Customer Reviews

Scream, Blacula, Scream

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

In 1973's SCREAM, BLACULA, SCREAM!--an excellent sequel to BLACULA (1972), the first horror entry in AIP's "blaxploitation" line--William Marshall reprises his role as the aristocratic black vampire Mamuwalde (a.k.a. Blacula). Though he was killed by sunlight at the end of the first film, the vampire brother is resurrected when his bones are used as part of an evil voodoo rite. Realizing the preternatural potential of voodoo magic, the revivified Mamuwalde enlists the aid of a beautiful and powerful voodoo priestess (Pam Grier) in hopes of being forever freed from the curse of vampirism.

As before, actor Marshall's Shakespearean training and deep, rich, booming voice form the foundation of his outstanding performance as the sympathetic but dynamic titular character. In fact, this talented African-American actor brings dignity and intelligence to any role he plays--even off-beat characters like Blacula--and he has therefore appeared in numerous films and TV shows, including genre flicks like SKULLDUGGERY (1970), ABBY (1974), AMAZON WOMEN ON THE MOON (1987), and SORCERESS (1995); and genre TV shows such as the original THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E., classic STAR TREK (Dr. Richard Daystrom in the episode "The Ultimate Computer"), and THE WILD WILD WEST.

Also adding to the quality and entertainment value of SCREAM, BLACULA, SCREAM! is the portrayal of the voodoo priestess, Sarah, by the beautiful Pam Grier. Though famous for playing intelligent, strong, no-nonsense black women in other blaxploitation flicks of the 1970s, her character here is admittedly toned down compared to those other roles, but she still delivers a solid performance and is a wonderful compliment to Marshall.

Many of the other supporting actors also turn in some good performances. Don Mitchell appears as Justin, Sarah's boyfriend, and some viewers will quickly recognize him from his longtime role as Mark Sanger on TV's original IRONSIDE. Michael Conrad, later of HILL STREET BLUES fame, does a good job playing the skeptical Sheriff Dunlop, and Richard Lawson delivers some hilarious comic relief as Blacula's vampiric servant.

Any lover of low-budget 1970s horror will enjoy SCREAM, BLACULA, SCREAM. The special FX are endearingly cheesy--dig that animation in those vamp-to-bat and bat-to-vamp transformations--the acting is great, the women are pretty, and the plot offers just the right mix of laughs and chills. Though this one is not helmed by the same director as BLACULA--instead it's Bob Kelljan, who also directed the delightful COUNT YORGA vampire films--the same spirit and quality is maintained throughout, so anybody who enjoyed that first film will definitely want to see this better-than-average sequel.

The DVD edition of SCREAM, BLACULA, SCREAM from MGM--released as part of the company's "Soul Cinema" line, though it and its predecessor, BLACULA, could have just as easily fit in with MGM's "Midnite Movie" series--offers an anamorphic widescreen transfer in the original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, and it appears that the print used for the transfer was in excellent shape. No extras are offered other than the theatrical trailer, but the very reasonable price makes this flick painlessly accessible to any horror-film collector.

In my opinion, Scream, Blacula, Scream is every bit as good as Blacula. Rather than offering a pedestrian rehash of the whole vampirism story of the original, the sequel throws another powerful force, that of voodoo, into the mix and gives the film a whole new direction. William Marshall is just as good as before in the title role, and he meets up with a worthy possible antagonist in Pam Grier, who plays the gifted voodoo priestess he seeks out for help. Blacula, resurrected in his undead state with no further possibility of reclaiming the modern incarnation of his beloved bride, now seeks to break the curse that has made him a bloodthirsty, yet exceedingly cool, pariah on society. That doesn't mean he's not going to keep killing people and turning them into vampires in the meantime, however, so expect more jugular action as this film winds its way to a conclusion.

If you've seen the first film, you know Blacula just didn't wake up and return to his vampire ways. It had to take something extraordinary to put that bag of bones back together - something like, say, a voodoo ritual. The local voodoo cult just so happens to be divided after the leader dies without naming a successor. The dead high priestess' son Willis (Richard Lawson) claims the top position, but everyone else defers to Lisa (Pam Grier). Willis wants revenge, and he finds what he thinks is the perfect instrument in the form of the resurrected Blacula. Of course, nobody tells Blacula what to do, and Willis is immediately made the first of the vampire's new minions (and he is far from happy when he learns he can no longer admire his good looks and unique fashion sense in the mirror). A number of vampiric murders ensue, drawing the critical eye of the local police, but Blacula sets his sights on Lisa once he realizes that her voodoo gifts may hold the power to free him of his horrible curse. Her boyfriend Justin (Don Mitchell), a former cop, is the first to put all the clues together, and all parties collide in the film's concluding scenes. Will Blacula be freed of his dreadful curse?

