Scream Blacula Scream

MOVIE REVIEW OF SCREAM BLACULA SCREAM (1973) - PG

Cast
Director	Bob Kelljan	Runtime: 1 hr. 36 min. (96 min.)
Blacula/Prince Mamuwalde	.....	William Marshall
Justin Carter	.....	Don Mitchell
Lisa Fortier	.....	Pam Grier
Sheriff Harley Dunlop	.....	Michael Conrad
Willis Daniels	.....	Richard Lawson
Denny	.....	Lynn Moody
Gloria	.....	Janee Michelle
Elaine	.....	Barbara Rhoades
Ragman	.....	Bernie Hamilton
Louis	.....	Arnold Williams
Professor Walston	.....	Van Kirksey
Pimp#1	.....	Bob Minor
Pimp#2	.....	Al Jones
Milt	.....	Eric Mason
Librarian	.....	Sybil Scotford
Maggie	.....	Beverly Gill
Doll Man	.....	Don Blackman
Prostitute	.....	Judith Elliotte
Cop	.....	Dan Roth
Dennis	.....	Nicholas Worth
Joe	.....	Kenneth O'Brien
Sarge	.....	Craig Nelson
Attendent	.....	James Payne
Cop#1	.....	Richard Washington
Cop#2	.....	Bob Hoy
Sergeant Williams	.....	James Kingsley
Woman	.....	Arnita Bell

PLOT SUMMARY

In this second coming of the Blacula movies (there are only two), we start off with the death of a relative of Willis Daniels (Richard Lawson). Willis is angered because he was not named as the heir of the family fortune. He seeks revenge by any means. To accomplish this, he seeks out a man who possesses the bones of Blacula (William Marshall) a.k.a. Mamuwalde. The man tells of the extreme power of these bones, and hands him a folded piece of paper, telling him this is all you need to know. Next we see Willis conducting a voodoo ritual (a common theme throughout the movie) to bring the bones back to living form. Initially, the ritual seems to have failed. But we soon find that it was in fact very successful. When Blacula is resurrected, his first victim is Willis, naturally, and Willis becomes Blacula's slave vampire. At this point, a brief flashback explains the beginnings of Blacula and his curse for the benefit of those who did not see the first movie.

From here on, the main plot of the movie is Blacula's desire to dispel his curse. He believes a voodoo ritual can restore him to a normal man. He meets a woman, Lisa, who has exceptionally strong ties to the voodoo community and possesses exceptional powers. Mamuwalde believes Lisa is the key to a normal life once again. And of course, throughout the movie, the cops are pursuing these vampires in hopes of banishing these blood-suckers to eternal death (in this context, that is NOT redundant).

The final shootout in this movie is almost exactly the same as the end of the first movie, except that this one takes place in a mansion instead of a chemical plant.

TECH INSPECTION

The first thing I noticed in the beginning of the movie was the little too obvious ad placement. Once again the prominent sponsor is Coors beer. As far as plot, I find this to be very thin for a movie that lasts an hour and a half. I just have to criticize one other oversight by the writers and perhaps director of this production. I'm surprised this didn't make it into my critique of Blacula. In both these movies, some of the vampires are in a zombie state all of the time. Others, namely Willis and Mamuwalde, switch between normal and vampire mode. These two characters are only vicious during an active attack.

My low rating of this movie comes primarily from its lack of plot. In fact, there are several redeeming qualities present in this film. I was happy to see Blacula exhibit his bat abilities in the first 40 minutes instead of the previous last 15 minutes of the last film. Also, in a movie that easily lends itself to the temptation of cheap overacting, this is one flaw that I did not notice. The acting in this movie is actually very good.

QUOTES
Finally, a short list of quotes I think are worth repeating. You may recognize some, but these are my own picks, not ones that are particularly famous:

• Your only justification for crawling on this Earth is to serve me.~Mamuwalde
• Evening would be better for me. I'm rather a night person.~Mamuwalde
• I may be a little prejudice on race creed and color, but nobody's perfect~Sheriff Dunlop
• I'm sorry, I don't have any...bread...with me. And as far as kicking my ass...I strongly recommend that you give it careful consideration before trying it.~Mamuwalde

Here is my personal rating of this movie. This rating is out of ten meows.
³/₁₀

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