Scream,Blacula,Scream (1973)

Director: Bob Kelljan

Writers: Joan Torres, Raymond Keonig, Maurice Jules

Cast: William, Marshall, Pam Grier, Don Mitchell, Richard Lawson, Lynne Moody

While Blacula, like in most cases involving sequels, is probably the superior film, Scream,Blacula,Scream succeeds more often than it fails, primarily in that it not only builds on the original, but even provides added depth to the titular and (gasp) a fairly poignant metaphor for Black People attempting to retain their cultural identity.

The story is fairly simple, lacking the originals benefit of having Bram Stoker's original Dracula to crib off of, but it still works in its own broad strokes way.  After a powerful Vodoun Priestess dies, her followers chose the charismatic and kind Lisa (Pam Grier) as their new leader, leaving the Priestess' own son Willis to angrily denounce Lisa (with some good ole fashioned misogyny to go with it) and vow vengeance. As such, he brings back Mamuwalde, aka Blacula.  Mamuwalde eats Willis and brings him back as a Vampire under his control.  Mamuwalde is informed by Willis that there was a party with old African artifacts, Mamuwalde attends, meets Lisa, and digs her.  Mamuwalde also realizes that Lisa's natural Voodoo powers might be able to cure him of his vampirism, and so he seeks to make that a reality while Lisa's boyfriend teams up with the Police to kill Mamuwalde and his Vampire Spawn.  Things don't go Mamuwalde's way and, disturbed by his violent tendencies, Lisa turns on him and uses her Voodoo powers to harm Mamuwalde instead.

That's ostensibly it.  The whole plot.  It isn't much, really, on the surface.

But there's a lot of subtext going on that really propels this movie forward, even if the plot is fairly simple, and that is of Mamuwalde as something of a metaphor for the struggle of African Americans, and their seeking of identity and cultural history within a society that seeks to absorb them.

As the movie helpfully points out in flashback form, Mamuwalde was an African Prince who is turned into a Vampire by a White European Aristocrat (and a racist one to boot, considering the conflict between the two started when Dracula discussed how much he loved the slave trade and wanted to buy Mamuwalde's Wife from him to literally be his new slave) and, as such, is now quite literally changed into his oppressor: Blacula is more than just the curse of vampirism, but of Colonial dominance as well.

This is highlighted in a number of ways throughout the film.  First, Mamuwalde's distate for Willis (who, after being turned into a Vampire, puts on his fanciest outfit and laments that he cannot see his own reflection). Willis has been assimilated, he is a materialist and is wealthy, he is vain.  Qualities Mamuwalde associates with the European oppression that forever tainted him.  Ironically, though, it is Mamuwalde who enslaves Willis through his actions (making Blacula again a tool for the European ideal).  

Y'know how you don't tug on Superman's cape...you don't try on Blaculas.

Second, there is an important scene in which Mamuwalde encounters two Pimps who seek to rob him.  Mamuwalde is again disgusted by them, chastising them for "enslaving their sister.  In fact, you are slaves yourselves, imitating your slave masters!"  The Pimps again are part of the system that keep African Americans from their roots, perpetuating a system that Mamuwalde despises.  The funny thing, of course, is that Mamuwalde is just as easily describing himself: he is enslaving people as Vampires, and acting violently.

The roots of the African American community themselves are of increasing importance throughout the story, as are the totemic artifacts that symbolize those roots.  Mamuwalde is overjoyed to see artifacts from his native lands, even correcting Justin (played by Don Mitchell), who is the one who procured and collected the artifacts, of the true origins of said artifacts.  "All things African interest me," Mamuwalde says to Lisa as she shows him more of the artifacts collected, but still Mamuwalde continues to feed on Denny(a friend of Lisa and Justin) and other Black people.  The Police, called in after Mamuwalde kills Denny, suspect Lisa and/or "other voodoo freaks" as being responsible, due to the bizarre nature of the death.  To the police, Voodoo must certainly be responsible for unknown violence: the cause of death within the Black community comes from the Black community.  Interestingly enough, they're not wrong: Mamuwalde is, again, responsible.