Scream, Blacula, Scream lacks some of the humor of the first film, and it doesn't really try as hard to scare the audience, either. Even still, I enjoyed this film as much as I did the original. It's really an impressive sequel, coming only a year after Blacula singlehandedly brought the blaxploitation horror subgenre to life. Pam Grier fans will be disappointed if they expect to see the bad action star of Foxy Brown and other films, but the character of Blacula should satisfy most of your butt-kicking needs. Personally, I think the filmmakers should have gone with the alternate title Blacula is Beautiful, but this is still a must-have blaxploitation horror film that looks and sounds better than ever thanks to modern technology.

After "Blacula" successfully kicked off the horror element of the Blaxploitation movement in 1972, the sequel, "Scream, Blacula, Scream" came out the following year. In addition to returning the booming Shakespearean voice of William Marshall in the title fole (his real name is Prince Manuwalde), this 1973 film from director Bob Kelljan (who also did "Count Yorga") upped the ante by having Pam Grier as the female lead, which adds a little something extra to the film.

This time Manuwalde is brought back to life by a voodoo ritual. The first time around the vampire prince thought he had found the reincarnation of his long dead wife. This time he wants to get the voodoo princess (Grier) to do that voodoo that she does so well to return him to his homeland. Again, Marshall's performance brings a sense of dignity to the proceedings (remember: he was the first black actor to play the title role of Othello on stage), which do get a bit cheesy at times. The attack sequences are actually a bit better in the sequel, but the racial humor, outrageous at the time as a defining element of the Blaxploitation movement, just does not click as well. Most importantly, this film does not even try to be as scary as the original.

That last point become the fatal flaw because 1973 was the year "The Exorcist" came out and showed what a really great horror film would be like. That made films like "Scream, Blacula, Scream" look even more tacky in comparison. Even with Greir, this film is not as good as the original, which still remains the best of the bunch when it comes to Blaxploitation horror.

Pam Grier was a goddess as always, and Marshall was again great as Blacula. Still, this movie needed a better script and better supporting actors/actresses.

I personally feel that William Marshall did an outstanding performance as Blacula, although I feel this was a step down for him as an actor at the time. He had far better to offer us from the stage and screen. But given the era, I suppose one couldn't be too picky for roles. I thought both films Blacula and Scream Blacula were quite chilling. The sequel however, had I think too much humor whether intentional or not to take the story line seriously throughout. There was one scene that was chilling for me and the background music with the lightning and thunder added to the eerieness. Pam's character sat with her friend who died and she rose from the casket as one of the undead only moments before looking peaceful. She beckons to Pam's character(quite eerie) and Blacula appears with booming thunder in the room. Overall it's not a bad film and you feel for Blacula's situation. I think Pam tried too hard to be the "damsel in distress" as she played those tough girl characters in the early 70's also. But if you are a Pam Grier and William Marshall fan as I am, these films should be a part of your collection.

This film is beautiful,I love it. William Marshall is truly superb as Prince Mamuwalde he is one of the three best actors to take on the cloak of our beloved Dracula,the others being Frank Langella and the incomperable Klaus Kinski. Leonard Maltin is stupid to rate this film down.

William Marshall should've been a big star. He was trained in one of England's acting schools. But as a man of color in the 70s, he had to take roles like this. The first Blacula was excellent. But this one wasn't. It was too predictable. The other shocking thing about this movie is the production value. After the first Blacula became a hit, you would think that the studios would have put more money into its sequels. But the studis didn't. And while Pam is one of my favorite 70s actress, this movie wasn't her best. Pass!!

It's a carbon copy of the original Blacula (1972), but if you loved the original, it's worth seeing it. You even get to see the vampires act like humans as William Marshall did in the first one, just as he does in this.

The success of "BLACULA" all but guarenteed the inevitable sequel which arrived a year later. Sequels are usually never as good as the original and that is certainly true here. Though this is an inferior film to "BLACULA", it is still quite enjoyable and benefits from the strong presence of lead actor William Marshall who again plays that "strange dude" Mamuwalde, aka "you-know-who".

I liked the ending of the first film a lot (denied his lady love a second time, he walks out into the sun committing suicide) so was somewhat disappointed seeing him return in the first place. But having him trying to free himself from the curse/ slavery of vampirism by using the voodoo power of Pam Grier was a good idea. John Carradine used science to try and cure him of the curse in Universal's fine "HOUSE OF DRACULA" (and failed), so it was interestring that Mamuwalde would use a black art to combat a black art, so to speak.

The anamorphic widescreen picture is very good and the mono sound quite pleasing.

Like the original "BLACULA", there are no extra's but for the original theatrical trailer.

To close, if you liked "BLACULA", you should enjoy this sequel. -George Bauch.

Everyone on here has already talked about the story of Blacula. I will not bother talking about it because enough of you already did that. What I want to talk about it the lack of extras on the DVD.

Where is the interviews with the actors? They could have put on an interview with William Marshall. Will did enough of them in the 1970s on the radio and talk shows. He was still alive, he died in 2003, when this came out. The studio could have interviewed him to find out more on his method.

I buy DVDs to get more than just the movie. I want interviews, behind the scene clips, deleted scenes, and much more. It wasn't on this. I gave four stars for the story itself. Nothing more.