Let’s take the word “ratchet” back this Black History Month… with murder! A slasher centered around trap music, casual racism, and all-around ghetto-fabulousness, Ratchet is an unintentionally (or maybe intentionally) hilarious look at the nonsense our community goes through, not only in the entertainment business, but in crime. Our final girl Alisha just can’t get a break!
After an obsessed psycho’s “love interest” is suspiciously murdered by a degenerate on Halloween.. A hip, urban city is terrorized by a brutal, vengeful killer who targets anyone who shares in the suspect’s “ratchet” characteristics.
Ratchet, IMDB
As the synopsis suggests, we have a masked killer seeking vengeance for the wrongs of the Black Community in harming his love interest. Alisha (Christina Karis) is a music manager caught in the middle when her client, rapper DN Ron (of course, short for “Dat Nigga Ron”) is accused of his secret girlfriend’s murder. Police come looking. More people from his crew keep dying. Alisha may not be as safe as she thinks she is, and seeks to solve that mystery and escape the ratchetry at hand.
At first glance, you would think this fit-for-Tubi special was just that — a severely stereotypical movie that is sure to get Black audiences to watch just because it’s Black, not caring about making the movie actually good. Ratchet is quite the opposite. Despite its title, Ratchet is a commentary on some aspects of Black culture dressed in gorgeous cinematography and peppered with perfectly-placed jokes. Ratchet was fantastic! Everything from the storyline to the slasher design and most of all, the overall look of the film, was absolutely high quality.
Now about the storyline. Slashers are probably an easier route to take when we’re talking about making a horror movie. The problem a lot of people face is making the killer scary and not goofy. Our slasher here is dressed to impress with a potato sack mask, space lanky braids, and brandishing both a machete and a bouquet of flowers. His kills are bloody and original. One of Ratchet‘s kills in particular makes headstand twerking a dangerous sport, and another puts blinged-out chains in a new light.
But the kills are loosened up nicely with plenty of jokes that both Black people and others can laugh at without feeling too bad. Ratchet references George Jefferson in the way the killer moves around. The use of “ratchet bitch” by white people. The fortune teller’s whole schtick. All of it was well-timed and hilarious. And while not selling one-liners, Ratchet‘s overall dialog was on point. Unlike movies like Malibu’s Most Wanted, every character sounded like they actually spoke the way they were written — something I appreciated greatly. It sells the story, making it all the more real. Not very many people can read a line about “a groupie chick getting murked” and have it sound completely natural.
I would be remiss to not talk about the cinematography though. Ratchet was so beautiful to look at. Sweeping camera pans in slick, crisp shots were only upstaged by magnificent lighting. Characters were lit so well that you forget it’s nighttime. One shot of Alisha looking out of her office window while draped in blue lighting stuck out to me the most.
Ratchet may sound Black as hell — and don’t get me wrong, it is — but it somehow transverses racial lines to be likeable by all. Of course, as a Black person you can probably relate to it a lot more, but it also has subtle pokes at microaggressions that don’t feel like they’re pointing fingers at non-Black people. Ratchet is smart, funny, and easy on the eyes. It may be called “Ratchet,” but it is really a masterpiece hiding beneath a grill and puffs of weed smoke.
Ratchet is available to rent or purchase on Amazon Prime Video. Follow Green Company Pictures on Instagram and YouTube for more!
