Ever since the release of Jordan Peele’s horror film “Get Out”, Black horror has been trending. Up to this point, Black characters in horror films have famously lacked representation, so much so that tropes of the Black person always getting killed first have formed. Outside horror, mainstream movies featuring Black actors are typically about gangs or biopics of Black leaders.
However, over the last decade, Black horror has expanded, especially through director Peele’s films “Get Out”, “Us”, and “Nope”.
Us contains many themes of horror with jump scares, attacks throughout the movie, and the expected blood and gore. The movie follows a family facing a group of menacing doppelgangers, tying in aspects surrounding the class divide between the tethered and their above-ground counterparts.
“Nope” features a brother and sister attempting to capture evidence of an unidentified flying object. Most audiences wouldn’t consider this movie a horror film, as viewers don’t see the aliens. However, the eeriness created within the sky still establishes suspense within the movie
Both have an all-Black cast and neither race nor racism is mentioned in either, a refreshing change
“Black horror reminds us of the power of storytelling, the magic of our roots — and that the ghosts of the past still walk the American landscape,” writes culture editor Gabrielle Bellot in The New York Times.
However, Peele’s first film, “Get Out,” falls into the dual category of Black horror and Black trauma: “the cumulative effects of racism on an individual’s mental and physical health.”
“Get Out” is a film that revolves around a Black man who visits his white girlfriend’s parents for the weekend, where his simmering unease about how they would receive him eventually reaches a boiling point. In the film, the portrayal of racism goes beyond the stereotypical openly bigoted white person oppressing Black characters, instead arguing that liberals, too, hold racist beliefs by overly controlling and manipulating Black people.
This was a departure from most Black trauma narratives, a refreshing change for Black audiences in particular. The Los Angeles Times reported that the audience demographic for Get Out was 39% Black, 36% White, and 17% Latino. According to ‘Variety’, the audience demographics for Us were 36% white, 30% Black, and 21% Hispanic.
“I watch Black horror but not Megan or any white horror movies,” shares Jackson-Reed sophomore Micah Bracey.
Former Jackson-Reed student Tahirah Taylor described that “Black horror is a breath of fresh air because this is something we didn’t have before.”
Robert Daniels, a journalist for Time Magazine, attributes this to Black audiences growing tired of having Black trauma narratives dumped on them: “In [a Black trauma] scenario, the entire purpose of the image is catered to white audiences who want to relieve their guilt by witnessing Black trauma rather than through Black viewers who want humanizing stories.”
Black people can also relate to Black horror films, opening doors to a wide range of Black expressions that are not beholden to Black trauma narratives.
“Get Out” is rejuvenating. It shows the vulnerability of Blackness and demands that we get the word out about Black psychological trauma,” shares journalist Jacinta R. Saffold in ‘Blavity’.
Peele’s contribution to Black horror was life-changing for Hollywood, opening a door for Black actors and audiences. Black horror is transformative in cinema, putting the spotlight on Black fear and dread that is not limited to slavery and segregation. The genre goes beyond specific historic events to show how the Black experience can’t be held on a convenient timeline. Black people are more than their trauma, and Black horror recognizes this.
