During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Lovecraft Country writer-producer Misha Green said, “There are some Black people in horror, but not as much. Do I love it so much because the crazy shit is happening to white people and not Black people? Am I going to love it as much once all this crazy shit starts happening to Black people? Spoiler: Yes, I will.”
Though many mainstream horror projects often centre whiteness, there are in fact some Black people who are into all things frightening. Luckily for us, the horror noir genre exists, and it’s full of rich and terrifying stories that don’t require us to be the first to die. Just in time for spooky season, we’ve rounded up some must-see Black horror movies and shows from the canon for the all the witches and warlocks with a little melanin to match. Get ready to scream.
The Exorcist: Believer (2023)
A widower seeks the niche expertise of the storied exorcist Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn) after his family is haunted by a terrifying presence.
The Invitation (2022)
If you thought the scariest thing to come out of your Ancestry test was the government getting direct access to your DNA, think again. In a much creepier (and, admittedly steamier) scenario, you could end up like Evie (Nathalie Emmanuel) and find out that you’ve been personally selected by an ancient vampire to be his next immortal bride.
The Blackening (2023)
A group of Black people check into a deserted cabin in the woods — no, it’s not the start of a punchline but the plot of horror comedy The Blackening, a screamfest adventure where the only thing keeping you alive is your Black card. Hope you know how to play spades!
The Changeling (2023)
After the birth of her first child, a woman descends into a state of deep mental unrest before committing a dark, dark act, forcing her husband to look into the mysterious cause behind her despair. Based on the 2017 Victor LaVelle novel of the same name.
Wendell & Wild (2022)
Demon brothers Wendell (Keegan Michael Key) and Wild (Jordan Peele) dream up a big scheme to make their way to the land of the living, but a strong-willed teen just might get in the way of their plans.
Master (2022)
Being the only Black person at your PWI is scary enough, but imagine if you were also being haunted by the vengeful spirit of your dorm’s former resident? Get me to an HBCU, quick!
Nope (2022)
Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer star as siblings taking on the sinister alien force that’s wreaking havoc on their small California town. It’s less horror than it is sci-fi psychological thriller, but as always, that damn Jordan Peele knows how to raise your blood pressure!
Black Box (2020)
Struggling with memory loss following a car crash that killed his wife, newly widowed father Nolan (Mamadou Athie) seeks clarity about his past through a shady medical experiment, but he discovers that the truth comes with terrifying consequences.
His House (2020)
A family of South Sudanese refugees arrives in London with the hopes of a brand new start, but their new home proves to be just as dangerous as the life they left behind. As always, racism is the thing that goes bump in the night.
The Birth of a Nation (1915)
No, girl. Not the Nate Parker version; we’re talking about the first version of the iconic story. This movie doesn’t feature zombies or vampires, but there are definitely some real racist monsters in this film. Despite The Birth of a Nation being marketed as a drama, as horror author and academic Tananarive Due told The Los Angeles Times last year, “If you’re a Black person, it’s a horror film, all right. Or if you love the future of your country, it’s a horror film.”
Us (2019)
Jordan Peele is back again, and this time he brought Lupita Nyong’o (who is honestly one of the biggest reasons you need to watch this movie) with him. In Black Panther, which came out in 2018, we see Lupita take on the persona of a badass fighter. This time, she takes it one step further by activating her character’s alter ego, playing two equally frightening characters in this film.
The project had a few plot holes that led critics and viewers to claim Get Out as superior, but overall, this piece has really interesting themes of classism and emotional repression — issues that affect the Black community at disproportionate rates.
Son of Ingagi (1940)
You may have never heard of this one, but that’s probably because it was overshadowed by the more developed Blaxploitation films that came after it.
(Oh, what’s Blaxploitation, you ask? Webster’s Dictionary describes it as the exploitation of Black people, especially with regard to stereotyped roles in movies.)
Written by Spencer Williams and based on his short story titled House of Horror, Son of Ingagi is essentially about a Black ape man (y’all see where we’re going here?) who has beef with the woman who ripped him away from Africa. There’s a bit more to it than that, but we’ll let you read about it here. Fun fact: this amateur but groundbreaking science-fiction horror film was also the first to feature an all-Black cast.
Lovecraft Country (2020)
Based on the Matt Ruff novel of the same name, HBO series Lovecraft Country explores the horrors dreamed up by popular writer H.P. Lovecraft, but through the lens of Black people trying to survive the rampant anti-Blackness of the 1950s South. As fascinating as it is terrifying and devastating, the star-studded series’ imaginative storytelling reveal the hardest truth of them all: for many of us, racism is thing that goes bump in the night.
HBO may have cancelled this show prematurely — huge mistake, you guys — but we’ll never forget this nightmare-maker.
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
To sum up Night of the Living Dead, picture this: a super fine, zombie-slaying, masculine version of Cleopatra Jones. The protagonist, Ben, was originally written with a white actor in mind, but Duane Jones — a Black man — showed up and proved to be an even better fit.
In 2010, the film’s director, George Romero told The Wrap, “Duane Jones was the best actor we met to play Ben. If there was a film with a Black actor in it, it usually had a racial theme, like The Defiant Ones. Consciously, I resisted writing new dialogue ‘cause he happens to be Black. We just shot the script.”
He went on to note that Night of the Living Dead may have been the first film to feature a Black man in a lead role “regardless of, rather than because of, his race.”
Blacula (1972)
This loose adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula came to us from Black director William Crane. In this film, the African Prince Mamuwalde asks Count Dracula to suppress the slave trade. Dracula then transforms ya boy into a vampire, damning him as “Blacula.”
