The ’70s Horror Classic That Changed Black History, Stream Without Netflix
The horror films that generations of fans came to love throughout the golden age of Universal Classic Monsters in the 1930s and 40s and the surge of Hammer Studios’ Dracula and Frankenstein films in the 50s and 60s were hits with large swaths of U.S. audiences, but were criticized by some for being whitewashed productions. The blaxploitation era of films of the late 60s began as a movement that resulted in people of color creating films and casting members of their community to star as the protagonists, instead of comical sidekicks or villains. While a number of these films were action pictures, like Dolemite, Brotherhood of Death, and Super Fly, a handful of memorable horror films spawned from this film sub-genre, including the 1972 feature Blacula.
The Legend Of Blacula
Blacula opens with an African prince named Mamuwalde that makes a long journey to Transylvania in the late 18th century for a diplomatic visit to Count Dracula. The prince’s mission is to get the eastern European ruler to help eliminate the slave trade, thus opening up parts of Africa for its people to prosper. But the count refuses, and reveals himself to be a bloodthirsty vampire when he attacks the prince with a bite on the neck.
The count and his vampire horde force the prince into a coffin deep within the castle, but not before declaring that the prince is now doomed to be a vampire and giving him the new name Blacula. Prince Mamuwalde’s wife Luva is sealed inside the subterranean chamber with her entombed husband, left to die by suffocation as the vampiric prince slumbers in his coffin.
The Count And His Coffin
Blacula fast forwards in time to 1972 and sees two interior decorators in possession of the coffin after purchasing items from overseas. Once their find has arrived in Los Angeles, they open it and are greeted by a very agitated and extremely hungry Blacula. Audiences see the two men attacked and drained of their blood, becoming the first victims of the cursed African prince.
A Vampire Killer On The Loose
Blacula continues with its charming prince spying a young woman named Tina that strongly resembles his long-dead wife Luva. His quest to win her hand is complicated by investigators piecing together recent murders that fit the pattern of a vampire killer, pitting Prince Mamuwalde against those who wish to destroy him.
A Solid Low-Budget Outing
Blacula is a brilliant and often-times humorous retelling of the Bram Stoker novel Dracula. Placing the vampire in modern day Los Angeles among crooked police, gang members, and other assorted characters that come after him with sharpened stakes. It’s low-budget, but gives audiences relatively good horror movie makeup and realistic enough sets to overcome its lack of production dollars.
Blacula Streaming For Free On Tubi
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William Marshall as Blacula was a great casting choice for director William Crain to work with, helping to launch a lengthy career for the actor. The rest of the cast gives audiences performances that are on par with a low-budget horror film, but that only adds to the level of campiness that fans will be sure to love.
You can stream Blacula for free with Tubi.
