'Horror Noire' Trailer: Shudder's Documentary Explores The History Of Black Horror

Shudder, the subscription streaming service dedicated to horror movies, is slowly starting to create its own original content. Next up is the service's first documentary, Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror, which dives into the history of the depiction of black people in the genre and includes interviews with people like Jordan Peele (Get Out), Tony Todd (Candyman), Keith David (The Thing), and other notable creators in the genre space. Check out the trailer below.

According to the press release, this documentary "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. The film also explores how black voices in front of and behind the camera shaped and impacted the genre."

Xavier Burgin directed the doc, which is based on a book by Dr. Robin R. Means Coleman (who serves as an executive producer). The film features interviews with "notable horror creators from some of the most popular, critically acclaimed and culture-changing films in the genre, including directors William Crain (Blacula), Ernest Dickerson (Bones), Rusty Cundieff (Tales from the Hood), Jordan Peele (Get Out, Us), Tina Mabry (Mississippi Damned); actors Tony Todd (Candyman), Keith David (The Thing), Paula Jai Parker (Tales from the Hood), Richard Lawson (Scream Blacula Scream), Rachel True (The Craft); and authors Tananarive Due (My Soul to Keep), and Dr. Robin R. Means Coleman, among many others."

This is Shudder's first original doc, and marks the latest step in their expansion into original programming. Last year, they produced Revenge, a movie that ended up on our Best Trailers of 2018 list and our Best Horror Movies of 2018 list. Here's hoping this one makes some waves as well, because it looks like a cool history lesson in an area I admittedly haven't spent much time thinking about beyond the "black people always die first" trope.

Horror Noire premieres on Shudder on February 7, 2019 after special theatrical screening events in New York and Los Angeles earlier in the month.