I picked up this movie thinking that it would be a parody-styled b-movie with tons of slang dialogue and no plot. guess what? I was dead wrong. There were several movies that were made in the 70's which showcased blacks in altogether stereotypical roles. This, however, was not one of those films. Scream, Blacula, Scream stars William Marshall as the African prince of darkness. I have seen many actors step up to the plate to play vampire roles. Blacula is depicted powerfully in an almost Christopher Lee way. The film also stars Pam Grier as the foremost authority in the voodoo religion.

Blacula has had a shit deal since the get-go. He was a prince in Africa, but then he's on a slave ship and this envious white guy bites him on the neck (ain't that always the way...). Then some revenge-happy guy resurrects him and the vampire-related killings begin. If you have seen any vampire movie that was made since the 60's, you can guess the rest. The film is as formulaic as they come, at least by today's standards. The unique thing about this movie is that Blacula is more or less, a good vampire. Yes, he kills a few people, but the majority of the film involves him protecting Pam Grier and regaling historians with his knowledge of African artifacts/vampirism.

I don't think this was really ever a horror picture. Blacula is too damn nice to everyone. He's a vampire, but he doesn't want to be one anymore. There's killing, but it's not all that graphic and I'll be damned if I could find a good three seconds of suspense in the entire film. As I said before, the movie is just too formulaic. The biggest disappointment was that the actors of this picture were much more talented than it needed them to be. Perhaps it was just a sign of the times, and nobody wanted to rock the boat too much. I'd recommend this movie if you have a taste for a vampire flick you haven't already seen. Just don't expect anything out of the ordinary.

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