'Horror Noire' Director Xavier Burgin On 'Blacula,' Blackness And Film School
The streaming horror platform Shudder, a part of AMC Networks, recently released its first original documentary, Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror. Written by Ashlee Blackwell and Danielle Burrows, and based on the book of the same name by Robin R. Means Coleman, the film examines the historical portrayal of black people (and caricatures) in horror. It opens with the beginnings of American cinema itself in films like The Birth of a Nation and Night of the Living Dead, follows its story through the rise of the blaxploitation era, and continues through the present day. With interviews by African-American directors, actors and writers, Horror Noire offers a behind-the-scenes look at how difficult it can be not just to make films that break stereotypes, but to get them to audiences.
Horror Noire director Xavier Burgin is a graduate of USC's School of Cinematic Arts. He's directed episodes of the Emmy-nominated Web series Giants and won multiple awards for his screenplays and short films. Burgin spoke to critic Carolyn Hinds about his history with horror, the entwined threads of race and fear, and what he didn't learn in film school.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Not only is the first film which comprehensively documents the history of black characters in the horror genre — with a black director, writers and interviewees who are black creatives in the genre — it's also the first film of its kind
