Based on the 2011 book by Robin R. Means Coleman, the documentary Horror Noire (Dir. Xavier Burgin, 2021) is an excellent introduction to identifying socio-political realities in film and possibly a way to lengthen your TBW list. (I added Girl with All the Gifts to mine.)
Early on, there’s some discussion of classic films, like Birth of a Nation—and its reflection of the government’s approval of political persecution by groups like the KKK—and King Kong. Commentary by people like Tananarive Due (her books are great, if you’re into horror) outlines the kinds of opportunities available to Black actors in Hollywood: how, initially, they were simply played by white actors, then they were represented as aliens (e.g. Creature of the Black Lagoon), and then had limited roles as second-class citizens or mystical figures (e.g. Uncle Remus).
With films like 1973’s Ganja and Hess (directed by Bill Gunn) and Scream Blacula Scream (starring Pam Grier) horror movies begin to move past the limitations of Blaxploitation films. Gunn’s film, exploring links between addiction and vampirism, was too smart and too stylized for many viewers, Due explains; more commonly, Black actors in horror films suffered from Red Shirt Phenomenon (i.e. the disposable characters in a Star Trek landing party, the first to die).
Clive Barker’s Candyman, a story originally designed to provoke conversations about class differences on the page, introduced conversations about race in regards to casting: was it an opportunity for a Black actor to take the lead role, or was it perpetuating patterns of Black men as predators? In Attack the Block, Black actors have lead roles with agency and the lead in Girl With All the Gifts was cast—but not written—as a Black character. Jordan Peele figures prominently as well, with a juicy bit of information about his having rewritten the ending of Get Out, in order to offer something he perceived audiences needed at the time, with BLM protests prominent and ongoing.
A great resource for horror writers.