Black Holler: A Throw-Gags-at-the-Wall Horror-Comedy That's Scarily Unfunny
By Thom Ernst
Rating: C
Confession: When looking up a film on IMDB, I am almost sure to check out the ‘goofs’ category. But there are no ‘goofs’ listed for the film Black Holler.
I find it odd that a movie with an estimated budget of $15,000, a first-time director and an unknown cast, initially released in 2017 and only now getting distribution in 2021, should manage to get through filming without chalking up, at the very least, a dozen goofs.
On the other hand, any attempt to distinguish between what might be considered a goof with what is just part of the film would be an impossible task.
Black Holler. Did we mention Tamiko Robinson Steele is black? The movie does constantly.
Black Holler is a feature-length goof. Ostensibly it’s a comedy-horror film, but one that sets up the joke without delivering the punchline. The film yucks it up like a sharp jab to the ribcage, with each attempt at humour more painful than the last. Admittedly, I did chuckle once or twice, but it was later in the film when my defenses were well worn down.
Before going much further, I should point out that Black Holler won several awards on the festival circuit, including Best Screenplay and two Best Film wins. I assure you, none of those festivals had the words Venice, Berlin, Cannes, or Toronto in the title. But I’m being unkind. A film doesn’t have to be part of a prestigious film festival to warrant accolades, particularly a movie on a $15,000 budget.
It's prototype humour belongs to the rapid-fire throw-at-the-wall gags that fuel the Police Academy, Naked Gun, Airplane and Scary Movie franchises without matching the standards set by any of those films—even the really bad ones.
PROUDLY SUPPORTS ORIGINAL-CIN
Black Holler is about a group of students on an excavation trip. Presumably, they’re college-aged despite their grade-schooler personalities and their Learning Annex looks. The film is set in 1989 for no apparent reason beyond giving the filmmakers an excuse to use hilariously oversized mobile phones.
Each character is divvied up into their one-note frat comedy stereotype. You need not try to guess who is who because the characters don’t just act the part, they announce it: “Look at me,” whines the vanity girl (Heidi Ervin).
In contrast, the moody goth girl (Sarah VanArsdal) looks disinterested. The football jerk (frequently interchanged with different actors stepping into the role) bullies the nerdy Poindexter, who speaks in socially alienating exhaustive liner notes.
There are others too; the religious fanatic, the alternative punk couple (I like them), the motherly but secretly over-sexed bus driver, and the ineffective Professor, plus a few more to round out a proper cross-section of an atypical teenaged student body if played by 30-year-olds undergoing regression therapy.
Laquita Johnson (Tamiko Robinson Steele) is the odd person out, a street-wise, level-headed, black belt orphan adopted and raised by two fathers. That Laquita is black is worth mentioning because every fourth joke has something to do with her race. The rest are white, and as the press release describes them, they are all ridiculous.
Ridiculous has its place, and I’m not opposed to portraying white people as ridiculous. I know many who are and have been one myself at times. But I do wonder what the point of all this is. If there is a sub-level commentary running just underneath the sophomoric potty humour and clear racial divide, I missed it.
Black Holler is directed by Jason Berg and stars Tamiko Robinson Steele, Sarah VanArsdal, and Heidi Ervin. Black Holler is currently available on streaming platforms.