From the far reaches of the Milky Way Galaxy, It's Retro Nerd Girl with a film review for you.
Today I'll be reviewing the movie Blacula released in 1972.
Starring:
William Marshall, Vonetta McGee, Denise Nicholas
Directed by:
William Crain
Genre:
Fantasy, Horror, Romance
Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) Rating:
PG
Budget:
$500,000 (estimated)
Current IMDb Rating When Reviewed:
5.7
The Synopsis is:
The wife of an African prince is killed and he is transformed into a vampire in the 18th century as Blacula. After being revived in the 1970’s he discovers a beautiful woman who looks like his deceased wife in modern Los Angeles.
One of the main things you might recognize about this film is that it is a Black Exploitation film. And the genre says it all. If you don’t know what that is; it’s usually, but not always, a low budget film production featuring mostly black actors and stereotypes of the African American culture made popular in the 1970’s. Many of them were played for laughs but some ended up either being so good or outrageously schlocky that the genre gained mainstream popularity.
Actually, Hollywood had been doing specialized films for the black community since 1912, with a genre of films called race films and a subgenre called slave exploitation films as well. Even though these films made lots of money for the studios openly exploiting blacks, it was welcomed during its day and still fondly observed. This became a strong vehicle for black actors to work in the business that weren’t just parts for servants or slaves. These films also provided more targeted entertainment for black American communities.
What was the ultimate demise of the genre was that it fell under heavy criticism for constantly featuring vigilantes, criminals, pimps, hoes or so called, life in the “ghetto” “street” or the “hood”. There was also a complete disregard for political correctness in these films. It was a very sharp double edged sword.
By the comical title and the poster you may get the idea that Dracula is race swapped, however, on further inspection, it’s not that either. Dracula is indeed a character in the film.
William Crain was brought in to direct, who was a black director well known for TV productions and many of the cast and crew were mostly known for their work on television. In fact, the film has a very strong made-for-TV aesthetic.
One thing I like about these TV-like productions is that they are always competent. They use lots of old school techniques to build the scene which is a surprise for a low budget film.
Not only that, everything was played seriously and not for laughs, at least not intentionally. All of the actors are truly giving their best and acting in the best interest of their characters.
Produced by American International Pictures, the story was written by Joan Torres, Raymond Koenig, Richard Glouner, but some of the best contributions to the story was given by the actor chosen to play the titular character of Blacula, William Marshall. Originally the character was rumored to have been a pimp, Andrew Brown, who was bitten by Dracula and senselessly went on a rampage throughout Los Angeles.
William Marshall took on the role but brilliantly conceived of a better background for his character by making him prince Mamuwalde of the Abani African nation and his wife a queen.
From pimp to prince? Now that is one heck of an upgrade.
The change not only enhanced the character and his motivations, but this influences everything about the film.
Mamuwalde travels to Translvania to speak to Count Dracula played by Charles Macaulay to stop the trade of Africans into slavery in 1780.
Dracula is such a meanie in this movie that he transformed Mamuwalde into a vampire, imprisoned him in a coffin and entombed Mamuwalde’s wife to die. Um, um, um.
That would have been the end of the story except for the fact that in 1972 the coffin was purchased as part of an estate sale and sent to Los Angeles to two interior decorators, making them Blacula’s first victims.
There is the notion that Dracula is not around in 1972 because he has gone to Carfax Abbey and has died by this time, in accordance with the novel.
Mamuwalde tracks down the body of one of his victims at a funeral home to be his servant, Bobby McCoy and sees one of his friends, Tina Williams. Mamuwalde instantly believes that Tina is a reincarnation of his wife Luva, both played by the lovely Vonetta McGee.
The concept of a reincarnated love seems to be a common theme in many Dracula movies from later years like Fright Night 1984 and Bram Stokers Dracula 1998. Before then, Lucy or Mina, depending on the movie, was just a woman Dracula has chosen to be his bride in England. I’m not sure if this is the first movie to do this, but it’s the first I know of.
