Delayed Reaction: Horror Noire

Premise: A horror anthology from black filmmakers.

In theory, I'm highly in favor of this idea in the same way that I was excited to see XX. The horror landscape is overwhelmed with filmmakers of the same background and it can get redundant. It's not like Jordan Peele and Nia DaCosta are the exceptions to the rule of who can make good horror.

 

The best horror anthologies have something linking them together. Otherwise, it's just a short film festival. What hurts an anthology like Horror Noire is that the linking element has no requirement of tonal consistency. I get annoyed when nothing on screen in an anthology makes sense together.

 

At this point, it's been a couple weeks since I actually watched Horror Noire. I felt little motivation to write this and my notes trailed off as I watched the movie. There are some good ideas in the movie. Brand of Evil is an interesting examination of valuing money over community. Fugue State goes at religious fanaticism. I was really pleased with the reveal in Sundown that the reason why black people weren't allowed after nightfall in the town was trying to be helpful not hateful. I just never felt a person guiding the ship in this movie. The only real similarity in the shorts was that they all felt like they were produced by a Hallmark movie crew. Very, very generic production. Nothing distinctive in the filmmaking at all. None of them were that scary. They made me think a little, which I guess is nice, but that shouldn't be my main takeaway from a horror anthology.

 

Horror Noire was a big miss for me. I like the idea of it, so I wouldn't mind a Horror Noire 2 with some different producers or creative direction. There are certainly worse horror anthologies out there - it's no Galaxy of Horrors. There just isn't much to recommend in it.

 

Verdict: Strongly Don't Recommend