Top 5 Black Horror Movies For This Halloween

October is the only time throughout the entire year you’re going to catch me watching horror movies. Mainly because of the spirit of Halloween, it just makes me want to consume scary content. But as a black person, I can’t help but notice how underrepresented Black people are in these films.

I bet you didn’t know LL Cool J was the first black man to survive two horror movies with “Deep Blue Sea” and “Halloween H20”. Isn’t that a crazy statistic? It feels as if black people’s only use in these movies is to be killed off. I have seen it happen too many times and this year I want to help make a change.

I dedicated this article to five of my favorite Black horror films. These are movies that are guaranteed to defy your expectations and go against the norm. Before I start this list, I have to mention that there are no slavery-themed movies on this list. You really lost your damn mind if you think I would include any slave movie. Nothing is more scarier than that abomination.

5. Leprechaun in the Hood(series)

I felt for this list, I had to work my way up. This means I couldn’t start off with my strongest material. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t enjoy a terrible movie. Some of the best movies are so bad they’re enjoyable. That’s what the “Leprechaun in the Series” is to me. I couldn’t even select one movie, so I just chose the whole series.

It’s something about the novelty of a leprechaun causing havoc, in the hood, of all places. This is one of those films that you have to throw out common sense for it to make sense. There are going to be plenty of silly moments and you have to take them with a grain of salt. These movies are best enjoyed best under the influence because they don’t make any damn sense.

4. Candy Man(1992)

For #4, I have a film that is not only a great horror film but just a great film in general. If you’re young like me, you most likely missed out on the 90s classic, “Candy Man”. It’s just a well put together movie from start to finish.

And don’t even waste your time watching the recent remake that came out a couple of years ago. It is a huge waste of your time and I don’t want you to repeat the same mistake I made. I’m a firm believer that all remakes suck. The reason that this one sucks so badly, is that the directors attempted to overload the plot with too many events. It’s almost as if they were overly ambitious. Your best bet is to stick with the original.

3. The First Purge

Can you believe they made a “Purge” movie for Black people? Me neither, but I knew I had to see it once I saw the trailer. Even though most of this movie is pretty much satire, it’s probably the most realistic horror movie that I have ever witnessed. It takes a deep look at how black people would react in an actual purge.

Other than a few instances of stealing, people were having a good time. So much to the point, they had to move white supremacists into the projects. This is when the plot starts to take a turn for the worse and shit hits the fan. Out of all the movies in the series, this one stands out for taking a different/realistic approach. After witnessing the “January 6th Capital Riots”, the events that took place in this film are more realistic than we think.

4. Us

Only the best directors can pull off a plot twist. At one point, M. Night Shyamalan was the king of plot twists. Nobody was touching him or coming close until Jordan Peele along. “Us” is a great example of letting your plot twists be the big payoff.

Without spoiling, this movie has one of the craziest plot twists. There’s no way that you could have seen it coming. Another great thing about this movie is the performances of the kid actors. They kind of steal the show every time they show them on camera. This movie is really solid, but it’s not nearly as good as the #1 spot.

1. Get Out

There’s no way you couldn’t have predicted that “Get Out” was going to be listed as the best black horror film. Once again, Jordan Peele was deep in his bag when he made this. For this, to be his first feature film is insane. Horror and comedy movies are considered two of the hardest genres for screenwriting. And this film excelled at both of those aspects.

This movie works because it makes you wonder about the number of people who experienced a similar situation. That’s what makes it so scary. You can feel the subtle racism from the White actors, who did their best not to overdo it. The more times that you rewatch it, the more times you will notice something that you see the first time.

It felt like Peele caught lightning in a bottle with “Get Out” and can never recreate that magic again, even if he wanted.