There is a lot of heart here and romance motivates Mamuwalde to infiltrate Tina’s world and seduce her. That heart is what transforms this horror film into something a little more interesting for the viewer.
Blacula is not just a monster, he's Mamuwalde, a man trapped within Dracula’s curse and seeking his lost love. The audience finds sympathy for Mamuwalde and secretly roots for the bad guy.
As the man, Mamuwalde, he has the presence of a suave intellectual lover so charming and gentle with Tina. In moments he can transform physically into the snarling beast Blacula, a dangerous animal driven by his lust for blood.
While we are on the topic of beast mode, the makeup for Blacula and all of the vampires is very unattractive and dare I say horrendous. It’s unattractive to us today, but the aesthetic of the vampires in this movie is pretty much on track with most of the vampires of the era complete with chunky fangs and painted on blood drips. The film is creatively a lot like the British Hammer horror films of the 1960’s and 70’s where vampires were not as pretty as we glamorize them today. Many films at the time portrayed vampires a lot like the undead, cousins to zombies complete with gray or blue skin. This film falls in line with its contemporaries. Better, more elaborate vampire makeup techniques wouldn’t appear until the late 1970’s, 80’s and 90’s.
Part of the reception of Blacula is because of William Marshall’s incredible performance and commanding presence. He was 6’5” tall and was not only an actor but a director and operatic singer. His bass voice was so intimidating, but then also very regal.
His physical performance was, on the most part, very elegant and sophisticated. Even as the beast Blacula, he glides while he attacks his victims. At the same time, he was able to give Mamuwalde a warm tenderness the audience needed to see to sympathize with the character, making him an icon.
Many critics of the film had a problem with Blacula waking up 1972 and knowing the world so well and I agree. However, I do like the fact we just get into the meat and potatoes of the plot and not exactly spending too much time with a fish out of water story. This is Blacula we’re talking about. He’s a fast learner.
Playing opposite Mamuwalde is Dr. Gordon Thomas played by Thalmus Rasulala. Gordon is a pathologist for the Los Angeles Police Department who is this film’s version of Van Helsing, uncovering small clues like breadcrumbs leading up to discovering that Mamuwalde is indeed the culprit of a string of odd murders causing the victims to become vampires.
I loved that character, but I really thought it was a little too convenient that Gordon was hostile toward Mamuwalde without any proof of knowing anything about him through casual conversation. It didn’t seem warranted to me. There was a running line about Mamuwalde as being a “strange dude”, but I think I would have liked a better reason from Gordon as to why he was so suspicious. I would have even appreciated a moment of him just flat out saying, “I don’t like that guy”.
A close up of Gordon noticing the way Mamuwalde reacted to his picture being taken with Tina might have been just the thing to connect him to eventually finding the picture of Tina posing alone. It’s a small gripe, but a small fix to make the film just a tiny bit better.
I loved all of the scenes with Dr. Thomas, especially the ones with his girlfriend Michelle played by Denise Nicholas. I thought they had real chemistry and there was something really cute about their relationship I adored.
Vonetta McGee plays Tina as I mentioned before and there have been many criticisms about her acting and the character of Tina. I thought she was wonderful because the reason Tina is conflicted about what is right and what is wrong is because Mamuwalde has her under his spell. When he meets her officially their conversation is not audible. When we finally get to hear them, Tina invites him to join her friends, but her demeanor trancelike. This is not a coincidence. It’s all there.
I’m not sure that Mamuwalde knows that he’s doing that, but he can do it, and he is doing it. This is in the Dracula tool box.
They spend one night together and Tina instantly says she loves him. That’s a little bit much. That was my tip off that something was wrong with her sense of reality. I think she does love him, but it happens so fast because of his power of suggestion.
One other evidence of that is at the end when Mamuwalde wants Tina to come to him, she is completely and totally under his command and it doesn’t break. So the implication is that Tina is in love with him because she is under his power.
