On Thursday, February 7, 2019 AMC’s Shudder network presents documentary Horror Noire. Based on the acclaimed book of the same name by Dr. Robin R. Means Coleman, and Directed by Xavier Burgin Horror Noire takes a critical look at a century of genre films that by turns utilized, caricatured, exploited, sidelined, and embraced both black filmmakers and black audiences. Horror Noire traces a secret history of Black Americans in Hollywood through their connection to the horror genre. There is even a special screening here in New York atBrooklyn Academy of Music on Monday Feb. 4. A double bill with Rusty Cundieff’s 1995 classic, Tales from the Hood. Tickets for this special event are on sale now at BAM.org.

The film features in-depth interviews with noted directors, writers, and actors, including Ernest Dickerson (Bones), Rusty Cundieff (Tales from the Hood), Jordan Peele (Us), Tina Mabry (Mississippi Damned), Tony Todd (Candyman), Paula Jai Parker (Tales from the Hood), Tananarive Due (My Soul to Keep), and Dr. Robin R. Means Coleman. Horror Noire will premiere exclusively on Shudder on Thursday, February 7, after special screening events in New York and Los Angeles.
I was THRILLED to see the familiar names in the writer and director credits of this film. Including Ashley Blackwell, founder and creator of Graveyard Shift Sisters, a website dedicated to black women in horror and activist, teacher and best-selling author Tananarive Due, who serves as one of the executive producers on the film.

“After I saw Oscar winner Jordan Peele’s Get Out, I created a UCLA class around Black Horror called The Sunken Place,” – Tananarive Due.
Beginning with the silent film era, Horror Noire explores the often overlooked and downplayed history of Black Americans in Hollywood: the emergence of black leading men in genre cinema in the late ‘60s with Night of the Living Dead and into the ‘70s with Blacula and films of the blaxploitation era; Candyman and the growing popularity of urban horror in the 1990s; up to the genre’s recent resurgence with movies like the Oscar-winning, critical and commercial hit Get Out.
Ahead of its Shudder debut on February 7, on Monday, February 4, Horror Noire will have its east coast premiere at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, followed by a panel conversation featuring executive producer Tananarive Due, writer/producer Ashlee Blackwell, filmmaker R. Shanea Williams, and comics writer Greg Anderson Elysee.

The complete list of Horror Noire interviewees:
Ashlee Blackwell Creator, GraveyardShiftSisters.com
Ernest Dickerson Director, Bones, Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight
Jordan Peele Writer/ Director, Get Out, Us
Keith David Actor, The Thing
Kelly Jo Minter Actor, The People Under the Stairs
Ken Foree Actor, Dawn of the Dead
Ken Sagoes Actor, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
Loretta Devine Actor, Urban Legend
Mark H. Harris Creator, BlackHorrorMovies.com
Meosha Bean Filmmaker
Miguel A. Nuñez Actor, Friday the 13th: A New Beginning
Monica Suriyage Filmmaker
Paula Jai Parker Actor, Tales from the Hood
Rachel True Actor, The Craft
Richard Lawson Actor, Scream Blacula Scream
Robin R. Means Coleman, PhD Author/ Educator
Rusty Cundieff Co-Writer/ Director, Tales from the Hood
Tananarive Due Author/ Educator
Tina Mabry Writer/ Director, Mississippi Damned
Tony Todd Actor, Candyman
William Crain Director, Blacula
Horror Noire is directed by Xavier Burgin, executive produced by Dr. Robin R. Means Coleman, Tananarive Due, Fangoria Editor-in-Chief Phil Nobile Jr and Kelly Ryan of Stage 3 Productions, and is produced and co-written by Ashlee Blackwell and Danielle Burrows.
About Shudder
Brought to you by AMC Networks, Shudder is a premium streaming experience that promises its members a sensory-rich escape from the real world. We built Shudder to entertain and incite fans of horror, thriller, and supernatural through dark, provocative, and ingenious storytelling. With exceptional originals, movies, TV series, podcasts, and live events, there’s always something new and unexpected for Shudder members to experience.
No Comments