Blacula
Going black in time
It's time to get
funky, you jive turkey. OK, I promise never to do that again, but I
couldn't help it. Today's movie comes from the deepest, darkest
depths of movie hell: The 1970's. The era of unrest, ridiculous
clothes, and disco did manage to spawn some great horror movies, but
it also brought about the exploitation era. Many of these movies
found their way into grindhouse theaters due to their high levels of
violence and sex. With the exploitation movies came the
blaxploitation movies, which was geared towards the African American
community. It was only a matter of time before horror made it's
impact on the sub genre.
Blacula is a 1972
vampire movie starring William Marshall (Pee-Wee's Playhouse, Scream
Blacula Scream) as Prince Mamuwalde, the leader of a small African
nation. The prince is visited by Count Dracula and asks for his help
in stopping the slave trade. Dracula refuses and attempts to capture
Mamuwalde. When he fights back, Dracula bites Mamuwalde, changing him
into a vampire, and imprisons him in a coffin. In 1972, the castle
containing the coffin is purchased by two interior decorators, Bobby
McCoy and Billy Schafer. They open the coffin, awakening Mamuwalde,
now Blacula, are both killed. At Bobby's funeral, Blacula meets Tina
who looks identical to his now-deceased wife. Believing she is the
reincarnation of his wife, Blacula pursues Tina, posing as a human
Mamuwalde. At the same time, Dr. Gordon Thomas (Thalmus Rasulala,
Sanford And Son, Mom And Dad Save The World) and Lt. Peters begin
investigating the strange deaths around town. Eventually Tina begins
to fall in love with Mamuwalde. The victims of the strange murders
change into vampires and soon join Blacula as his undead army. After
finding a picture in which Mamuwalde does not appear, Gordon and Lt.
Peters, joined by the police, move in to stop Blacula. Will they be
able to save Tina before she is turned into a vampire?
Don't fall for Blacula's "Free Hugs" trick
I have to say, I
haven't seen many exploitation and blaxploitation movies. Most of my
knowledge probably comes from other mediums making fun of the movies.
I was expecting Blacula to be an over-the-top, jive-talking, funky
vampire movie with goofy rhyming lines and the word “honky” being
thrown around like a baseball. Much to my surprise, this wasn't the
case. Blacula is far more of a real movie than I could have expected.
That's not to say it isn't ridiculous, but it has character
motivation and a somewhat decent story. I think a large part of the
movie being watchable is the good performance of William Marshall . A
veteran of stage, opera, and screen, Marshall brings an air of
legitimacy to the role. Surrounded by polyester and blaring funk,
Marshall's portrayal of Blacula is both regal and scary. Some may
find his performance hokey, but I would attribute that to the rest of
the cast playing their characters straight. Unlike many other vampire
movies, Blacula manages to actually make the head vampire a
sympathetic character.
The movie is very
much a product of the 1970's which should be a surprise to no one.
There are plenty of bell-bottoms, afros, and unnecessary long scenes
of funk bands playing. The movie never goes full “blaxploitation”
but you can still sense the racial overtones. While there isn't much
in the way of racial slurs, the word “faggot” is used quite a
lot. As they say, it was a different time. There are some scenes of
violence, but I wouldn't call Blacula a scary or even creepy film. I
think part of that is due to seeing the movie through 2012 eyes. The
supporting acting is quite bad and certain scenes jump around with no
explanation. It's not particularly clear just how Blacula made it to
America, although I could have easy missed it while blinded by the
ridiculous clothes. There are plenty of holes in the plot, but when
you're watching a movie called “Blacula” were you expecting
Citizen Kane?
Is it too soon to make a Whitney Houston joke?
Blacula is a fun
and bewildering look into a strange time in American cinema and
cultural history. Deeply entrenched in the 70's, the movie is full of
stereotypes and certain language that would almost never fly in
movies today. William Marshall is fun to watch, but he doesn't get a
lot of help from some of his supporting cast. There is some violence,
but not a whole lot of blood or gore. Blacula spawned a few other
horror related blaxploitation movies such as Blackenstein, but I
don't think I'll be searching for that one any time soon. Ultimately,
Blacula has lots of problems, but it's still an entertaining watch,
sometimes for the wrong reasons.
5/10
No comments:
Post a Comment