Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

What up, my brothas! Welcome to my Black Christmas (and I don't mean Q'Uanz'hah, or whatever the hell it is) write off. Come celebrate the best and worst of hard hitting, hard lovin', two fisted, no nonsense blaxploitation flicks ever offered by Hollywood (and of course from outside the studio system, too). The sleazy, the exploitative, the classics, the forgotten and the crap - all examined over the 12 days of Christmas. However, with this comes a disclaimer:

WARNING! Absolutely no one under 18 admitted to this review!

No, seriously. While I do try and keep in mind that epinions is an all-ages site and do try to mind my manners appropriately, there's no point in being polite when discussing movies like these. Salty language may and will creep in from time to time.

And with that, on to BLACULA. Can you dig it?

God bless American International Pictures! From 1956 to about 1980, James H. Nicholson and Samuel Z. Arkoff, were dedicated to releasing independently produced, low-budget B-movie flicks. In addition to acting as localization and distributor for most of the Toho monster films of the day, we have them to thank for such drive in movie classics like The Amazing Colossal Man, X - The Man with X-Ray Eyes, Count Yorga, Beach Party, The Fall of the House of Usher - and of course today's subject: Blacula!

I bet that Melvin Van Peebles had no idea what he was unleashing on the grindhouse circuits back the 70's when he released Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. With that one release, the black man could finally get past the 'Uncle Tom' roles and get some positive, ass-kicking, hard-hitting, heroic black heroes (and heroines) that wouldn't take no shit from nobody - especially not The Man!

During the blaxploitation boom, there were all kinds of genres of films tapped - comedy, buddy movies, hard boiled detectives who punched first and asked questions later, spy films, and of course horror. Titles (and quality) was all over the map: Blackenstein, Dr. Black and Mr. Hyde, The House on Skull Mountain, Sugar Hill - but of the lot, Blacula is the best, winning the 1973 Golden Scroll for Best Horror Film from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. Not only does Blacula work as a blacksploitation film, it's also a pretty good horror movie to boot!

Blacula opens in the year of our lord 1790, with the African prince Mamuwalde and his wife Luva meeting the Transylvanian statesman Count Dracula in hopes of stemming the slave trade of his people. The Count, being the charmer that he is, insults the pair with a racial slur, bites Mamuwalde, dubs him Blacula, and locks him into a coffin to starve forever - before sealing his wife in the secret room with him so her last thoughts will be of her husband screaming in agony from his coffin.

Fast forward to The Present Day (well, the present day of 1972, that is) and the two most gay men ever to grace the silver screen. These flaming men have purchased the entire contents of Dracula's castle to sell back in the States - including a ancient coffin (vampire came standard equipment in those days). Upon arriving back in Los Angeles, they start going through their treasures and of course accidentally freeing Mamuwalde onto an unsuspecting world.

(A brief aside here -it's interesting to see how the homosexual stereotypes are treated by another minority trying to get out from under the shadows of The Man. It's almost as if the Blacks were trying to go "Look! We're not nearly as bad as THESE guys!")

After sating his thirst for blood on the two interior decorators, Mamuwalde he comes across the lovely Tina - a dead ringer (if you'll pardon the term) for his long dead beloved wife. Of course Mamuwalde doesn't seem to realize how much time has passed since he was locked away - but then again he takes modern progresses like cars, telephones and cameras in stride so perhaps he's not thinking clearly (or that he's been able to keep up with progress from inside his crypt? I don’t know, and there's never a 'fish out of water' vibe from Mamuwalde, so I'll chalk it up to inattentive film-making.)

He managed to befriend Tina and starts putting those silky smooth Nigerian moves on her. Meanwhile, Tina's sister Michelle and her husband - Dr. Gordon Thomas are investigating the strange murders that are happening in town, where corpses are found, drained of blood before eventually going missing. . . .

