El vampiro negro

Given the cheesy title, any viewer would go into "Blacula" expecting a laughable blaxploitation flick. But in fact, not only is "Blacula" well-made, it ranks as one of the best vampire films of all time.

"Blacula" certainly doesn't age very well; the music, clothes, and Afros alone drive a stake into the movie's hip status! But the movie is a lot of fun to watch. William Marshall is a great vampire, with a suave deep voice and quite a brooding presence on screen. He definitely challenges Christopher Lee as most memorable screen vampire. Vonetta McGee and Denise Nicholas provide screams and a love interest and both became very popular in the blaxploitation film industry. I loved them both!!! Everyone else in the cast does a rather good job; one noteworthy bit part is Ketty Lester as the cabbie Juanita Jones. She is great and is only on-screen (alive, that is) for a few minutes! She, too, would continue in a prosperous blaxploitation career!

The Hues Corporation ("Rock the Boat") provide some pretty good music in a club; their three songs and the "Blacula" theme song are good excuses for buying the soundtrack CD! Overall, "Blacula" does deliver the goods. It's got some nice campy parts (jive talk, the forementioned Afros and fashions), but is also filled with hair-raising scare scenes (Juanita Jones attacking the undertaker Elisha Cook, Jr., the warehouse filled with vampires). The ending is certainly a surprise and finishes off a great moviegoing experience. Skip "Blackenstein" and get this, it is certainly worth any horror fan/psychotronic fan's money!

P.S., The term "Blaxploitation" does not mean the exploitation of black actors/actresses, it means advertising schemes exploiting the fact that black people are in the films to lure black moviegoers into the theatres!

"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!

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

It seems that a lot of people dislike this film due to weak contextual restraints. Superficical gripes towards the actors' fashions or the homosexual lampooning in the film are myopic at best. This film came out in 1972- before Halloween, before Star Wars, and before the postmodern scare irony of the Scream franchise. It also seems that people do not take into account that this film is from the Black filmic canon, which is important to note when comparing it to other horror films.

Blacula was an early entry into the non-action field of 70's Black film. Forays in different directions were rare and notable entries few and far between. However, in the Black horror subgenre, Blacula is probably the most notable. It's a straight up vampire story with some well-conceived twists. The intro depiction of Mamuwalde as an African prince contesting slavery makes for a solid grounding and entry into the modern day. And then it's clear that AIP spent more than usual to grace this film just by the opening credits. The outstanding montage, with a considerable Saul Bass influence, are striking and instantly memorable. So too is the score, provided by Barry White collaborator Gene Page and his brother. The Hues Corporation contribute what could be one of their best songs, "There He Is Again", alongside 2 others. The act even sings them live in the movie to the characters ala "Superfly".

The superb acting and sturdy plot cannot be glossed over. The classically trained William Marshall proves a genteel, suave yet emotional main character. Vonetta McGee is graceful as the beauty easily swayed into Mamuwalde's charms. And staple actor Thalamus Rasulala's strength and authority are in full impact here as the skeptical doctor on the case. The plot might not break too many horror conventions, but it doesn't have to- who would have imagined a Black vampire story in 1962, just 10 years earlier? The love theme in the story provides excellent character development, something that many genre screenwriters skimp on.

A great film for the 70's and still a worthwhile viewing. Avoid the sequel, where Pam Grier is the only attraction.