Voodoo is also important to the narrative, particularly as "The Black Religion" (as it is usually known throughout media, usually to the detriment of the religion and its origins: Voodoo is dark and dangerous to White people) becomes the seeming key to Mamuwalde's redemption.  Lisa, it is stated, has more natural power in Voodoo than anyone in the past ten years: her command of the primal powers native to Africa are vital to Mamuwalde reclaiming his humanity(and his true cultural heritage: casting off the curse of European dominance and becoming an African once again).  Again, Voodoo requires artifacts and symbols of Africa to be effective, the power lies in a Black Woman, ultimately driving home that Mamuwalde equates his heritage with his humanity: in fact, they may be interchangeable.  The dominance of the European has tainted the African world, in particular Mamuwalde, and can be turned back by the rituals, beliefs and objects of the African world.

This is what drives home the true horror of the climax: that of Mamuwalde relinquishing his humanity and becoming Blacula, body and soul.  As Mamuwalde and Lisa work their Hoodoo, the Police (led by Justin, Lisa's boyfriend, himself a former police officer and, as such, part of the system even as he straddles the line as Mamuwalde himself does: Justin collects and admires African antiquity, even as he "betrays" them with his alliance with the Police (all of whom are notably White)) raid Willis' mansion, seeking to destroy the monsters within.  They interrupt the ritual, causing dismay and anger in Mamuwalde, who violently attacks the police, causing Lisa to turn against him.  Once this occurs, Mamuwalde gives up.  "The name is Blacula!" he cries, attacking Justin as Lisa begs him to stop.  In becoming Blacula, Mamuwalde relinquishes his heritage, allow Lisa to harm him with the very Voodoo he sought to save him (this is purely a metaphorical point, however: there is no actual reason why the Voodoo Doll would not have harmed Mamuwalde before his moment of transformation), harmed by the heritage he sought to reclaim.

All of this leads to a fascinating deeper read that the original film most definitely lacks (or, at least, doesn't have: the original film is probably still objectively better overall, even without the depth the sequel potentially contains. I say potentially, because it's just my read and I admit to potentially being way off base): vampirism as a symptom of European Colonialism spreading throughout the African American community, ironically by the man who is only responsible because he sought to stop it, and is ultimately consumed by it.

Overall, it's certainly a flawed film in many ways: thin plot, some lackluster performances (Grier's best work was still ahead of her) and thin characters (Justin, despite my reading of the film, does little as the hero of the piece).  However, it cannot be overstated how excellent William Marshall is as the titular character, and the subtext is a lot of fun to unpack.

Rating: Two and a half stars out of Five.  Definitely a fun watch and a fun analysis, but an admittedly fairly mediocre film.

Blacula (1972)

Director: William Crain

Writers: Joan Torres and Raymond Koenig

Starring: William Marshall, Vonetta McGee, Denise Nicholas, Thalmus Rasulala.

June 2, 2020: It's been a very long time since I've attempted to write about movies again.  I've been away from the keyboard and, as such, may be a little rusty in my writing efforts.  But with the news being what it is today, I decided I needed to...well, do something constructive in a Country that seems to be falling apart, especially in regards to the systemic racism (among other hateful and destructive elements happening around us that I won't bother to pontificate on here).  I can't do much, however, but I can perhaps call a little more attention (and GIVE a little more attention) to cinema that celebrates Black (and, eventually, Queer, as it is also Pride Month) voices.  I in no way seek to use this to promote myself, only to celebrate and discuss a genre that is very dear to me, and for now showcase voices that have been shouted over throughout history.  It isn't much, but it is what I have to offer.

Okay, lame overly-feely intro over, onto Blacula.

Blacula feels like an important film today, and given the news lately it feels right to focus on Black horror cinema.  Not only does it have a dignified (and, y'know, murderous and blood drinking) protagonist (he IS the villain of the piece in the end, because Vampire, but it's hard to see him as such), but the cast is almost entirely Black and has a Black filmmaker in William Crain, who succeeded where few other Black filmmakers could, especially at that particular historical moment.  Considering the titular character becomes what he does due to his attempts to stop the slave trade, a scene where the white police captain assumes two unrelated murders are the work of the Black Panthers despite evidence pointing to the contrary, and featuring two gay characters (though they aren't the most...dignified...portrayals of LGBTQ characters ever, with characters using a certain homosexual slur at least twice (both times by, y'know, cops), Blacula feels pretty damn timely. 

