Blacula
Urban action and fatal attraction give rise to a groove from beyond the grave in this funkadelic, fangadelic Soul Cinema sensation! The eternally cool William Marshall puts a fresh spin on the age-old legend of the vampire, condemned to wander the earth with an insatiable lust for blood. In 1780, African Prince Mamuwalde (Marshall) pays a visit to Count Dracula in Transylvania, seeking his support in ending the slave trade. Instead, the evil count curses his noble guest and transforms him into a vampire! Released from his coffin nearly two centuries later by a pair of luckless interior decorators, Mamuwalde emerges as "Blacula," one strange dude strollin' the streets of L.A. on a nightly quest for human blood!
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Last updated: October 20, 2009, 2:26 pm
Blacula Cusomter reviews:
Average Rating: 4.0 Total Reviews: 43
(William Alexander, 2009-07-31) Other reviews in this thread have thumb-nailed the history of the very interesting "Blacksploitation" films of the late 1960's - early 1970's, and there is no need to rehash that history here, nor navigate the well-turned plotting of this film. While modern audiences will find the film dated and perhaps even "cheesy," this would be unfair. As historical artifact, it is a product of its time and genre, and unarguably one of the superior contributions to "Blackspoitation" theatre. But especially noteworthy is the performance of the late William Marshall in the title role. Like Boris Karloff in "Frankenstein," his performance is not only layered, but in no way campy or overblown. His regal vampire prince, Mamuwalde, is a being who feels pain and desires redemption but who cannot transcend his monstrous condition. Marshall's restrained and even elegant imagining of the classical vampire allows the viewer to empathize with him even as they realize that his existence is a tragedy and that he must be destroyed. And the metaphors for slavery equalling vampirism are subtly woven through a generally well-written script which makes no apologies for presenting the viewer with any number of such paradoxes without offering any pat answers. A superior film for the early 1970's, a superior example of "Blacksploitation" cinema at its very best, and a brilliant performance by the late William Marshall make "Blacula" excellent viewing still.
(Blayne C. Leonard, 2009-07-01) I first saw "Blacula" when I was about 9 years old at the drive-in. Being a horror movie fan, I really didn't care much about the story as long as I got to see William Marshall change into Blacula! Watching it again 37 years later brings back great memories. I also find that the story line is actually a pretty ingenious one. "Blacula" was originally an African prince (and a really good man) who went to Transylvania to meet with Dracula, seeking his help to stop the slave trade in the late 1700's. What a big mistake! I wonder how he came up with that great idea ("Hey honey...I hear this Dracula cat is pretty cool with some clout - maybe HE can help...let's go visit him - it'll be a nice getaway!")! When the prince thought Drac was trying to put moves on his wife, the good prince tried to fight back to defend her honor and to escape the castle. That's when the evil Dracula decided to turn the African prince into a vampire. The corniest part of the movie (to me) was how he actually got the name "Blacula". 200 years later, the vampire prince makes his way to America to start his reign of terror! The story is a good mixture of camp and classic horror. It also has campy, comic-book like African American characters inspired from prototypes seen in previous Dracula movies, including Blacula himself sporting the traditional formalwear and an African American version of Van Helsing. The nightclub scene was pretty funny - with the old school Soul Train look and dancing! There was no nudity or extreme usage of any profanity in the movie, so other than a little blood here and there, it's safe for kids over 10 to watch (it is a PG movie). I enjoyed the movie, expecting some degree of corn along with it. If you go into this movie expecting nothing but good clean cheese and a little corn, you'll enjoy it too!
(Jose Lopez, 2009-06-06) this is a cheezy flick, pam grier is the only reason to watch, other than that this movie and its sequel is better to watch on cable.
(Robert I. Hedges, 2009-03-27) In "Blacula" the great William Marshall plays Mamuwalde, a debonair African prince, who visits Dracula for help in ending the slave trade. Unfortunately for Mamuwalde, Dracula does not see eye to eye with him, bites his neck and curses him to thirst eternally for blood in a coffin as Blacula. The coffin is unearthed several centuries later and taken to Los Angeles, where Blacula is finally freed and the carnage ensues. The remainder of the plot is an odd gothic romance with unique cultural elements. The film is an excellent example of early 1970's blaxploitation films, featuring prototypical clothes and hairstyles, language, and even a cameo by The Hues Corporation singing songs by Waldo Holmes who wrote their signature smash "Rock The Boat." The film itself obviously owes much of its substance to the traditions of Dracula films, but Marshall is an excellent actor, and far from being merely a stereotype, provides an excellent performance. Unfortunately, the other actors are not in his league, and some of the supporting performances leave a bit to be desired. Marshall has an amazing emotional range, and the genuine sense of sadness over the loss of his wife is far above the standards of the genre. The DVD has a trailer and multilingual subtitles, otherwise there are no extras. I would have loved a commentary track (although sadly Marshall passed away in 2003) or a historical documentary putting "Blacula" into cultural focus. While the film is good humored, it has a captivating mixture of genuine horror and camp value that I enjoyed. "Blacula" can be enjoyed on several different levels, and I recommend it.
(Stanley Runk, 2008-11-27) It was only a matter of time, wasn't it? There were many Blaxploitation flicks being made at this time, most of them by AIP, and it was inevitable that the genre would cross paths with the horror genre. After all, AIP had most of it's success in the B horror films it produced. I'm not sure there's a single human being that can utter the title of this movie and not chuckle. It's almost genius in it's childishness. Oddly enough, the film isn't camp nor is it at all played for laughs. This was definitely an attempt to make a true horror film. Granted it's looked at by today's audiences as unintentionally funny, but that's only really due to the fashions, music and lingo of the time period. In the film, African Prince Manuwalde is bitten by Count Dracula in the late 1700s and put under the vampire curse because Manuwalde wasn't gonna put up with Dracula's racist crap(Dracula was a strong supporter of slavery and even had the hots for Manuwalde's wife. Learn something new every day, huh?). So, Blacula is finally set free in the 70s and wastes no time in grabbing a bite to eat-in this case it's two gay antique dealers, one black, one white. This film certainly has equal opportunity exploitation. Soon he crosses paths with Vonetta McGee, who is the spittin' image of his late wife(McGee played his wife in the prologue). The rest of the film is his pursuit to woo and reunite with her while keeping his identity a secret...and feeding of course. Yes, yes, this a very cliched plot device and we've seen it in countless other vampire movies-the ol' My Wife From Hundreds Of Years Ago Has Been Reincarnated And I Must Win Her Back Again plot. Meanwhile a doctor played by Blaxploitation regular Thalmus Rasulala is investigating the strange deaths and finally stumbles upon the truth. He becomes a kind of modern(modern being the 1970s), black Dr. Van Helsing. Yes, there's nothing terribly original about the film's plot. The originality is all in the way the plot is presented. Though I really liked how the film ended. As a horror film it's solid enough, but not very scary or suspenseful. Some might even think of it as boring, but I wasn't bored. What really kept me interested and in my opinion made the movie was the performance of William Marshall. He never made it very big after this role, though he was the King of Cartoons on Pee-Wee's Playhouse. Too bad coz he's quite a good actor. With his handsome yet sinister looks, deep voice and sophisticated demeanor, he was a fantastic choice. I'd have to say he reminds me of a black Christopher Lee. So, while it may not be the gigglefest you hoped it would be, or very effective as an outright horror film, the movie is much better than it probably should have been with a title like Blacula. I think we can blame this fact on Marshall's performance, which definitely makes the movie.