Directed by William Crain
An 18th century African prince is turned into a vampire while visiting Transylvania. Two centuries later, he rises from his coffin attacking various residents of Los Angeles and meets Tina, a woman who he believes is the reincarnation of his deceased wife.
Blacula, O Vampiro Negro, Blackula, Blacula, le vampire noir, Drácula negro, בלאקולה, 吸血黑王子, Blácula, O Vampiro Negro, 브라큐라, Блакула
USAPG 
UK18 
Germany16 Germany Germany UK USA 
Things I've learned from Blacula:
- If you take the fun out of silly fun, what's left is just silly.
- Dracula was, apart from an evil creature of the night, also an awful racist. The only reason he curses prince Manuwalde is because he is black. He is a brilliant wordsmith though. I mean, Blacula, it's brilliant. The fact that nobody calls him that in the rest of the film is a bit of a bummer for him though.
-Black vampires apparently don't only grow fangs, they also grow sideburns.
-A vampire chasing a woman set to a Theme from Shaft-esque song is refreshingly odd.
- Apparently it's completely normal to have a rather long song and dance routine in the middle of the film.
- Those opening credits. Man, they're a thing of beauty.
That's about it.
Evidently us gays could give blood back in 1972.
As much as it may sound controversial, I must say that, having seen both the classic Universal horror and Hammer films as well as the Netflix adaptation, having seen all of these adaptations, I have to say that this is my favorite. William Crain's seamless blend of the blaxploitation genre and the horror and avant-garde of the era results in a sometimes silly, sometimes frightening, but ultimately entertaining film.
The fun comes not just from the random stuff Crain comes up with, such as the slow-motion attack scene with the woman in the hospital, but also from the performances, in particular William Marshall as the title character and Thalmus Rasulala as this film's version of Van Helsing. This dynamic between…
Bro, this nigga Blacula is insane. This whole movie, he’s either biting a nigga, laying pipe or backhanding the police.
Respect.
Love this movie and it’s voodoo as hell sequel! There’s some legit terror moments and William Marshall absolutely slays the role. I really wish we got a few more of these in the 70’s—perhaps even adding more monsters to the fold.
This opens with some strong Hammer vibes before turning into a blaxploitation film with vampires, like someone fused Shaft with Dracula A.D. 1972. A film where Dracula is a racist dickbag and his creation, Blacula, is infinitely cooler. A film that was pretty damn fun.
African prince, Mamuwalde, visits Dracula's castle in the late 1700s, to ask for the Count's aid in ending the slave trade. Except, it turns out that Dracula's a big fan of slavery and he decides to afflict Mumuwalde with his own thirst for blood, before sealing him inside a coffin indefinitely. Flash forward to the streets of LA, in the early 70s, and it's time for Blacula to finally feed.
William Marshall, who you may…
Absolutely awesome in it 70s glory! A very fun watch! William Marshall has the best voice of any vampire! If you haven’t seen it is a must see! A cult classic!
A blaxploitation reimagining of the Dracula tale set in 1970’s Los Angeles was the perfect weeknight Spooky Season viewing. Largely credited as one of the first (if not the very first) Black horror films, helping kickstart a genre in the process, William Crane’s 1972 classic Blacula still oozes a nearly flawless blend of style, social commentary and camp.
From the moment William Marshall took hold of Blacula’s scenery, I was as transfixed on his performance as a spellbound virgin to Count Drac himself. His turn as Prince Mamuwalde is sophisticated, steady, and ominous as fk. The rest of the cast are in lockstep as well, matching the tone and aesthetic of 70’s LA and each other’s performances…
I was saving this for a day when I needed a bit of cheering up and it did not disappoint. Honestly, it took me until the homophobic slur to realize the two were a gay caricature. I just thought they were starting a band and needed some cool props. Sometimes I am dumb. Other than that, I can genuinely say I'm looking forward to the sequel. Plus, I really loved the score.
70s horror # 124! 🐲🐲🐲
Long before Michael B Jordan graced the screen as a formidable vampire in Sinners, William Marshall broke new ground as the first black vampire in cinema as Blacula.
This isn’t just a modernization of Bram Stoker’s novel but a completely new branch of the Dracula saga. Blacula isn’t a black version of Dracula, he is one of Dracula’s victims, an African prince turned vampire. Rising from his coffin in 1972 Los Angeles, he wreaks havoc as he pursues a woman who appears to be the reincarnation of his wife from 200 years earlier.
I have in the past extolled the virtues of the lead, the great William Marshall. He reminds me of Christopher Lee in many ways. He has a…
Blaxploitation at its finest…and campiest. ⚰️
Hammer meets blaxploitation in this swinging seventies vampire movie. The film opens in the 1700s. Prince Mamuwalde pays a visit to Count Dracula to seek his help in ending the slave trade, but Dracula has little interest in that and instead turns Mamuwalde into a vampire; dubbing him 'Blacula' (see what they did there?) We then cut to some 200 years later. It's now the seventies and Blacula is rising from the tomb! The thing I really love about this film is the fact that it takes its ridiculous high camp plot and plays it completely serious. I mean, it's silly, but there's a proper attempt at a vampire movie with all the tropes - fangs, a cape, no reflection,…
