Movie Reviews

‘Black As Night’ Review – A Coming-Of-Age Story That Bites Back

Logline:

A resourceful teenage girl driven by revenge, alongside her trusted friends, spends her summer battling vampires terrorizing her city of New Orleans.

Everything isn’t for everyone but that doesn’t mean that you can’t learn, gain some understanding, and still be entertained. Also, when speaking of representation and inclusivity, that doesn’t mean exclusion. It simply means it’s your turn to sit back and experience the world through another lens. Now, you may feel awkward and uncomfortable at times, you may even feel as is if your outlook on life is being attacked, but that’s just what opening your mind feels like. To become a better individual, you should challenge what you know, augment how you perceive things, and experience as much as possible. Those who chose not to evolve, I can assure you, there’s so much you’re missing out on.

“The summer I got breasts, that was the same summer I fought vampires.”

What do you get when you have a Black vampire hunter out for revenge with a ride or die partner and is sometimes called Wesley Snipes? Well, you get Blade but in this case, you get Shawna. The second movie of the first double feature of this year’s Welcome to the Blumhouse, Black as Night is not your average coming-of-age story. This is a coming-of-age story that bites back. This tale of advancing adolescence is filled with vampires and drug addicts but also delves into colorism, gentrification, and other issues that affect the Black community. Featuring a diverse cast of characters we have our Black female antagonist, her gay Mexican best friend, the Black male love interest, and the privileged white female from the other side of town. Beginning with a bang or should I say a bite, the film waste no time showing us what we should expect going forward. Led by a group of teens who reside in New Orleans and are still feeling the effects of Hurricane Katrina, our two main focal points, Shawna and Pedro are representations of marginalized groups in America and how they are affected by the world around them. It’s also a reminder and reinforcement that Black is beautiful.

The vampires that inhabit the city are merely a vehicle to open a conversation and highlight important issues. While I enjoyed the messaging and the spotlight on issues that should be discussed more openly, I do wish there was more vampire screen time. There was enough bloodsucking to call it a vampire movie but not enough to feed the hunger of fans of the fangs. However, we do get a breakdown of vampire lore and how to kill them. It reminded me somewhat of the Zombieland survival guide. I also really loved the reasoning as to why some vampires can be out during the daytime. With its themes of friendship and confidence among other things, this is a movie that is easy to like with characters you want to root for. The dialogue feels natural, the soundtrack fits perfectly, and the messaging is needed. This is definitely one to watch with your teenagers. Its rewatchability is medium-high.

ASJHA COOPER AND FABRIZIO GUIDO star in BLACK AS NIGHT Photo: PATTI PERRET © 2021 Amazon Content Services LLC

Pacing & Pop

The pacing of this movie is pretty solid. It starts rather quickly and mostly keeps up that pace throughout. What popped for me was the film’s subject matter of colorism that isn’t widely talked about. It’s something that is played off as a joke from one black person to another or in black spaces but stems from the long history of racism in our society. A history that eventually spread across the world. For some people of color, it evolved into self-hate, anger, and bad decisions. Because we are taught and shown that lighter skin is more favorable for some reason, it’s led to people bleaching their skin, having complete identity crises, and even suicide. The rampant racism even resides in some Latin countries resulting in people with a darker complexion, of the same ethnicity, being seen and treated as lesser than. The concept of racism is literally the dumbest thing that has ever existed. Made by the weak and fearful and perpetuated by the lazy, it just simply shouldn’t exist. Being different is normal, recognizing those differences is fine, but when you treat someone like a criminal or less than human because of those differences, that’s when it becomes a problem.

Characters & Chemistry

One of the best aspects of this film is how relatable the characters are. While some of the issues in the film are specific to a minority of the population, there are plenty of universal personality traits and flaws that will remind you of a friend or loved one. The best friend dynamic between Shawna (Asjha Cooper) and Pedro (Fabrizio Guido) is where the best chemistry lies. While Guido’s performance felt a tad forced at times, there’s no doubt that I’ve witnessed friendships just like this. Cooper’s performance was rather balanced which says a lot about her character and how Black women have to be in moments of crisis.

Black as Night is now streaming on Prime Video as of October 1, 2021. Stay spooky and enjoy.