Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror (2019) on Netflix

Plot summary

Drawing on a 2011 book about black Americans in horror cinema, the documentary moves chronologically through the genre. The 1915 film The Birth of a Nation, with its racist depictions, is discussed for shaping later portrayals, and the sparse roles available to black performers in the 1930s through the 1950s are examined. Night of the Living Dead, released in 1968, is noted for its African-American protagonist. The 1970s blaxploitation cycle brings in Blacula, Abby and Ganja & Hess, and voodoo in Sugar Hill. Later decades raise tokenism, sidekick roles, characters who die early, self-sacrifice and the Magical Negro, with Candyman, Tales from the Hood, Eve's Bayou and Demon Knight as examples. Recent films such as Attack the Block, The Girl with All the Gifts and Get Out point to wider representation.