By Jaylynn Donaldson ’25
As more Black creatives become producers, directors, and actors, the Black narrative has grown. The Black experience is being explored through the haunting lens of horror. Black horror is a subgenre of horror where Black characters and narratives are focused on and are given a twisted outlook. Black horror often intertwines the Black experience, real life history, and cultural trauma, creating a chilling narrative.
Sinners: Christianity vs. the Black community
Photo courtesy of Screenrant: Sammie playing his guitar at the Juke Joint.
Sinners, directed by Ryan Coogler, came out in 2025 and has been selling out theaters. The movie focuses on twin brothers, Stack and Smoke who come back to their hometown in Mississippi to start over. They open a juke joint where their cousin Sammie, also known as “preacher boy,” sings and plays the guitar. Sammie’s role in this movie is pivotal as his musical talents are the reason Remmick, the vampire, comes after them at the joint. The relationship between the Vampires and the character explores a deeper issue of the controversial relationship between Christianity and the Black community. In a thought provoking scene, Remick attempts to turn Sammie into a vampire, and out of fear, Sammie starts to say a prayer. Remmick, who is Irish, is able to recite this prayer with Sammie because the same religion was forced onto his ancestors. He says to Sammie, “Long ago the man who stole my father’s land forced these words upon us…”
This scene touches on the argument that religions like Christianity were a tool of control. There is another captivating scene in the movie where Sammie is playing his guitar and ancestors from the past to the present dancing around the Juke Joint. The idea of connecting with your ancestors is often looked down upon in the Christian Black community as it is seen as “demonic”. Is it “demonic” or is that what we have been brainwashed to believe? Sinners have sparked and reopened many conversations about Christianity in the Black community. is Christianity a form of brainwashing? Peace? Hope? Have Black people been taught to fear our roots?
Get Out: Silencing Black voices
Jordan Pele debuted as a director with his horror movie Get Out. In the movie, Chris, a black man goes with his white girlfriend Rose to meet her family. When he arrives at her family’s house, he is slowly presented with the disturbing nature of this family. The family pretends to be allies but lures or kidnaps Black people and then hypnotizes later implanting the consciousness of white people into their bodies.
Photo courtesy of ScreenRant: Chris is paralyzed with tears in his eyes while being hypnotized.
When hypnotized, the Black victim is taken to a mental space called the “Sunken Place.” While their body is controlled by others, his consciousness is floating in darkness while they are helpless and silent. He can see what’s happening but has no control. The Sunken Place represents how Black voices are never listened to and are often silenced by people and the systems. Get Out also touches on cultural appropriation with the idea of a white consciousness being implanted in a black body. Just like in the movie, white society praises, admires, and desires the strength, culture, and skills of Black people, but has no interest in the struggles that come with it.
The Haunting Black Experience
Black horror leaves the audience with chills not because of the jump scares or chilling sound effects, but the scary realities spread throughout the movie. Vampires and white consciousness being implanted into Black bodies may not happen in real life, but feel real due to the rooted real-life experiences, history, and trauma. These films create conversations about religion, racism, and identity in the Black community. They create a unique way of challenging the audience to think deeply about the world around them. Revealing truths in a twisted and haunted way.
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