That is the tragedy of Blacula. His lost love was always lost and Tina was his chance to capture that love again even if it was not exactly the same.
Within the tender love story there are so many wonderful highlights in the film that make it so memorable.
The opening animation was especially interesting and different for this kind of film. I enjoyed it immensely and I remember the excitement of seeing it for the first time. It had a very 1960’s feel to it, where it felt like almost every cheeky film in the 1960’s wanted to have some kind of animation in it. But being a kid at the time, I loved the movie instantly.
At the nightclub where Mamuwalde meets Tina officially there is a serious amount of attention in the film given to several vigorous performances from The Hues Corporation, best known for their 1974 hit song "Rock the Boat." you know, that song that is played at every wedding reception ever.
At first, I thought that the entertaining performances were just put in the film to pad out the run time. It’s an awful trick that is used in low budget films so their productions can be considered feature films. No on the contrary. The songs the group performs are all intentional and used as subtext.
The first song is warning us about Blacula with lyrics like, “Look the other way when he comes by you” “Don’t let him follow through.” That is the song, “There He Is Again”. The female lead singer gave an exceptionally incredible performance.
The second song is pretty awesome. It’s a song for Gordon looking for his mysterious killer, “I’m gonna catcha”. When I hear this song, I just want to start doing a little side step and a twirl as if I was a member of The Temptations. (The Temptations are an American vocal group who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s.)
The third song is a beautiful song that is for Tina as she waits for Mamuwalde at the nightclub and is blindly in love. It’s called, “What the World Knows”. She doesn’t care about anything but being with Mamuwalde. The song and the look on her face is so sad in a way as she longs for him.
Each one of these songs are magnificent and I really adore how they are featured in the film.
The simplistic score had a very 1970 television flavor to it, but it also had a whimsical charm to it as chimes can be heard on occasion to indicate something supernatural was happening. I loved those little details.
One of the scariest scenes in the film is when a female taxi driver by the name of Juanita Jones played by Ketty Lester transforms into a vampire and attacks an employee at the morgue, Sam, played by Elisha Cook Jr.. What a scene. The beauty of it is that it was set up with so much suspense as the audience waits for the vampire to thaw and attack. When she runs down the hall in slow motion, the screams and musical cues were wonderfully combined to let that moment shine. I love that scene. It’s one of the best in the film.
On the initial watch, it is easy to assume that Blacula takes place in New York, but it was shot in Los Angeles. One of the principal locations for the finale was taken at the Hyperion Outfall Treatment Plant in Playa del Rey. It gives us the perfect hideout for Blacula.
Blacula was one of the top-grossing films of 1972 and fondly regarded across the board of most film lovers.
There were so many corny lines connected to the film like, “Blacula, Dracula’s Soul Brother!” That was done as a gag, but according to the story, this couldn’t have been further from the truth because Blacula and Dracula were enemies. But it sure did sound cool in the 70s.
It was so popular that it was the first film to receive an award for Best Horror Film at the Saturn Awards and received the greenlight to make a sequel, Scream Blacula Scream in 1973. As well many more ridiculous black exploitation horror films followed, none of them as good, but fun for a good time.
You could pick this film apart and have a good time roasting it, but it is actually a time capsule with historical significance.
Blacula has the classic blacksploitation formula of very offensive and insensitive dialogue that would be completely unacceptable today, being that it is a product of its time. However, the film offers something a little different by adding the horror element within a Romeo and Juliette romantic tragedy.
He’s one BAAAD mother sucker!”
My Rating:
7.6
That sums up my review. I hope you liked it.
Take care movie lovers! I'm off to the next review!
If you enjoy my content and want me to continue you can help at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/retronerdgirl
Follow Retro Nerd Girl on twitter: https://twitter.com/Retro_Nerd_Girl
Like Retro Nerd Girl on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/retronerdgirl
No comments:
Post a Comment