mirror five times he’ll appear and kill you using his hooked right hand. The legend originates from the Cabrini-Green project, a predominately black neighbourhood that is ravaged by crime and antisocial behaviour. The residents of Cabrini-Green believe the legend to explain away their circumstances in the neighbourhood. Since all the crime that occurs here is placed upon the mysterious Candyman figure leaving the residents to hide in fear, unable to change their fate. The lack of outside help from police and the government further adds to the isolation of the neighbourhood fuelling the legend and the criminals who piggyback off it. Candyman is definitely not without its faults as it involves the depiction of a black serial killer who comes across rather predatory. Candyman’s background reveals he that he was killed by racists around the 1800’s for simply falling in love with a white woman, but when he comes back from the dead he chooses to punish his own people in a housing project rather than, well, actual racists?

This aside the film does draw attention to the systematic racism that occurs around us every day from the top down, the lack of police presence in the projects, how the city just isolates a whole community, essentially abandoning them to a life of crime and even Helen’s unwanted presence in Cabrini in the first place. Helen just glides through the projects shielded with white privilege that aids her the entire film a luxury none of the characters of colour get to enjoy. Candyman is a modern classic, that uses the bases of a ghost story to draw attention to the very real social-economic issues that can plague a community for decades. It also has a wonderful score by Philip Glass and is anchored by a magnificent performance from Todd as the cool as ice entity who haunts the tower block.

31 Days of Black Horror: Vampire in Brooklyn, 1995

Wes Craven directs this updated 90’s Blacula tale with Eddie Murphy in the lead role as Maximilien ‘Max’, a vampire from the Caribbean islands who comes to New York City in search of a mate, in the form of the half human, half vampire Rita (Angela Bassett). Rita is a headstrong cop working on a murder case, mainly down to the arrival of Max, and is unaware of her inner vampiric nature. The film follows Max on his quest to turn her with the help of his ghoul, Julius, played by the hilarious Kadeem Hardison (Def by Temptation). The story is simple enough albeit if it makes zero sense to anyone other than Max and is by far nowhere near Craven’s best work. Angela Bassett kills it as Rita, a curious cop with a question mark over her past. Bassett really is this film’s one saving grace as her character is fully fleshed out, realised female lead that ends up saving herself rather than waiting around for her passive, hollowed out love interest, Detective Justice, (yes his actual name) played by Allen Payne. Eddie Murphy is basically being Eddie Murphy in various roles which do generate some laughs, particularly him as the white Italian gangster but he has seen better roles. Vampire in Brooklyn is a little anaemic on horror or comedy and doesn’t really add to or update the vampire horror but one that doesn’t use up too much brain power in the process so perfect for a lazy Sunday like today.

31 Days of Black Horror: Def By Temptation, 1990

“Honey, I’ve given you something there’s no cure for“

– Temptation

James Bond III (honestly his real name) directs Def by Temptation, the title alone makes me roll my eyes already. A story about two young men in New York City who become entangled with a demonic succubus, who spends her nights stalking men in bars and well let’s say she’s quite the maneater. James Bond plays Joel, a young soon to be pastor, who escapes from the quiet life of North Carolina to pay a visit to his friend K (Kadeem Hardison) but the visit brings him more problems in the form of the demon, Temptation (Cynthia Bond) rather than some much needed R & R. This film should just be called ‘Creeps of New York, Get Their Comeuppance’ because pretty much every man in this film that approaches a woman in a bar seriously need a course in ‘how not to be a total predator’. Safe to say there is a lot of toxic masculinity floating around this film with a load of creepy men objectifying women endlessly (you’d miss the 90’s), so it feels pretty good when these dudes meet their bloody ends at the hands of the vampiric Temptation.

Like 1974’s Abby, the theme of female sexuality is represented as something tempting, alluring but ultimately deadly and something that must be feared and eradicated. But unlike Abby, I didn’t get the sense that there was some deeper feminist subtext as the succubus character is a very one dimensional villain when compared to the more fleshed out male characters, as the focus pulls towards the friendship between Joel and K and the age old motto of ‘bros before hoes’. Also this could be because by the third act we take a more Christian turn when Joel takes on the succubus with the help of the good book which provides us with a flashback to a very young Samuel L. Jackson as his father. This scenes with his father and the origin of the demon seem a bit wishy washy and added last minute to give Jackson something to do for his whopping 5 minutes of screen time. The overall aesthetic of the film looks great, all down to cinematographer Ernest Dickerson (Bones, Demon Knight), who gives the film a cool 80’s flair with its lightening, costuming and set designs. The acting stands up and the succubus kills were fantastic and were a very visually appealing pay off to the endless creeps present throughout the film. Only downside is that it kinda lags by the third act as it takes its more religious turn. But for a Troma picture it could have been a whole lot worse so all in all it’s a decent enough 90’s horror detailing the true terror of dating in the Big Apple.