Yes, it’s a little, um, out there, but make no mistake: Blacula went on to be one of the top grossing films of its time. Not bad for a Black director in the 1970s. Go off, King Crane.
Beloved (1998)
Oprah Winfrey, Danny Glover, Thandiwe Newton, and Kimberly Elise bring the frightening nuance of Toni Morrison‘s iconic novel of the same name in this classic Black horror epic. The story follows the otherworldly force that haunts the home of a former enslaved woman and her child in 1800s Ohio. You’ll want to keep the lights on for this one.
Def by Temptation (1990)
This is the one where the college boy starts talking to this girl at the bar, and shawty turns out to be on some real demon time. Def by Temptation came out during a bit of a horror noir revolution. During this time, a variety of Black scary movie styles developed, and “hood dramas” started to become really popular. Remember Rusty Cundieff’s Tales from the Hood that debuted in 1995? That sh*t was scary.
Get Out (2017)
After a quiet couple of years in the Black horror space, Jordan Peele completely blew up the scene with Get Out. The film is a modern must-see about a Black guy who visits his white girlfriend’s family for the first time. Once on her family’s property, he realizes that he and all the other Black people around him are in danger. Unlike its predecessors, this film was not a low-budget Blaxploitation film, and it went on to win an Oscar.
Candyman (1992)
Candyman is actually a pretty sad story despite how scary it is. In this project, a poor Black enslaved man is murdered and reincarnates as a monster. Things get spicy when he imposes his energy on a young grad student, who is damned to feel his pain. The film is something like a Black Frankenstein; both brothers were terribly misunderstood.
Vampire in Brooklyn (1995)
Get ready to see Eddie Murphy in a really bad wig, y’all. This Blackbuster brings Caribbean vibes into the mix to highlight the difference between traditional Black Christian beliefs and more spiritualistic beliefs, including magic.
Angela Bassett is in it, too — proving she had the chops for her future roles in American Horror Story. More on that later!
Eve’s Bayou (1997)
This late 1990s flick movie makes the list because we have a woman filmmaker at its helm. With Eve’s Bayou, Kasi Lemmons doesn’t choose to focus on the white gaze. Instead, the filmmaker uses this Black southern tale to discuss complex familial relationships and Black humanity. Yeah…shorty was deep.
Ganja & Hess (1973)
Nope, not weed! It’s another vampire movie, but this one is actually romantic as hell. This film featured themes surrounding addiction, class, and self-identity within the context of Blackness — though some critics argue that the film isn’t so much about race.
Still, we have to acknowledge that Blackness is not a monolith. And when we give actors roles that reflect more than their skin colour, we are able to focus more on the nuances of each character’s story. There’s room for depth, and Ganga & Hess showed audiences this.
Scary Movie (2000)
I don’t know why people act like Black people and horror don’t mix when The Wayans Brothers turned around and created a whole horror sub genre, damn-near by themselves at that. The Scary Movie series spoofs real horror movies, but of course Marlon and Shawn are clowns, so they’re all funny as hell.
Leprechaun in the Hood (2000)
Leprechaun in the Hood is the fifth movie of an eight-movie series. The first four titles follow a devilish little leprechaun who’s really about that life when it comes to defending his valuables. Ol’ boy is not playing about his gold! In this installment, we see him trying to get back the magic flute that three boys from the hood steal from him.
Candyman (2021)
Did we need a modern remake of Candyman? Maybe not, but we got one, and with King Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as the star! Set 20 years after the events of the first film, more chaos and terror descends upon Cabrini-Green as the spirit of Candyman is revived in the changing neighborhood. Unlike the first movie, this Candyman may actually have you rushing to the mirror to say the villain’s name three time, and we don’t blame you. Who wouldn’t want a visit from Yahya?
American Horror Story: Coven (2011)
So back to Angela Bassett. This season of American Horror Story is about a group of white witches that go to war with a coven Black Caribbean witches, and Angela Thee Thespian is their HBIC. At one point, a slave torturer pays reparations at the hands of Angela’s wrath, so you already know what time it is.
A Haunted House (2013)
After the success of the Scary Movie franchise, The Wayans Bros joined another spoof called A Haunted House, starring Marlon Wayans alongside Essence Atkins. In what is pretty much a Paranormal Activity — but with *our* skinfolk — situation, Cedric the Entertainer comes in to perform an exorcism. Obviously, hijinks ensue.
The Perfection (2018)
So y’all remember Allison Williams from Get Out? She’s back for round two in this creepy Netflix film. The movie stars Dear White People’s Logan Laurice Browning, who plays a bomb-ass violinist. Williams’ character — who used to be just as bomb a few years ago — appears to be a little jealous.
The girls later find themselves drugged and alone in China, and they’re not sure if they can trust each other (or their super sus ballet mentor.)
Ma (2019)
Two words: OCTAVIA SPENCER. Is there anything this woman can’t do? She uses her sweet matronly charm to befriend a bunch of party kids. And there’s a plot twist: after gaining their trust, she ends up trying to kill them. You will scream, but you’ll also find yourself doubled over in laughter. The best of both worlds, really.
Haunted Mansion (2003)
Eddie Murphy is back for more mischief in this big screen Disney movie. The film shows a family whose lakeside vacation goes wrong. The house they stay in is haunted with a ghost who thinks Eddie’s wife is his long-dead love interest. Eddie definitely finds his approach to horror in this film. This is one of those Eddie Murphy movies that honestly just reminds you of his range.
(Oh wait! Did I mention this movie is also the inspiration behind the Haunted Mansion ride that can be found at three of the Disneyland Parks? It’s for kids, but that joint is scary.)
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