Blacula

"Blacula" - can there be a title that would sound more promising for fans of 70s cult-material? And cult-stuff this is indeed! While "Blacula" of 1970 is certainly no highlight of 70s blaxploitation cinema, this is about as entertaining as it gets for lovers of cult-cinema, and an absolute must-see for all the blaxploitation enthusiast's out there. Plot and suspense are secondary, of course. This film is pure style and coolness, which is delivered in a highly entertaining manner.

In 1780, the African Prince Mamuwalde (William Marshall) is on a visit at Count Dracula's castle in Transsylvania with his wife Luva (Vonetta McGee). Mamuwalde, who wants to put an end to slave trade, falls on deaf ears with the evil Count who supports slavery. After a subsequent argument, Dracula bites Mamuwalde, turning him into a vampire, and locks him in a coffin for eternity. Almost two centuries later, a black/white couple of (very) gay interior decorators buy several pieces of furniture from Dracula's castle, including the coffin in which Mamuwalde was locked. Back in the United states, they open the coffin, releasing Mamuwalde, who has become a vampire... Blacula! And he subsequently runs into the beautiful Tina (also Vonetta McGee) who is the spitting image of his wife...

I did not expect extreme suspense, but what i was (a bit) disappointed with was the lack of gore. Whenever Blacula bites someone, I thought to myself that the whole thing wold be quite a bite cooler if he'd rip little pieces of flesh out (or do something else of the kind). The make-up is very cool, however. The atmosphere is generally very cool and typical for the funky 70s. William Marshall fits perfectly in the role of Blacula, and so does Thalmus Rasulala, who plays the hero character as a super-cool Shaft-style forensic specialist. For me personally, however, the absolute highlight is the sexy Vonetta McGee. I've been a fan of Vonetta McGee since I first saw her in Sergio Corbucci's Italian Western masterpiece "The Great Silence" of 1968 (one of my all-time favorite movies), and she sure is amazing here. Denise Nicholas is equally sexy as her sister. The movie is as sleaze-less as it is non-gory, however, so don't expect the amount of sex and nudity that you're probably used to from blaxploitation cinema. All things considered I have only one regret with "Blacula" - it should have been nastier! With more sex and violence, this could have been a great blaxploitation flick, but it is sadly too mild for my tastes. It is still a classic, however, and the funky soundtrack and super-cool 70s style make it even more enjoyable. Highly recommended to all the fans of blaxploitation and cult-cinema out there!

BLACULA has always been a favorite flick of mine. Two of my biggest intertests within pop culture are the "blaxploitation" film era and gothic subculture. BLACULA makes a perfect melding of these two genres. I also love the fact that it's unique to all other "blaxploitation" movies in the sense that it has a story with true backbone, and the film's main player, William Marshall, gets so into the role he plays and isn't just another Afro-American leading man that talks the lingo and prances around in a fur. He seems well-dignified and intelligent. I thoroughly enjoy this movie and recommend it highly.

And where the hell is the DVD??!!?

I saw Blacula in the theatre when I was 5 or 6 years old. It scared the bejeesus out of me!!! I had nightmares for weeks, and my mother was very angry at my cousins for taking me to see it. I wasn't allowed to watch a horror flick again until I was old enough to go on my own and buy my own ticket (and even then I stayed away for a while. . . the next one I saw was Nightmare on Elm Street when I was in highschool!!!).

Anyway, I saw the movie for the second time two nights ago, 29 years later.. . and it was not as scary as I remembered. However, I can see how my young mind was terrified at the time. AND, I can see how my teenaged cousins loved it so much. In 1972, this movie was at the early end of the blaxploitation era, and besides the fact that the main character was a bloodsucker, the characters were generally positive (i.e. no pimpin' drug-dealin' gangstas) You'll be hard pressed to find another early seventies black movie that can say that!

I think, for the time, it was a pretty good low budget horror movie. They deserve their own category, you know.

Yeah, I know, it sounds ridiculous. There is, however, quite a lot beneath the hilarious surface of "Blacula." This is a unique take on the vampire legend. It is the first Dracula film I have seen in which the lead vampire is driven by rage, not by lust or blood lust. Blacula is a tragic figure, a man who is angry about his condition. One could even view this film as a microchosm of race and civil rights issues in the seventies. Yes, I know, that's pushing it. Oh, well, even if you don't go in for the sociological aspects of Blaxploitation horror, check this movie out. It's funny and campy--a great party movie. Also, believe it or not, there is a film called "Blackenstein" though I have been unable to find a cop

I didn't see Blacula until 2006, 34 years after it was made, and I found it very entertaining. The lead actor, William Marshall, is really something special and gives the role some authenticity. So if you've made it this far without seeing Blacula, I would recommend it even more.

Blacula is portrayed as a somewhat sympathetic character, which I like. Blacula was an African prince in his previous, non-vampire life, who unfortunately travels to Transylvania. There, he attempts to win support from Count Dracula to end the international slave trade. Dracula is not exactly helpful, needless to say.

William Marshall is well-cast as a vampire. Charming and debonair one moment, he can turn nasty pretty fast. Marshall is a good actor whose performance here raises what could have been mediocre schlock horror into a pretty good movie.

A must-see for horror fans and recommended for just about everybody else too. 7/10