Like The Big Chill meets Cabin in The Woods with more than a passing wink to the Scream franchise, this enjoyable slice of horror hokum finds seven black college friends reuniting after a decade to party hard in a lodge in an isolated forest over the Juneteenth weekend.
The plan is to get blitzed but when they discover the titular and very macabre board game in the basement, their plans are derailed. Before you can say "I can't get a damn phone signal", the gang are locked in a battle of wits and a dance of death with a mysterious figure out for revenge for a decade-old slight.
They’re a hip and likeable bunch (one of whom has to be a caricature of Spike Lee) and the rapid fire dialogue is rich with pop culture and Black History references. Directed by Tim Story (Ride Along, Think Like a Man, Barbershop) and with a screenplay by Tracy Oliver (Girls Trip, Harlem), there’s a good joke about Friends and a better one about Trump.
It's an affectionate homage with zero scares but some well-observed points to be made about black characters in horror flicks, namely, if the entire cast of a horror movie is black, who dies first? Stick around for the closing credits or you’ll miss the rather smart punchline.
Alan Corr @CorrAlan2
