Day 4: Blacula (1972)

"You shall pay, black prince. I shall place a curse of suffering on you that will doom you to a living hell. I curse you with my name. You shall be... Blacula!"
- Dracula

Starring: William Marshall, Denise Nicholas, Vonetta McGee, Gordon Pinsent, Thalmus Rasulala, Emily Yancy, Lance Taylor Sr., Logan Field, Ted Harris, Rick Metzler

Directed By: William Crain

Trailer: "Dracula's soul brother..."

Premise: In 1780, Prince Mamuwalde of the African Abani tribe, and his wife, are sent to Count Dracula to ask his aid ending the slave trade. It...doesn't go well, and Mamuwalde is bitten by Dracula and cursed to be a vampire himself. Nearly 200 years later, in LA, Mamuwalde is awakened by two interior decorators, and begins his reign of terror...

My familiarity with this movie: As a teenager, I learned that the Dracula from "The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy" was an homage/parody of this movie, though I never watched it until now, having since developed a taste for blaxploitation and 70s horror.

Notes, opinions, general thoughts (beware of spoilers):

• If Mamuwalde seems familiar to you, you may recognize his actor, William Marshall, as the King of Cartoons from "Pee-Wee's Playhouse"
• Unfortunately, it seems that Mamuwalde and Luva have learned the hard way that Dracula isn't a nice guy. And racist.
• Drac's curse on Mamuwalde is the only time in this film the name "Blacula" is used, and honestly...it sounds kinda weird even in this context. They should've just kept it as the title, and not used it in the film at all.
• The opening sequence is really nicely-done, with a black bat chasing drops of blood shaped like women over an abstract background, with some great funk music playing. Very artsy.
• The pair of interior decorators that become Mamuwalde's first victims...not characters that have aged well. Not helped by the terminology used to refer to them as the movie goes on.
• William Marshall as Mamuwalde...he brings a dignity and nobilty to a role that could've easily been unintentionally hilarious (and almost was. It was Marshall's idea to have the character be an African prince, as well as the name "Mamuwalde")
• Mamuwalde adapts to his 192 year absence really well. He's grasped concepts like nightclubs and cameras.
• Sam from the morgue caught my eye. Took me a moment to recognize him as Elisha Cook Jr., best known (to me, anyway) as fall guy Wilmer in "The Maltese Falcon".
• Would a crucifix really work on an African vampire?
• Love me some oddly-specific subtitles
• The bit in the warehouse where Gordon and Peters start throwing oil lamps like they were molotovs and causing the vampires to burst into flames, despite the lamps not even being lit...that's hilarious. So is Gordon leaping over some crates to attack a downed vampire, stake raised over his head. Equal parts badass and hilarious.
• The bat transformation is...not great.
• A really neat detail is how, whenever Mamuwalde goes into "attack mode", his facial hair (particularly his eyebrows and sideburns) become bushier and longer, making him look more unkempt and animalistic.
• The climax of the story is very tragic and surprisingly creepy (I mean...maggots in a dead skull. Always a winner)

The Tally of Terror:

• 1 African prince
• bloody tears (not those)
• several afros
• 2 uncomfortably stereotypical interior decorators
• CUTIE ALERT: Michelle
• 1 incredibly funky soundtrack
• several homosexual slurs
• 3 stakings
• 2 full performances by The Hues Corporation (they paid for those and they're gonna use 'em, dammit!)
• 1 instance of grave digging
• several vampires on fire
• sassy cabbie
• 1 hook hand
• Oil lamps being used as molotov cocktails
• suicide by sunlight

Best scare: Bobby rising from his grave to attack Gordon and Michelle.

The Good:

• As mentioned before, William Marshall as Mamuwalde. The man had a background in theater, allowing him to play Mamuwalde as dignified, eloquent, tragic, but also viscious and terrifying.  There's scenes where the heroes are interacting with him at the club, instantly charmed by him, and suddenly, the viewer realizes they they're being charmed by him as well. Makes Tina's falling under his control more understandable.
• The romantic plot with Mamuwalde trying to woo Tina is well-executed. Gotta give props to this movie for being one of the first to make the vampire a sympathetic, tragic, and romantic character, despite still being the antagonist.
• Dr. Gordon Thomas is great character, as well. Taking on the Van Helsing-type role, he and his mustache are competent, no-nonsense, but balanced out well with his more easygoing side, as seen at the club or his alone time with Michelle. It's nice to see that a character like this can still relax and have fun, without losing any of his competence when "work mode" is activated...until he drags Michelle to a cemetary to exhume a body, at least.
• Fantastic music. Lovely 70s funk that accompanies the setting of "contemporary" L.A. well.

The Bad:

• As mentioned before, the portrayal of the gay couple that serves as Mamuwalde's first victims. It's not pretty, even after their murder, they're still referred to with slurs.
• The plot has some holes, like Mamuwalde immediately getting used to the modern era. No Captain America-esque adjustment here. He pretty much just rolls with it. I feel like his discovery of slavery being abolished should at least been depicted, considering how championing the cause was what got him killed to begin with.
• The plor is pretty standard vampire movie stuff, just in a more contemporary setting. Nothing really ground-breaking.

Conclusion: If you're coming into this expecting an hour and a half of camp goofiness...you're gonna be disappointed. The movie takes itself pretty seriously, and works for the MOST part because of it. That said, there's some small bits of comedy here and there. No doubt some people will be put off by the portrayal of the gay characters, and the plot is fairly thin and by-the-numbers. Really, the strength of the film is in its lead, who is such a charming and charismatic actor and character it's hard not to enjoy his every appearance. Honestly? I really enjoyed it. It's a fun film, though not for everyone. Cautiously recommended.