31 Days of Black Horror:Ganja & Hess, 1973

Ganja & Hess is a vampire film like no other. No lie I was often like “wait what is going on?”. Contrary to the title which was aiming to cash in on the growing Blaxploitation genre and a not so subtle nod to marijuana as an allegory to how marijuana can bring a little consolation to a disappointing life. Ganja & Hess is an experimental art film that is a more of a mood piece than a stereotypical commercial vampire film a kin to Blacula. The story follows the affluent academic, Dr.Hess Green played by Duane Jones (Night of the Living Dead), who becomes afflicted with vampirism due to being stabbed with a cursed dagger by his unstable assistant George Meda. The story follows Hess’ struggle with his vampiric tendencies and a love story slowly unfolds with the assistant’s widow, Ganja Meda played by the magnetic Marlene Clark.

Gunn wanted to showcase a different, more nuanced image of black culture so opted to portray an image of an elevated, successful, black academic which went against the usual deceptions of the black lead in most Blaxploitation films and in American cinema in general. Ganja & Hess reimagines the vampire film and likens the curse to that of drug addiction and the struggle that goes on within an individual, and deals with themes of alienation and religious isolation . James Hinton’s cinematography has a surral, nightmarish quality to it to reflect how distoratating the thirst for human blood truly is, the power that addication plays on the mind, body and soul.

Hess’s constant craving for fresh blood and his immortal existence leave him feeling empty and detached. It is only with the introduction of Ganja, that he begins to feel again and wants her to join him in sharing this eternal existence. While the pair embrace their vampiric nature for a time but just like a new hit that comes and goes, this blissful hedonistic life only satisfies him briefly, until Hess becomes despondent once again and seeks salvation in arms of the Church.

Gunn evokes a surreal sound scape filled with gospel music and echoing coupled with unusual, strange camera angles that give the film a real sense of imbalance to this world and creating a visually rich (albeit confusing) film. It is a film that challenges you with how this story is presented and how things unfold. Gunn definitely goes against the grain, in regard to a traditional narrative and flips the vampire gerne on its head. Surprise surprise it did not go down well with audiences at the time! While Ganja & Hess is certainly a slow burn and not everyone’s cup of tea, it is an iconic piece of black indie cinema and black horror. And certainly goes down in history as a vampire film that peels back the layers of a now tired subgenre and injects an element of individuality and rawness that still to this day has not been matched.

31 Days of Black Horror: Blade, 1998

Dir. Stephen Norrington

Some motherfuckers are always trying to ice-skate uphill

– Blade

In a pre-Matrix world came Blade, an early Marvel adaptation that revolutionised both the action and the vampire film by combining impressive stunt sequences and horror into one. Wesley Snipes’ Blade marked one of the first black superheroes onscreen and paved the way for other Marvel successes down the road. Snipes stars as the title’s Blade, who happens to be both a vampire and a vampire hunter at the same time. Blade being a vampire hybrid himself allows him to pretty much have all the benefits of a vampire without the negatives; he has super strength, he can walk around during the day, garlic does not affect him and he has cool leather outfits that come with being a vampire. The film follows Blade as he tries eradicating the world of vampires in a bid to avenge his own mother who died during childbirth due to a vamp attack. Blade immediately had my attention in its opening scene set in a vampire blood rave at a slaughterhouse, because of course 90’s vampires would be raving in blood. GENIUS.

It is a weird film in the best way in how it blends its horror, action, and gothic elements together to create a real meaty, well thought out world. It is a bloody and brutal film that gives it a real bite (mind the pun there) and never shies away from going down the goriest route possible. Peppered with brilliant performances from the cast such Kris Kristofferson, Stephen Dorff, Donal Logoe and N’Bushe Wright, it’s safe to say it is Snipes who steals the show. Snipes’ Blade is a badass, charismatic antihero and his performance is anchored by this ferocious physicality and who comes across as a prototype Wolverine in ways. While the CGI and some plot points seem a bit ropey now in 2020 it never takes away from the how fun this film is mainly due to Snipes and the excellent action sequences. More vampire blood raves I say.