Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror

This is an important story, that needs to be told, but this is not the way to tell it.

There are so many inaccurate statements in this movie that I almost turned it off. They are clearly trying to present a unified narrative and it just comes off as false, fake and dishonest. The history of black horror is politicized enough as it is. There is no need to add racist ideas to movies that didn't have them, because there are plenty of movies that did (and do) have those issues.

This documentary would have benefited from some basic fact checking and 10 minutes of google.

Great commentary and interviews by respected actors, filmmakers, writers and intellectuals on the history of Blacks in cinema and the horror genre. Fun to watch too.

They say any good book, movie, play, TV show, etc. should leave you wanting more, but Horror Noire left me wanting so much more that I wish it was twice as long as it was. It does a great job of showcasing the seldom appreciated black horror films and performances, but at less than 90 minutes, it could have used an extra half hour at least.

This is all due to the care that was obviously put into this documentary. The reason I wanted more is because it's so good and so informative and well put together. I highly recommend horror historians and fans of black film check this one out.

Look I'm a big fan of horror, especially when it has to do with the history for horror. And I also enjoy documentaries that dive into the behind of making such a film, and how it came to be whatnot. And "Horror Noire" does that properly, describing the history moments what the predominant black people went through. Although, there's few of these interviewees that sounded so sour, like a someone yapping, complaining. I mean I guess some film directors didn't want black people to come out in films or I guess these "monsters" were interpreted as blacks. Why not just think of those creatures, just creatures. All these subtext and metaphors that they're trying to dive in too deeply. How come when it comes to black movies, why's it all the time it revolves around racism, slavery, gang, absent of parent?? Just like what Jordan Peele said about not being stuck in a bubble anymore, okay, then use that analogy of talking about something else besides slavery, racism. There's other things that are as important to dive in like sexual abuse, child trafficking, sicknesses etc.

An interesting, insightful & informative documentary about the African-American experience & representation in American horror films, in addition to the evolution of the genre itself over the years, Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror presents an extensively researched, expertly dissected & effortlessly entertaining account of the contribution that black artists have made to the world of horror & Hollywood cinema as a whole.

Directed by Xavier Burgin, the documentary includes interviews from several black artists & scholars and begins by first acknowledging the watershed event that Jordan Peele's Get Out was only a few years back, for it broke down all barriers & smashed doors wide open for new n fresh voices to enter the industry, before harkening back to the early days when Hollywood often painted a disturbing picture of the whole race to advance the nation's propaganda.

The film chronicles their awful depiction in The Birth of a Nation, their relegation to background roles in the decades ahead, the implied racism in films they were not even a part of, a revival of sorts through the blaxploitation genre, caricature roles in subsequent years, increased acceptance in the 21st century, and the influential roles that horror films such as Night of the Living Dead, Blacula, Candyman, Tales from the Hood & more played in righting the wrongs one step at a time.

Overall, Horror Noire is captivating & illuminating in equal measure and offers an essential overview of the demographic whose contribution to mainstream horror remains vastly unacknowledged. While there is an air of change in the Hollywood industry of lately, it is only made possible by the countless black voices that kept going despite endless setbacks over the years until the breakthrough at last happened. And with new talents & fresh voices entering the American horror scene, the future at least for now sure looks promising. A must for horror aficionados.