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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