Make no mistake, though, the movie is undoubtedly made on the cheap: most of the key scenes take place in non-descript warehouses and generic small rooms (many of which feel very much like the same room redressed: the funeral home seems to be a room in the warehouse with a big curtain placed in the background.  This isn't so much a criticism, though, as it makes large amounts of the film feel very much like a stage play), makeup effects look a lot like the ones you'd see in a cheap Haunted House attraction, and many actors aren't giving the most nuanced performances you've ever seen. 

What sets it apart is its sense of dignity and importance, and both of those things are largely due to the excellent performance of William Marshall, who gives us a mostly well-rounded and complex character (as complex as allowed, at any rate) in the form of Prince Mamuwalde, a Nigerian Prince turned by Dracula into a Vampire and left to rot until 1972, where he rises again to eat people.

The background of the film is extraordinary: Mamuwalde and his Wife visit Count Dracula (played by Charles Macaulay, giving a hammy and utterly vile and repugnant performance) in Transylvania in what appears to be a state visit.  When the vile Count makes advances on Mamuwalde's Wife (to the point of offering to buy her as a slave) and rebukes Mamuwalde's interest in abolishing the international slave trade (a trade Dracula apparently enjoys).  When Mamuwalde decides it's time to go ("I suddenly find your Cognac as...distateful as your company," an extraordinary line), Drac decides to punish the Prince by turning him into a Vampire, locking him in a coffin and, in an even more evil act, leaving his Wife walled up with the coffin to starve to death.

In 1972, a bi-racial, homosexual antique dealing couple by the now abandoned Castle of Dracula (with suggestion that the 1931 film about Drac is canon, since the Count was apparently ended by Van Helsing) bring the coffin (no mention of the Wife, though) to America and fall victim to Mamuwalde. After escaping, Mamuwalde has a chance encounter with Tina (Vonetta McGee), who looks exactly like his dead Wife.  As such, Mamuwalde starts to court young Tina to be his immortal bride, while her Brother-In-Law, Doctor Gordan Thomas (Thalmus Rasulala, giving an assured, physical performance) starts to suspect a Vampire is in town and seeks to destroy the Undead Fiend.

From there, the film apes Dracula almost entirely: Thomas is very much like Van Helsing, Tina is ostensibly Mina (though there is no Harker expy here), and Thomas' Wife Michelle (Denise Nicholas, undoubtedly one of the most beautiful Women ever photographed, as well as an inspiring activist and novelist) stands in for Lucy (though she is noticeably, and perhaps blissfully, left unharmed).

The Club Scenes really do something for her.

There are some things that will undoubtedly look weird to modern era viewers: Three key scenes take place in a local club, and little actually occurs in said scenes, but does give us one of my favorite pointless side characters ever: Skillet, a random club goer who is friends with the core cast, whose only real purpose is to say (not once, but twice) that Mamuwalde is "one weird dude."  He also makes a statement about wanting to steal Mamuwalde's cape, which I personally can relate to.  It, admittedly, IS a great cape.  (Also, to be fair, Skillet ultimately puts the Doc on Mamuwalde's trail, but I choose to focus on his amazing social skills.)

There are a few spectacular moments of filmmaking happening throughout Blacula, most notably a slow motion Vampire attack when the newly undead Cab Driver runs shrieking down a hallway to eat a hapless (and implied to be a little creepy with corpses and casually racist) lab tech (who has a hook for a hand, which is never explained nor paid off in any way), and a finale that would seem at home in any of Hammer's Cushing/Lee Vampire films (where Doctor Thomas does a pretty amazing flying tackle onto a vampire that looks like both he and the guy he jumped on probably got hurt doing), even as it plays fast and loose with a lot of Vampire rules (it seems some people turn into Vampires after some time, while others it takes moments).

The score also deserves a mention.  Music creator Gene Page combines strange psychedelic synth stings with R&B music stylings to create something that is very contemporary (for '72) but also otherwordly and strange.  It's pretty extraordinary.

Blacula is most definitely a weird film from a weird period in cinema, with some absolutely batshit moments, but at its heart is a dignified and complicated Monster whose main goal is nothing more than finding peace and love with the Woman of his dreams, and I don't know who can't relate to that. Sure, some of it is definitely dated, the cheap effects won't wow you, and some of it is deeply silly, but it's such a blast regardless.

 With all its weirdness, Blacula remains a film that seems ahead of its time in some ways, an absolute product of its time in others, and a really wonderful example of a fun, intelligent and insane piece of not only Black Horror, but of the genre in general.

Final Rating: Three Stars (***) our of Five.  Definitely worth a look.