Shocktober 2025 - Blacula (1972)
“I curse you with my name. You shall be... Blacula! A vampire like myself. A living fiend! You will be doomed never to know that sweet blood which will become your only desire.” – Count Dracula.
As we’re delving into the seventies, I’d be remiss if I didn’t dip into the blaxploitation sub-genre that was popular at the time. I’d also be remiss if I didn’t point out that the attitudes of the seventies were wildly different from those prevalent today – and that’s all I’m going to say about that.
Okay, so what the heck is blaxploitation, for the benefit of those of us not around back then? Wikipedia offers this as a definition; “Initially, blaxploitation films were black cinema produced for the entertainment of black people in the cities of the US, but the entertainment appeal of the black characters and human stories extended into the mainstream cinema of corporate Hollywood. Recognizing the profitability of the financially inexpensive blaxploitation films, the corporate movie studios then produced blaxploitation movies specifically for the cultural sensibilities of mainstream viewers.”
A lot of the films from that era were detective/cop movies like Shaft & Cleopatra Jones and as I said were very much of their time, but it was inevitable that blaxploitation would enter the horror movie field with Blacula in 1972, and its subsequent sequel. As a side note I remember reading in a film magazine at the time, probably Photoplay, that other projects in the pipeline were Blackenstein and (no, I’m not making this up) The Hunchblack of Notre Dame. When I was looking around the internet, researching this article, I discovered that Blackenstein was actually made. I even found the trailer. (Click here – you won’t believe your eyes.)
Black to Blacula, I’m including this in Shocktober because it’s part of my personal horror history. Let’s turn the clock back to I believe it was 1974. Fourteen-year-old me was just setting out on this journey of exploring horror and sci-fi movies as a hobby. (A hobby my long-suffering parents were openly hoping was a passing craze. What can I say, they were wrong.) The horror bug just wasn’t moving. It was, if anything, getting stronger, causing much parental despair. Most of what I was learning about the movies themselves came from the couple of books I had – particularly The Pictorial History of the Horror Movie by Denis Gifford, a volume I still treasure to this day – and any screenings I might catch on one of the three TV channels I had access to. No streaming, home cinema or internet searches back then, kids. BUT – I had started to get a little bolder. Earlier in the year I had talked my way into being able to buy a ticket to Amicus Productions’ From Beyond the Grave at our local “good” cinema, The Palladium. I think they knew I was a basically harmless kid who loved horror and would cause no problems. I was about to try my luck at the box office of the Palladium again.
Somehow, I succeeded and took my seat for my first ever horror double bill at the cinema. Three straight hours of horror movies. At the cinema. Better yet, this was a vampire double bill. Even better yet, it didn’t really matter if the opening feature, Blacula, which I’d never heard of, sucked – because the REAL draw was the second feature, a Hammer film, Even, EVEN better yet – it was the return of Christopher Lee in The Satanic Rites of Dracula. (Y’know, more than half a century later, I still hold fond memories of this double bill.)
In 1972, American International Productions were in financial troubles (nothing new there) and needed to get a horror movie out quickly. They decided on a vampire theme, after all, a vampire in modern day Los Angeles would be a relatively cheap film to make – it had already worked a couple of years earlier with Count Yorga, Vampire. In fact, the scenes where the vampire’s coffin are taken from the ship to the city are taken directly from Yorga.
Originally, Blacula was, according to an interview with director William Crain, going to be a bit funkier, with the title Count Brown’s in Town (oh, dear God…) and was, in the director’s words going to be; “full of shuckin’ and jivin’…” (Words fail me at this point, so I’m just going to move along. Pretty swiftly too.) Luckily, the casting of William Marshall in the lead role changed things. Marshall insisted that the role be played with dignity. (Or at least as much dignity as the script would allow, including the appliance of some extra facial hair when Blacula’s in feeding mode. Come on guys, he’s a vampire, not a werewolf.) Watching the film now, in 2025, it’s pretty obvious that Marshall is one of the only cast members to play this with dignity.
Again, I’ll point out that as I go through the synopsis, the film is representative of a different time, different attitudes. Okay? We good? Let’s go.
