Released in 1972, Blacula was my first experience with Black horror, horror written and/or directed by Black people from their perspective. Directed by William Crain, the lasting impression that this movie leaves is largely due to his influence. Most avid film watchers have a moment when they encounter a movie that, regardless of how they feel about it, they were not the target audience for. Blacula was that movie for me.
- Directed by: William Crain
- Written by: Joan Torres. Raymond Koenig
- Starring: William Marshall Vonetta McGee. Denise Nicholas
Early Encounters
I watched it at a young age, probably about 5th grade, when I was obsessed with all things vampire. At the time, I filed it away as another scary vampire story, knowing that I was missing something big, but too young and too sheltered to even know how to start learning. What I did know, was that everything about Blacula was much cooler than I was. That’s probably still true.
There are plenty of more modern movies I’ve seen since then that address social issues and do it well. But I have to wonder, would I be as receptive to those messages if not for those early encounters with stories aimed clearly at “not me”?
As an adult, I’m trying to do better and learn more. Fortunately for me, there are amazing teachers like Tananarive Due. She teaches about Black horror and fiction. She is also a producer of a fantastic documentary on Shudder, called Horror Noire that covers the history of Black horror. It covers how history shapes stories, and why capturing authentic experiences and characterization makes for better stories.
It is the characterization that makes Blacula stand out from other vampire stories.
Recap and Review: Spoilers Ahead
African Prince Mamuwalde visits Transylvania to get Dracula’s help in ending the slave trade. He’s more educated and well-spoken than the Count, who insults both the prince and his wife, Luva. Dracula makes a pass at her, and attempts to restrain Mamuwalde with henchmen; it takes three before they can subdue him. Dracula brings out his vampire minions and turns Mamuwalde into a vampire for insulting him. He also locks Luva in with him to die slowly, taunting her as he leaves them. Dracula is super racist in this, and I’m already I’m on Team Blacula, even though he’s probably going to eat a few people.
The opening credits are worth mentioning: a super-stylized animation where a black bat pursues a red drop of blood that morphs into the figure of a woman. It’s cool looking with a great soundtrack.
The Present Day
We return to present-day Transylvania. Antique dealers are signing a deal for the furniture in a house. An interesting note is Dracula is in this world, both real and as a legend; all the movies exist. Mamuwalde’s coffin gets shipped back to Los Angeles by the dealers. They open the coffin and other crates, one of them cutting themself bad enough to bleed in the process.
The scent of blood wakes the prince. He’s unable to resist his hunger, and attacks the dealers as violently as Dracula predicted. There’s nothing sexy about this vampire — yet. He roars and rips into his victims with a ferocity that the two standard bite marks don’t quite live up to. After his snack, he wraps himself in his cape and returns to his coffin to rest.
At the funeral for the dealers, the prince sees one of the mourners and childhood friends of the deceased, Tina. She’s the spitting image of Luva.
Dr. Thomas, a pathologist and Tina’s friend, investigates the deaths. The mortician only has information about one of the dealers, since the other one was white. I haven’t talked to much about the dealers, but it’s worth mentioning that in these early scenes they could be interpreted as a couple.
The Meet Cute
Tina is walking home alone when she runs into Mamuwalde. He calls her Luva, but she runs from him, since it’s night and he’s a strange man in old-fashioned clothes and a cape. As he chases after her, he gets hit by a cab. The cab driver talks back to him until it becomes apparent that he is a threat. By then, it’s too late.
Tina makes it safely back to her apartment. She locks herself in and arms herself with a knife. When her sister Michelle stops by, Tina tells her that she dropped her purse and the stalker might have it,
Dr. Thomas is examining the body of the cab driver killed by the prince. He notices the bite marks on the neck. Afterwards, he visits a detective to research the medical reports. They are lost. He makes a comment about the amount of lost medical reports on black victims. The detective tries to blame the deaths on the Panthers, but Doc isn’t having it. He does confirm that the antique dealers are gay in this scene, even if he doesn’t do it in the most modern way.
He orders an autopsy on Bobby McCoy, one of the dealers. Michelle, Doc’s assistant and partner, tells him about Tina’s encounter. They talk about moving the suburbs. This is one of those conversations that flew over my head as a kid but hits differently as an adult.
I Will Never Be Cool Enough for This Club
That night, the group goes to a club where the band sings a song that will be in my head for days. Mamuwalde, still wearing his cape, shows up at the club. He gives Tina her purse back, and during some unheard dialogue, convinces her that he’s safe. She invites him to join them for Michelle’s birthday celebration. They have a pleasant time until the funeral home calls to tell the doc that Bobby’s body is gone.
Mamuwalde leaves when more people show up and start taking pictures. Tina agrees to meet him the next night. Skillet, one of new arrivals, comments on Mamuwalde’s cape and fashion sense, remarking that he is one strange dude. The photographer leaves to develop the pictures.
The photographer develops a picture she took of Mamuwalde and Tina together, but only Tina is visible in the photo. As she exits the darkroom, she is attacked by vampire Mamuwalde; he takes the photo as he attacks her. He turns her into a vampire, and she attacks a cop that comes to help her.
Turns out that cop was supposed to deliver the missing autopsy reports to the doc. Dr. Thomas tries to get the bodies dug up for further autopsy. Doc’s been researching the occult and ghouls. He knows there’s something supernatural going on.
