{"id":11857,"date":"2025-05-08T09:54:51","date_gmt":"2025-05-08T13:54:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/?p=11857"},"modified":"2025-05-08T09:54:51","modified_gmt":"2025-05-08T13:54:51","slug":"scream-blacula-scream","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/2025\/05\/08\/scream-blacula-scream\/","title":{"rendered":"Scream Blacula Scream"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Scream Blacula Scream<\/strong> (1973)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 American International\/Horror\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 96 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated PG (vampire violence, language, some sexual innuendo)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Bob Kelljan\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Joan Torres, Raymond Koenig and Maurice Jules\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Bill Marx\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Isidore Mankofsky\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: June 27, 1973 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: William Marshall, Pam Grier, Don Mitchell, Michael Conrad, Richard Lawson, Lynne Moody, Janee Michelle, Barbara Rhoades, Bernie Hamilton, Arnold Williams, Van Kirksey, Bob Minor, Al Jones, Eric Mason.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Box Office: $2.1M (US)<\/p>\n

Rating<\/strong>: ***<\/p>\n

\u00a0Strange as it sounds, Scream Blacula Scream<\/strong> is on the short list of sequels that are better than the original. I just had more fun watching it than its predecessor. Director Bob Kelljan (Count Yorga, Vampire) ups the ante by throwing voodoo into the mix. Shakespearean actor William Marshall returns as Mamuwalde, the African prince also known as Blacula. This time around, the foxy Pam Grier (The Big Bird Cage) plays the title character\u2019s love interest. If that\u2019s not an added incentive, I don\u2019t know what is. It all adds up to a fun blaxploitation horror flick.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Scream Blacula Scream<\/strong> hit cinemas less than a year after the original. You can see that it was made in a hurry. Producer Samuel Z. Arkoff didn\u2019t want to waste any time in getting the sequel into theaters while the first movie was still fresh in the minds of audiences. The reviews weren\u2019t kind, but that didn\u2019t keep urban audiences away. Made on a low budget (sorry, I don\u2019t have an exact figure), it made its money back. That\u2019s the beauty of exploitation movies. They\u2019re cheap and almost always turn a small profit.<\/p>\n

\u00a0As you may recall, Blacula took his own life at the end of the first movie, deliberating stepping outside into the sunlight after the reincarnation of his beloved princess gets a stake through the heart. His death is only temporary. He\u2019s brought back to life by Willis Daniels (Lawson, Poltergeist), the son of a recently deceased voodoo queen. He\u2019s angry because he wasn\u2019t chosen as her successor. Instead, she named adoptive daughter Lisa (Grier) to take over the role.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Seeking revenge, Willis buys the remains of Blacula and uses voodoo to bring the vampire back to life. It works, but success comes at a great cost in this case. The newly risen bloodsucker immediately puts the bite on Willis turning him into his slave. His first reaction upon realizing his new station in life\/undeath is one for the books: \u201cHey, look here, man. I don’t mind being a vampire and all that s***, but this really ain’t hip.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0Blacula crashes a party where he schools some of the guests about the African artifacts on display in the host\u2019s home. Said host is Justin Carter (Mitchell, Ironside), an ex-cop and member of Lisa\u2019s voodoo cult. As it so happens, Lisa is his girlfriend. That is, until she falls under the spell of Blacula. He really does have a way with the women. For her part, Lisa doesn\u2019t freak out when she learns her new man is a vampire even though he bites her friend Gloria (Michelle, The House on Skull Mountain) at the party. She even agrees to use her voodoo to help remove the curse that made him who he is today.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Meanwhile, Justin returns to the LAPD fold to aid in investigating a series of murders. Working with his old partner Lt. Dunlop (Conrad, Hill Street Blues), he soon comes to realize the killings are the work of a vampire. Dunlop doesn\u2019t believe him at first, but you know how these things go. By the end, he and a team of cops arm themselves with wooden stakes for the final showdown with Blacula and his bloodsucking army.<\/p>\n

\u00a0I\u2019m sure I would have discovered Scream Blacula Scream<\/strong> on my own eventually. However, it was Harry and Michael Medved who turned me onto it in their 1980 book The Golden Turkey Awards. In it, they vividly describe the experience of watching it at a grungy Skid Row cinema at 4:40am. They talk about the rowdy audience, the burly security guard who kept order with a Billy Club, the big rat that ran down the aisle during the show and the wino singing along to the closing theme as they exited the theater. It sounds like a real hoot.<\/p>\n

\u00a0I wish I had seen Scream Blacula Scream<\/strong> under similar circumstances. Alas, it wasn\u2019t meant to be. I saw it at some point in the early 00s in the safety of my bedroom. My second viewing this past Saturday night took place in my living room. I did a Blacula double feature while my infinitely patient wife watched one of her shows on her phone. It\u2019s definitely not the same as sitting next to a potentially dangerous person with the smell of stale popcorn and mold wafting through the theater, but I\u2019ll take it. Besides, it\u2019s always awesome to see a young Pam Grier in action.<\/p>\n

\u00a0I heard the term \u201cterrifying dignity\u201d applied to Marshall\u2019s performance as Blacula. That\u2019s a fair assessment. He\u2019s a frightening figure who acquits himself with dignity. He has a regal quality to him which is fitting since he was an African prince before the whole situation with Dracula. Grier does great as the voodoo priestess who falls for Blacula and tries to help him. There\u2019s a reason she\u2019s regarded as the Queen of Blaxploitation. Mitchell makes a fine hero. It\u2019s interesting to see a 70s black-themed movie that isn\u2019t anti-police. Instead of fighting the cops, he works with them. Granted, Dunlop has racist tendencies, but he\u2019s not a bad guy either.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Scream Blacula Scream<\/strong> isn\u2019t as serious as its predecessor. On the contrary, it has fun with its premise. Some of it, like Blacula\u2019s encounter with a pair of pimps, is played for laughs. Check out this exchange:<\/p>\n

Pimp: \u201cYour bread, man, all of it! Or are we gonna have to become anti-social and kick your ass?\u201d<\/p>\n

Blacula: \u201cI’m sorry, I don’t have any “bread” on me, and as for “kicking my ass”, I’d strongly suggest you give it careful consideration before trying.\u201d<\/p>\n

You gotta love dialogue like this. While humorous, Scream Blacula Scream<\/strong> doesn\u2019t skimp on the vampire horror. The makeup effects are quite good and the final showdown is cool.<\/p>\n

\u00a0I\u2019m not going to try and convince you Scream Blacula Scream<\/strong> is some kind of lost horror classic. It\u2019s a B-movie (B for Blaxploitation) through and through. It\u2019s made to be seen on double and triple features. It\u2019s made to be watched with friends who enjoy schlocky movies. It\u2019s just fun!\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Scream Blacula Scream (1973)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 American International\/Horror\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 96 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated PG (vampire violence, language, some sexual innuendo)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Bob Kelljan\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Joan Torres, Raymond Koenig and Maurice Jules\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Bill Marx\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Isidore Mankofsky\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: June 27, 1973 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: William Marshall, Pam Grier, Don Mitchell, Michael Conrad, Richard Lawson, Lynne Moody, Janee Michelle, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11882,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-b-movies","category-horror"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Scream-Blacula-Scream-PIC.jpg?fit=620%2C348&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11857","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11857"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11857\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11884,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11857\/revisions\/11884"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11882"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}