Chirphymium It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Myron Clemons A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

Marva-nova Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

BA_Harrison 1780: African prince Mamuwalde (William Marshall) and his wife Luva (Vonetta McGee) visit Count Dracula to enlist his help in the fight against slavery. When Dracula reveals that he is not only in favour of slavery, but wants to buy lovely Luva for himself, Mamuwalde and his wife try to leave but are restrained by the Count's men. Enraged, the vampire bites Mamuwalde, and locks him in a coffin, entombing Blacula (as Dracula names him) and Luva in a crypt.Present day: two hilariously camp antiques dealers buy the contents of Dracula's castle, including the coffin containing Blacula, and ship it to Los Angeles, where they break off the padlock securing the casket. Released from his prison, Blacula sates his thirst with the two antiques dealers, before heading for the streets of L.A. where he encounters Tina, the reincarnation of his beloved wife, who he proceeds to woo whenever he's not biting necks. Meanwhile, scientific investigator Gordon Thomas (Thalmus Rasulala) comes to believe that the spate of recent deaths are the work of a vampire and tries to convince the police of what is happening.The first example of Blaxploitation horror, Blacula succeeds in being both scary and silly, with a side order of camp. Marshall plays his role surprisingly straight, but the general atmosphere is one of lightheartedness, the film even taking time out for a couple of funky musical interludes courtesy of The Hues Corporation (who would later top the charts with their disco hit 'Rock The Boat'). Notable fun frights include the exhumation of a victim who leaps from his grave to attack Gordon, and the creepy return from the dead of a female vampire taxi driver. Also adding to the enjoyment are the stylish opening credits, some cool animated transitions to bat form, the sight of Blacula's hairy face in full on vamp mode, and a touching ending as Blacula ends his own life after losing his love once again.

schles-1 Even Elisha Cook Jr. couldn't save this from being a bad joke. So why the 10? Diversity!! The same reason it should have won at least 15 Oscars. If film is an art form it should be treated as such, judged as such, and honored as such. Justice and equal opportunity should be part and parcel of America and so should the movie industry. The battle starts at the front door and should be taken all the way to the Academy Awards. So as Blacula would say, "Right on, brother". Now back to the actual movie. The nightclub scenes were by far the highlight. A black audience dancing to a white band is a touch of irony that is sheer pleasure to watch. The acting was inspired, although by what is hard to tell. The LA cops pretty much stole the show with their emotionless performances and it was hard to take you eyes off them when they were on screen. However the most outstanding aspect of all was the make-up. Downright scary, it gave me nightmares for a week. Well. at least bad dreams. A must see (to believe).

mlevans SPOILERS! This was a film I had heard about for years. I recalled J.J. describing it as "a brother gives a bunch of foxy mammas hickeys," or something of the sort on Good Times.I actually found it quite entertaining. It stacks up well with other 1970s vampire films. I never quite got the "Blaxploitation" tag for films about black characters in the 1970s. The very name of the genre indicates blacks are being taken advantage of. If films with primarily black casts, aimed largely at black audiences is exploitation, what is the rap/hip hop industry?In any case, I found it an enjoyable film. Bass-voiced and classically-trained William Marshall was perfect for the role of Prince Mamuwalde, who came back after 200 years as Blacula. Thalmus Rasulala, a frequent face in TV shows, was outstanding as police detective Dr. Gordon Thomas. (Again, a black cop with an M.D., solving crimes & apparently well-respected by at least part of a large metropolitan police force in the early 1970s is exploitation?)Vonetta McGee and Denise Nicholas are strong as the two female leads, especially McGee in the dual role as the 18th-century princess and the modern-day Tina. No doubt, 99 percent of the audience was rooting for Mamualde to make her a vampire in time to escape and join him in vampiric matrimony. Mamuwalde is the only case I can think of in film history of a vampire suicide, at the end.Overall it is worthwhile watching for anyone who loves the vampire genre, "blaxploitation" films or who is a fan of any of the primary cast members.

Bjorn (ODDBear) The name "Blacula" indicates a less than stellar cinematic experience but the flick actually delivers the goods in most things; solid acting (particulary the lead), decent scares and a surprisingly thoughtful and tragic story.William Marshall registers strongly as Prince Mamuwalde who travels to Count Dracula's castle in Transylvania and is soon attacked and cursed by the vampire Count. Fast forward some 200 years and the black prince awakens in modern LA. Woven into the storyline is Mamuwalde's wife, Luva, whom Dracula also killed and he's convinced he's found her reincarnated in Tina (McGee) and she becomes his sole reason for living in his cursed existence. "Blacula" is a little rough looking in it's opening stages and some set pieces fall rather flat. I don't know if it was filmed in sequence but it gets much better as it goes along and there are a couple of outstanding seat jumpers along the way that manage to scare even by today's standards. The tragic love story is well handled and Marshall is excellent as Mamuwalde/Blacula. All others range from decent to fairly lame. The finale; where Blacula beats up a lot of cops in an underground facility is very entertaining and the film wraps up in a very satisfying way. I'm no expert on Blaxploitation films but "Blacula" is one of the higher rated entries in the horror genre and I can see why. There are, of course, very dated fashions and some hilarious outfits and hairstyles on display here along with a very groovy soundtrack (and a big pause on events to listen to a couple of musical numbers in a nightclub) but I believe this is a stable in the Blaxploitation genre and as such; it's very welcomed and certainly gives the film a unique style of it's own. In the end; Blaxploitation film or not; "Blacula" is a good horror film that's treading much covered ground but imbues it with a fresh take on the material (that's often been covered since), a sense of style, very decent scares and a great central performance by a very forceful actor. Highly recommended.