An 18th century African prince is turned into a vampire while visiting Transylvania. Two centuries later, he rises from his coffin attacking various residents of Los Angeles and meets Tina, a woman who he believes is the reincarnation of his deceased wife.
Blacula, O Vampiro Negro, Blackula, Drácula negro, Blacula, le vampire noir, בלאקולה, 吸血黑王子, Blácula, O Vampiro Negro, 브라큐라, Блакула
USAPG
UK18
Germany16
Germany
UK
USA
Things I've learned from Blacula:
- If you take the fun out of silly fun, what's left is just silly.
- Dracula was, apart from an evil creature of the night, also an awful racist. The only reason he curses prince Manuwalde is because he is black. He is a brilliant wordsmith though. I mean, Blacula, it's brilliant. The fact that nobody calls him that in the rest of the film is a bit of a bummer for him though.
-Black vampires apparently don't only grow fangs, they also grow sideburns.
-A vampire chasing a woman set to a Theme from Shaft-esque song is refreshingly odd.
- Apparently it's completely normal to have a rather long song and dance routine in the middle of the film.
- Those opening credits. Man, they're a thing of beauty.
That's about it.
As much as it may sound controversial, I must say that, having seen both the classic Universal horror and Hammer films as well as the Netflix adaptation, having seen all of these adaptations, I have to say that this is my favorite. William Crain's seamless blend of the blaxploitation genre and the horror and avant-garde of the era results in a sometimes silly, sometimes frightening, but ultimately entertaining film.
The fun comes not just from the random stuff Crain comes up with, such as the slow-motion attack scene with the woman in the hospital, but also from the performances, in particular William Marshall as the title character and Thalmus Rasulala as this film's version of Van Helsing. This dynamic between…
Love this movie and it’s voodoo as hell sequel! There’s some legit terror moments and William Marshall absolutely slays the role. I really wish we got a few more of these in the 70’s—perhaps even adding more monsters to the fold.
Evidently us gays could give blood back in 1972.
This opens with some strong Hammer vibes before turning into a blaxploitation film with vampires, like someone fused Shaft with Dracula A.D. 1972. A film where Dracula is a racist dickbag and his creation, Blacula, is infinitely cooler. A film that was pretty damn fun.
African prince, Mamuwalde, visits Dracula's castle in the late 1700s, to ask for the Count's aid in ending the slave trade. Except, it turns out that Dracula's a big fan of slavery and he decides to afflict Mumuwalde with his own thirst for blood, before sealing him inside a coffin indefinitely. Flash forward to the streets of LA, in the early 70s, and it's time for Blacula to finally feed.
William Marshall, who you may…
I was saving this for a day when I needed a bit of cheering up and it did not disappoint. Honestly, it took me until the homophobic slur to realize the two were a gay caricature. I just thought they were starting a band and needed some cool props. Sometimes I am dumb. Other than that, I can genuinely say I'm looking forward to the sequel. Plus, I really loved the score.
70s horror # 124! 🐲🐲🐲
Absolutely awesome in it 70s glory! A very fun watch! William Marshall has the best voice of any vampire! If you haven’t seen it is a must see! A cult classic!
English Version below
Vampirtage die Vierte (4/3)
Die Afros rasen durch die 70er,
Der eine beißt den anderen kalt,
Die ganze Afro-Bande brüllt:
Wo ist die Halsschlagader,
Wo ist die Halsschlagader,
Wer hat die Halsschlagader durchgetrennt?
Wo ist die Halsschlagader,
Wo ist die Halsschlagader,
Wer hat die Halsschlagader durchgetrennt?
Der Afrovater sitzt auf der Couch,
Und trinkt sich einen Rausch,
Die ganze Afro-Bande brüllt:
Wo ist die Halsschlagader,
Wo ist die Halsschlagader,
Wer hat die Halsschlagader durchgetrennt?
Wo ist die Halsschlagader,
Wo ist die Halsschlagader,
Wer hat die Halsschlagader durchgetrennt?
Die Spannung was für ein Graus,
Schließt die Äuglein mit Mann und Maus,
Die ganze Afro-Bande brüllt:
Wo ist die Halsschlagader,
Wo ist die Halsschlagader,
Wer hat die Halsschlagader durchgetrennt?…
A suave vampire cursed with eternal thirst—and a script drier than a centuries-old coffin. Blaxploitation bite meets budget horror, but the real terror is how little it actually sinks in.
Hammer meets blaxploitation in this swinging seventies vampire movie. The film opens in the 1700s. Prince Mamuwalde pays a visit to Count Dracula to seek his help in ending the slave trade, but Dracula has little interest in that and instead turns Mamuwalde into a vampire; dubbing him 'Blacula' (see what they did there?) We then cut to some 200 years later. It's now the seventies and Blacula is rising from the tomb! The thing I really love about this film is the fact that it takes its ridiculous high camp plot and plays it completely serious. I mean, it's silly, but there's a proper attempt at a vampire movie with all the tropes - fangs, a cape, no reflection,…
Misogynist (because how else can they undercut the vampire's righteous anger but by making him pine for a woman he doesn't technically know?) and homophobic, and somehow drops the anti-racist angle (well, the most potent one) very quickly, but it has a strong performance and incredible soundtrack. It's a predictable film for anyone who's seen any sort of Dracula or derivative film, but it has some fun moments and great clothes.
October count: 15/31
A masterwork of recontextualisation: Positing that the 18th century slave trade was in fact, endorsed by misogynistic vampires; that all of the bloodsuckers best be set to the jazzy funk riffs of Gene Page; and perhaps most unequivocally, that the real gay icon of horror cinema is no other than Count Dracula himself. My apologies to The Babadook.