Yeah, pretty standard Dracula formula: the lovely object of Dracula's affection, the nemesis Van Helsing-ish doctor (although we never find out what exactly Thomas' connection to the police - he's a doctor, not a cop, but he investigates deaths. However he's a sharp dresser and he has a mustache, which according to the rules of Blacksploitation films, automatically makes him The Hero), a growing Vampire population, and a mob of angry scared villagers - or in this case, police. No Renfield analog, tho - which is a pity.

What gives Blackula its soul (oooh, a pun that works on several levels) is the performance of distinguished Shakespearean actor William Marshall (whom you might remember as the King of Cartoons from Pee-Wee's Playhouse) as Mamuwalde. He's one of the best - and frankly vastly underrated - screen vampires I've had the pleasure of watching. He plays what could be a camp, over the top roll role with such conviction and sincerity that he's easily in the same league as Bela Legosi and Christopher Lee. By the end of the film, you really feel for the character, that he's more a victim than a bad guy. Ok, he has a goofy 'fro and sideburns that would put Elvis to shame, but he brings such class and pathos to the roll, that you can't help but like - and feel for - the character.

The supporting cast, while not as strong as Marshall, is certainly no worse than other low budget flicks of the era. Thalmus Rasulala is serviceable as the standard issue Rugged Black Hero (and you gotta love an actor who's named after part of the brain), and Vonetta McGee is believable if a bit vapid after Blackula puts his undead charms on her. We get amusing cameos by singer Kitty Lester (who also gets one of the films scariest bits), Elisha Cook Junior (another one of the "Oh, THAT guy" actors), and a couple of groovin' numbers from The Hues Corporation, who give us some funky soul at a night club where Blacula frequents.

There are several moments that are genuinely creepy, and director William Crain (who would go on to mine the blackhorrorsplitation genre again with Doctor Black & Mister Hyde) did a good job of stretching his obviously limited budget and resources as far as he could. I'm impressed by how seriously the filmmakers take themselves, making a fairly straightforward horror film out what could have easily been a ridiculously camp film with a silly title. He manages to get a balance between the mood that a horror film needs to work and funky soul that the black audiences of the time were looking for.

RUDY RAY MOORE OR PAM GRIER? No
BREASTS ON DISPLAY: 0
A BRUTHA GETS SOME: 1 time
MUSICAL NUMBERS: 2
EXPLOSIONS: 0
ROUNDS FIRED: 24
HANDRAIL DEATHS: 1
CAR CHASES: 0
AFROS: 3
F BOMBS DROPPED: 6
WHITEYS THAT GET IT: 15
BEST LINE: You shall pay, black prince. I shall place a curse of suffering on you that will doom you to a living hell. A hunger, a wild gnawing animal hunger will grow in you, a hunger for human blood.
SEVENTIES FASHION SENSIBILITIES: 17%
SOUL POWER: 25%

THE DVD -
Blackula gets a nice 1.85:1 widescreen anamorphic print. There's the occasional artifact or cigarette burn, but the master looks solid otherwise. The sound is in the original mono, but sounds okay. Any problems I had with the soundtrack (echoing voices and hollow sounding background noises) are artifacts of the way Blackula was filmed more than the way it was mastered. And frankly when I start groovin' to the funky soundtrack, I'm willing to overlook some sins.

THE EXTRAS -
MGM's Soul Cinema range is the black version of the Midnight Movies classics, it's "soul brother" if you will. As was expected we get only a trailer for the film - but considering that you can pick up Blackula for about 6 bucks, that's not a bad deal.

THE BOTTOM LINE
Is it blaxploitation? Is it horror? Who cares - it's a good film with a moving ending and a poignant lead with a surprising amount of depth to the character.

ON THE TWELVE DAYS OF BLACK CHRISTMAS, MY SOUL BRUTHAS GAVE TO ME. . . .
12) BLACULA
11) JACKIE BROWN
10) THE FINAL COMEDOWN
09) SHAFT IN AFRICA
08) UNDERCOVER BROTHER
07) DOLEMITE
06) BLACK MAMA, WHITE MAMA
05) MEAN JOHHNY BARROWS
04) TROUBLE MAN
03) SUPERFLY
02) THE MACK
And a LADY COCOA in a pear tree. . . .



Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age