About Tina
Mamuwalde comes to visit Tina at her apartment instead of the club. He fills her in on their background and history. He tells her everything, vampirism, and reincarnation included. He’s also big on consent, in this specific circumstance, and tells her that she must choose him. Tina is a modern woman, and while she probably would have preferred to maybe date a bit first, she asks him to stay.
In a lot of romantic monster stories, especially vampire, the monster is used to give the female lead an excuse for “giving in” to her desire. Tina needs no such excuse. She’s strong enough to know what she wants, and to actively pursue it. She’s a better character for it. Once she gets past her initial concerns about reincarnation, she’s fully invested in this relationship. A refreshing change from the “oh I shouldn’t” that was more common from other heroines at the time.
In the graveyard, Dr. Thomas and Michelle have chosen to exhume the body in the middle of the night. Thomas was expecting a vampire, but failed to mention this to Michelle. After putting a stake through his heart, they head out to find another vampire to prove to the cop, Lt. Peters, that vampires are now roaming the city.
Best Scene Ever
They have the morgue attendant pull the body of the cab driver out of the deep freeze. The attendant fails to secure the body, and she attacks him while he answers the phone. This is one of my favorite scenes; it’s a slow motion shot of her running at him, hands like claws.
Mamuwalde and Tina wrap up their romantic evening, as it’s almost morning.
The doc and lieutenant arrive to a very bloody scene. The cab driver has returned to her bed to rest, and Dr. Thomas is able to subdue her with a cross before killing her with sunlight. The cop immediately believes him, and now the two of them are in this together.
Later at the club, the Doctor questions Mamuwalde about his beliefs in the occult, including vampires. Dr. Thomas tells him that the cops are organizing a search for the vampire’s coffin. Mamuwalde handles the conversation smoothly, with humor.
Search for the Nest
After Tina and Mamuwalde leave, the group realizes that Nancy the photographer is missing and search her house. Dr. Thomas finds the negative of Tina with Mamuwalde not visible in the print and confirms that he is the vampire they are looking for. I like this, since given the out-of-time nature of Mamuwalde, he wouldn’t know to look for negatives.
Dr. Thomas busts in on Tina and Mamuwalde; the prince only knocks him out before fleeing, but does kill a cop. Tina is distraught and conflicted.
Cops are patrolling, looking for the now-vampire Bobby. They think they’ve found him, but can’t tell since all gay men “look alike”. Yeah, a white cop delivers this line, and yeah, they use a different word for gay men.
Dr. Thomas and the lieutenant figure out that the vampires are hiding out at the warehouse where the bodies were first found. They’re right, and it’s a lot of them; Bobby’s been busy. Dr. Thomas and the cop improvise bombs out of oil lamps. Before too long, the entire warehouse is up in flames.
On the other side of the doors, Mamuwalde tells them that Tina’s life means more to him than his own. Then, he turns into a bat and escapes.
The Final Confrontation
Michelle and Dr. Thomas confront Tina about Mamuwalde. She reluctantly, very reluctantly, agrees to help them find him.
That night, Bat Mamuwalde, hypnotizes her into heading to his lair. She’s spotted by the patrolling cops. So much for her choosing him willingly. A cop fatally shoots Tina, and he turns her into a vampire to save her life. He’s also pissed. He tells the doctor that everyone in the building is dead.
As he kills a lot of cops, Dr. Thomas finds a coffin. He and the lieutenant make a plan to open and the stake quickly. But it’s Tina inside. She dies as Michelle screams in agony.
Mamuwalde shows up, but he’s broken now. His reason for living is gone. The Prince ascends the staircase into the sun, ending his own life.
The Appeal of Blacula
There’s a lot that I’m not qualified to talk about regarding Blacula. What I can talk about, is what I liked about the character and its take on vampires in general. Many takes on vampirism glamourize the monster, the immortality, and the sexy biting. Mamuwalde’s vampire is not these things, it’s vicious and scary. His human side is smooth and alluring, and the conflict between the two is what makes the character so interesting.
He’s human first, and becoming a vampire isn’t his choice. He’s one of Dracula’s victims, set on his own path. William Marshal gives Mamuwalde humor as well as gravitas. There hasn’t been a vampire quite like him since.
Production History
William Crain directed a far better film than the studio was expecting or even wanted. Blacksploitation films were not known for being high-budget productions, and Crain had to fight for his vision. In addition to winning Best Horror film at the Saturn awards Blacula was one of the top grossing films of the year.
Blacula was followed up with Scream Blacula Scream in 1973. In 2021, a reboot was announced but after a tentative Halloween 2024 release date was teased, no further information has been released. In 2023 a graphic novel sequel Blacula: Return of the King was released and almost immediately sold out the first printing.
Final Thoughts
Blacula got me out of my horror comfort zone twice, once as a kid, and again when I rewatched it as an older teen. It was a gateway movie for stories about people whose experiences were outside the typical suburban teen tales that dominated the horror films I grew up on. My interest in diverse stories from a wide range of cultures and backgrounds continues today, and for that I say thanks to William Crain, William Marshall, and Vonetta McGee.
Blacula is available on streaming
Check out other classic horror reviews here:
Leave a Reply