The year is 1780, and an African prince, Mamualde (William Marshall) has travelled to Transylvania with his wife Luva (Vonetta McGee) to seek the help of Count Dracula (Charles Macaulay) to supress the slave trade. It’s not clear exactly why Mamualde thought Dracula, a white privileged nobleman would be interested in this cause, I’m assuming that Mamualde has no idea that Dracula is y’know, the Lord of the Vampiric Hordes and all that implies, but anyway, predictably, Dracula’s not interested in bringing the slave trade to an end, in fact, he has taken a fancy to Luva (who at this point I was convinced I was hearing referred to as “Loofah) and makes his intentions to have her as a sex slave pretty clear. Mamualde rushes to defend his wife’s honour, but is quickly overwhelmed by the ridiculously long fanged brides of Dracula. Dracula feeds on Mamualde, and then carries out his most sadistic revenge ever. Having turned Mamualde into a vampire, Dracula curses him with the name Blacula, and seals him in a coffin in a hidden crypt, the intention being that now he’s immortal he’ll starve for all eternity. As he says; “You shall pay, black Prince. I shall place a curse of suffering on you that will doom you to a living Hell. A hunger, a wild, gnawing, animal hunger will grow in you, a hunger for human blood. Here you will starve for an eternity, torn by an unquenchable lust.” As an added twist, he also seals Luva in the secret chamber to either starve or suffocate to death.
Now THAT’S an origin!
Moving forward to the present day, or the present day of 1972, we see two American extremely camp interior designers discover the coffin, buy it and have it shipped back to L.A. (The exaggerated effeminate depiction of these two was pretty much standard for the time, mincing walk and all as is a reference to them being “faggots” – the, er, N-word is heard in the movie as well.) Once back in Los Angeles, Bobby and Billy (facepalm) open the coffin, becoming Blacula’s first victims.
As Bobby is laid to rest in a funeral home, we meet the rest of the main cast who come to pay their last respects. These are his friends Tina (again Vonetta McGee, playing a dual role because she’s identical to Luva, thus drawing Blacula’s attention) her friend Michelle (Denise Nicholas) and Michelle’s boyfriend Dr. Gordon Thomas, a pathologist for the LAPD (Thalmus Rasulala).
Blacula becomes obsessed with Tina, believing her to be the reincarnation of Luva, Thomas, being a pathologist is the one who ties in the marks on Bobby’s neck being consistent with European folklore. Michelle though doesn’t really seem to have much of a purpose in the film to be honest. That role could’ve been eliminated quite easily. Obviously, this being 1972, nobody in this enlightened age believes in Thomas’ theories that there might be a vampire in their midst so Blacula can continue with his nocturnal feeding and his pursuit of Tina unabated. Their first encounter though is a failure. Approaching her on a deserted street isn’t the best idea, especially in the dark, wearing a long flowing cape. She runs away, and he’s run over by a taxi. But at least he gets to feed on the driver, Juanita Jones (recording artist Ketty Lester, who should’ve stayed in the recording studio).
Later, Blacula advances on Tina and tells her his tale of woe and they spend the night together – but he doesn’t bite her. Meanwhile, Bobby’s body has gone missing and so they exhume Billy’s body looking for a clue that might prove there are vampires in the ‘hood. Billy attacks them as soon as the lid is taken off his coffin and is immediately staked.
Thomas persuades white cop Lt Peters (Gordon Pinsent) of vampire activity by thawing out the taxi driver’s body in the morgue and exposing her to sunlight as she gets ready to attack.
Thomas gets a clue who the vampire is when he sees photos that were taken at a nightclub a few nights before. Blacula had his photo taken with Tina… and of course, being a vampire, his image doesn’t show on the photo. Police converge on Blacula’s nest of vampires, wiping them out – but not Blacula.
The final showdown takes place at Blacula’s new hideout, a chemical plant. Thomas and the cops are in hot pursuit. Tina is accidentally shot by a police officer, and to save her life, Blacula must turn her into a vampire. During the ensuing struggle, thinking he’s going to find Blacula, Thomas locates a coffin containing the newly vampirised Tina and stakes her. (Honestly, that poor woman has absolutely NO luck!).
Realising now that he has nothing left to live an eternity for, Blacula voluntarily walks to the flat roof of the building, committing suicide as the rising sun slowly turns him in to a rotting, maggot infested cadaver.
It’s only struck me now, while writing this that my first vampire double bill all those years ago had something unusual in common, in that both Marshall’s Blacula and Lee’s Dracula decide on suicide because they don’t want to carry on any longer. Okay, Dracula intends to take the whole world with him, but it’s still a recurring theme in the double bill – right? And in writing this paragraph, it’s struck me that I’ve never cover the Hammer Dracula films in Shocktober. Maybe it’s an idea for the future? What’d you guys think?
For now, despite all its dated flaws, Blacula is easily a better, more entertaining and fast paced film than American International’s earlier Count Yorga. The vampire character is better played, has a far better backstory and is overall more sympathetic. Not to mention of course that William Marshall is a far superior actor to Robert Quarry.