As I noted in an entry towards the end of last year, 2013 should be an interesting year for black cinema (at the studio level, indie, and across the disapora). Looking down my continuously-growing list of black films scheduled for release (theatrical, TV, or home video), as well as those that will debut on the film festival circuit this year, it's quite long, and, as noted, is still growing.
In fact, I'd say that we might find ourselves in one of those rare years, when there's a fuller than usual slate of studio-backed black films, to complement the indies – an indie slate that, given what we know so far, should be strong – and foreign (to the USA) titles from Africa, Europe, South America, Canada, etc.
As I usually do at the start of every year, I take a long, hard look at everything we should look forward to for the year; but given how lenghy my list is, and the fact that it continues to grow the more research I do, I'm going to take a different approace this year.
Instead of compiling a single list into one lengthy post, I'm going to highlight each film individually, 1 per day, until I've listed them all. No worries, there won't be 365 titles; I'm still going to be somewhat selective in deciding which titles to highlight. But not too strict, so as to include as many as possible. We'll just see how it goes, and take it a day at a time, as the database is built.
First I should note that Bow Wow's military thriller, Allegiance, opened (last week), so consider it already entered into the database, as entry #1.
Second on the list, given that it opens this weekend, is Marlon Wayans' found-footage horor-comedy, A Haunted House, which is directed by Mike Tiddes, from a script penned by Wayans and Rick Alvarez.
The official synopsis reads:
In an outrageous send up of the Paranormal Activity movies, The Devil Inside and other “found footage” movies, A HAUNTED HOUSE features young couple Malcolm (Marlon Wayans) and Kisha (Essence Atkins) who have just moved in to their dream house. As they settle in, they quickly find they’re not alone. But it’s not the house that’s haunted, it’s Malcolm’s girlfriend who is possessed by a demon. Malcolm hires everyone from a priest to modern day ghostbusters to rid her of this unwelcome intruder, determined not to let the evil spirit ruin his relationship… or, more importantly, his sex life.
Open Road Films will release the movie (which co-stars Essence Atkins and Cedric The Entertainer) in the USA, starting this Friday, January 11, 2013.
A Haunted House will mark Marlon Wayans' first return to the big screen, since he played Ripcord in 2009's G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.
With an R-rating, as already noted, expect lots of crude humor.
The fact that Open Road is opening the film on a whopping 2,200 screens across the country tells you how high expectations are for it; so we'll be watching its box office closely this weekend.
I spoke to Marlon Wayans exclusively in October about the project, and he revealed lots of details, not only about the film, but also the status of his Richard Pryor biopic. Read that interview HERE, if you missed it.
Check out the brand red-band trailer below:
