Der Schrei des Todes

"Let the cartoooooooooooon begin!" Sorry, but for my generation William Marshall is best remembered as The King of Cartoons from Pee Wee's Playhouse, but little did I realize that he was originally the super cool vampire Prince Mamuwalde AKA Blacula! Marshall returns in this sequel that's surprisingly good. Having been vanquished at the end of the first film, Blacula is resurrected by a drug dealer who wants to use Blacula to exact his revenge. Blacula instead turns the dealer into part of a vampire army he commands for his own ends, part of which is securing Pam Grier, who hadn't broke out yet with "Coffy" which was released this same year. The vampires are creepy, the voodoo themed storyline is entertaining, and the film features a strong leads in Marshall and Grier. Overall, this is pretty silly blaxploitation film, but it's also quite entertaining in a camp sort of way. And look fast for Craig T. Nelson as a police sergeant.

When the voodoo priestess Mama Loa dies, she had not selected who would be the next leader of the cult. Her ambitious and arrogant son Willis Daniels (Richard Lawson) believes he will be her successor, but the cult chooses his stepsister Lisa Fortier (Pam Grier) instead. Willis is angry and meets an old voodoo leader that gives Mamuwalde bones and written instructions to him to seek revenge against the cult. He resurrects Blacula that turns him into a vampire and his minion. Blacula goes to a party at Justin Carter (Don Mitchell)'s house and meets his girlfriend Lisa, who is a powerful voodoo practitioner. Blacula continues his crime spree and while Justin investigates the murder cases, Blacula asks for help to Lisa to use her powers to get rid of his curse using a voodoo doll. Will she succeed?

"Scream Blacula Scream" is a Blaxploitation horror film and sequel of "Blacula". The first film was very funny, but this sequel is not so comic. Anyway, it is also a worthwhile entertainment. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Os Gritos de Blácula" ("The Screams of Blacula")

I'm a Dracula fan and I really got a kick out of this film. True, if you try to perceive it as merely serious horror, then you might be disappointed. But if you view it as a Dracula Genre-Blackxploitation Meets Hammer Films-1970's Culture Shock Satire, then it's a lot of fun! Sure, I'll watch anything with Pam Grier in it; and I have! I love William Marshall's deep-voiced, precisely-dictioned intonations too. How many actors can walk into a 1970's black nightclub in a tux and cape,sans "afro" and carry it off with his effortless aplomb? But this film has more than humor. It was fairly well thought out and is entertaining escapism. It also has all the usual funny little peccadillos of the low budget film genre. These are numerous and often hilarious. I watch it almost every time I see it on cable. [Of course I also loved Dr. Black and Mr. Hyde, with Bernie Casey.] For my money, any Dracula is good Dracula... or is that Blackula?

I thoroughly disagree with a previous reviewer. This movie is a lot of fun! Anyone who loves Pam Grier as much as I do must see it, even as she is definitely not the "action hero" here. She looks particularly sexy in a sweaty ceremony scene. Unbelievable dialogue highlights this film; like when Blacula makes a new convert and the guy realizes he has no reflection in the mirror and says, "Hey man, I don't mind bein' a vampire and all that sh**, but a man has got to see his face!" I was halfway through this movie before remembering William Marshall (Blacula) from Pee Wee's Playhouse as the Cartoon King ("Let the cartoon...BEGIN!") Anyway, if you've seen this film's title and you're familiar with Pam's early work, you know what you're in for. Have fun with it!

This was a great movie. I think it was scarier than the original Blacula. William Marshall (with his deep voice) is more demanding in this sequel. The movie is funny at times also. I saw William Marshall at a horror convention about four years ago. He looked older, but it looked like he could have still played the great parts that he played within the Blacula series. This movie impressed me soooo much that I wish they would make another sequel. My rating of this movie is 4 stars out of 5 stars. I wonder is this movie on DVD yet.