This week’s screening was “Blacula.” It was produced by American International Pictures. AIP, as we studied in the History of cinema course; is most known for their over-the-top movie posters. The posters drew large crowds to see cheap budget films that never lived up to what they promised, but the films were still well received, and the outlandish promises seemed less relevant after a screening came to an end.

It was nice to see AIP’s brand, along with good ole Sam Arkoff’s name during the title sequence. I knew from that moment that I was going to like this movie.

I have touched on title sequences in past films, but this week was certainly the most interesting thus far. As a class, we talked about how costly the production for this sequence was. I feel that it does more for the movie than just provide information on cast and crew. It provides pure entertainment before the movie has even begun. The way the ink danced from one point to another, taking the shape of a bat and sucking the red “woman shaped” blot off the page, was cool to see.

Everyone has seen, or knows the story of Dracula, and just based on the title, one can deduce what “Blacula” has to offer. However, the magnitude of this film, far surpasses other films we’ve screened in class. The era of Black exploitation followed suit with every other type of exploitation genre. The entire reason that it was created was to make money. However, with this film, I believe that far more was accomplished than just making money.

The reading this week that impacted me the most was “Deadlier than Dracula.” On page 50, the readings talk about the origin story decision for Mamuwalde. It was nice to learn that there was a lot of thought that went into the main character. William Marshall collaborated with the producers in order to ensure that the story would be told the right way. With this film being one of the first to showcase a black monster, Marshall made it his priority to not let the ignorance of this period control what the public was going to see in theaters. This state of dignity that Mamuwalde was assigned while this film was being written may very be one of the reasons that it is still worshiped.

During this era in history, racial tensions especially among police in metropolitan areas was high. The scenes where we are shown Mamuwalde fighting police officers was quite powerful. The powerful aspect of these scenes is that he is not just going around trying to start trouble, he is trying to regain his love lost to time and taken from him by the original curse of Dracula.

Overall, this film was down-right exciting. The action is on par with anything you could want out of a horror movie. Sure, there were a couple of “goofy” aspects to this film such as the bat and the transitions in and out of “bat character,” but it worked. This film works for many reasons, and was above all, fun to watch.