Horror Noire – review

Director: Kimani Ray Smith

Release date: 2021

Contains spoilers

Horror Noire is a horror anthology released for Halloween 2021, which show cases films written and made by Black filmmakers, and I made the mistake of looking at the comments on Shudder before watching. Not that they were a spoiler but a mistake as it highlights the toxicity of some people. Since that first look, I’ve gone back and the film has now garnered positive responses but originally standing out was the person who accused it of being “More woke nonsense”. Firstly, what is wrong with being woke – to me it means you are an inclusive person with emotional intelligence and to be called it is a badge of honour. Second, when has an original film made from a specific, and underrepresented, viewpoint that uses equally underrepresented talent, been considered woke – this is addressing a real issue with the industry and we should applaud the fact that a range of voices are able to be heard. Lastly, if you approach a vehicle like this to give it the lowest score you can, and call it woke, then the issue isn’t the vehicle, it’s you.

Rant over, let's look at the film.

soul eater

Firstly, segments that caught my eye for various reasons were Bride Before You, which was just a wonderful piece, the Lake, which I enjoyed – though it perhaps needed a stronger pay-off – and it used a familiar trope part way through with eating raw meat from the fridge, and the incredibly imaginative Brand of Evil that does have some demonic soul eating. The latter is definitely a demon but the apparent activity is vampiric. The actual vampire segment was Sundown.

canvassing 

Sundown starts with a figure, Sammy (Lavell Crawford, Meet the Blacks), running through woods, as he runs he grabs a bird from a branch and holds onto it until he reaches a cave. Inside we see him break its neck. We are in a small town, Evantide, in West Virginia and canvassers, and couple, Shanita (Erica Ash) and Marcus (Tone Bell) are campaigning for Sarah Carson – a black candidate. They have had no luck – no one seems to be in but they are approaching the last house on their route.

Lavell Crawford as Sammy

Looking at the house, Shanita is sure they don’t want to go there – she served in Afghanistan and was always known for her keen instincts. Marcus, however, insists they go. They actually get an answer this time from a teen, Ellie (Zoe Lawson Dangar), who hollas to her mama and asks who she’ll be voting for – the shout confirms she’ll be voting for the n-word and that is enough – Shanita and Marcus get out of there. They meet up with the other canvassers, and it is notable that they are all white and they all struck out. Shanita asks where there is a bathroom and is told there is one in the post office.

sundown sign

She goes in and, when she starts shouting for him, Marcus follows as do all the others. There is a large sign on the wall “Whites only within city limits after dark” and in the conversation that follows Shanita explains that it is a Sundown Town – a phenomena of segregation that was often a precursor to violence for any Black person who broke the rule. The segment makes a lot of points here, one white canvasser didn’t even notice the large sign when she went in, another asks what it matters as it is in the past – ignoring the historic hurt and also the echoes that reverberate into the present.

the feast

Shanita and Marcus leave and find their tires have been slashed – as has all the others (one of the canvassers accuses them, until another steps in and points out that they couldn’t have and their tires are slashed too). By now it is dark and the sound of a fiddle is heard as the town mayor, Constantine Erebus (Peter Stormare, Marianne, Dylan Dog: Dead of Night, the Batman Vs Dracula & the Brothers Grimm), appears and tell them it is a special night, the moonlight festival, and invites them to a feast – Shanita is not happy.

staked

They get to the feast and the Sundown sign is mention but suggested to be a historical hangover that was meant to have been removed. Erebus calls Sammy – the first Black local we’ve seen and the man from the beginning of the segment – who says he’ll get it taken down. Long story short there is a cut finger and Ellie reveals the town’s true nature – it is a town of vampires. They hunt down the fleeing canvassers – though Erebus warns them, “don't eat your dark meat!” Shanita and Marcus manage to stake one vampire before being separated and Marcus being captured.

Buffy the f*ck up

Shanita is rescued by Sammy who then reveals he is a vampire – but kind of a vegan as he only eats birds and squirrels and the like. In an interesting turnaround he reveals he had put up the Sundown sign to try and warn off any Black visitors – Erebus has a liking for feeding on Black victims, Marcus is likely alive, saved for the festival finale and Sammy was turned by accident. It’s time for Shanita to get some weapons (they are in the South, there are plenty around), rescue her man and, as she puts it, “...Buffy the f*ck up.”

Shanita and Marcus

This was fun – and yes there were serious messages underneath (interestingly the white canvasser who didn’t see the sign and the one who said it was in the past are both turned and forced to stay – unhappily – in the vampire town) but the segment was also made for laughs. There was bickering banter between husband and wife but the banter always felt true, there were some clear nods towards the wider genre and, whilst it didn’t do anything that new it did it with some style. We don’t get much lore – just sunlight and staking really – but worth a watch as are the segments I mentioned above, though the running length is a bit of a marathon at 2.5 hours. As always the score is for the vampire segment only – 6 .5 out of 10.

The imdb page is here.

On Demand @ Shudder via Amazon US

On Demand @ Shudder via Amazon UK