This week’s screening of Blacula was a horror film I can say I enjoyed! There were some parts that genuinely freaked me out. Despite being made with a small budget Blacula has a lot of good quality fight scenes and jump scare scenes.

Blacula’s success had a lot to do with William Marshall aka Mamuwalde. By taking the role seriously and really throwing himself into the character it shows in the movie. A lead black character who was not ignorant was saying a lot at the time. According to our reading Deadlier Than Dracula, American International Pictures (AIP) thought that with “the emergence of the blaxploitation movement and their prior experience with horror films,” they could test the black film audience (4). Four years after the release of Dead, Blacula portrayed the first African American horror monster. This “inclusion of blackness” revises the horror genre (4). William Marshall was collaborated with the producers to ensure that Mamuwalde was portrayed with a level of dignity. He removed the stereotype of an ignorant black lead and instead gave the character a life of nobility. Producers were hesitant to his suggestions because they were afraid that by portraying him like that it wouldn’t sell. Marshall combats their criticisms by claiming that the whole movie was an experiment anyways so let’s experiment. Thanks to Marshall, Mamuwalde was the first black vampire who emerged as a regal character.

In our reading Rethinking Blacula, it discusses how Mamuwalde challenges stereotypes. The easiest stereotype to start with is when he fights off all the WHITE cops in the end. First of all, AMAZING. When he throws the barrel at the one guy I damn near lost my mind. Mamuwalde throughout the movie is challenging white authority. The movie is also trying to reverse the stereotype of the black character needing to be a monster. Although Mamuwalde is a vampire and technically a monster, he isn’t a monster on the inside. Mamuwalde’s heart is pure and frankly innocent. He was all in all just an innocent man who got screwed by a WHITE BAD man. He loved his wife, and he loved Tina. By loving these women he is straying further away from the normal vampire trope of being an all around monster. The OG Dracula was a total monster and by giving Mamuwalde a love interest it shows a soft side to him. It kinda makes you root for him! He can’t help that he keeps feeding on people he doesn’t mean to it’s just how he has to live now poor guy. All that is almost overlooked by how much he cares for Tina and wants nothing but her well being. Most importantly he wasn’t going to force her to go with him at all. Even though that part is low key debatable at the end when he was like bird calling to her telepathically. To me it seemed that he was controlling her it was a strange vibe.

I am not a HUGE horror fan, but I enjoy the genre and appreciate how open it is to creativity. My parents are big fans of older horror films like the The WolfMan and Creature from The Black Lagoon. So, whenever I think about old-world characters, Frankenstein or Dracula, I think of dimly lit black-and-white castles, usually in Transylvania or somewhere with lots of fog and cobwebs. Curiously, though, the word vampire doesn’t spark that relationship in my head. I think the reason for that has to do with how much the portrayal of vampires has changed since Bela Lugosi’s Dracula. Speaking on the genre as a whole, there was a shift in the way monsters are portrayed in the media. But because this week has been about Blacula, I’m speaking about vampires specifically. Blacula is a great example of a changing approach taken for the portrayal of monsters, who begin to become dynamic characters. The reading “Deadlier than Dracula!” states that monsters were typically used to elicit pity in early horror stories, including their film adaptations, taking on the trope of a “good-hearted sacrificial lamb”. While Blacula uses Dracula’s character within the movie, it differs from previous monster films within the horror genre because the monster’s sole purpose is no longer to make the audience feel bad for them. Instead Blacula’s character, Mamuwalde, acts as a leader and revolutionary; he is a hero of the mistreated, standing up to their opposers. Harry Benshoff’s “Blaxploitation Horror Films”, discusses the role of the monster within the blaxploitation horror genre well:

“unlike most Hollywood horror films of previous eras, audience sympathy is often redirected away from those figures (those of “normality”) and toward the figure of the monster, a specifically black avenger who justifiably fights against the dominant order – which is often explicitly racist.”

 It is the shift from monsters being either completely scary or doomed to suffer from the uncontrollable misfortunes brought upon them by others, to characters that try to function within normal society and even fight for their ability to despite their monstrous abnormalities.

On top of being a new take on a classic monster, Mamuwalde’s character is also progressive for the movies being made during its time. Not only is he one of the first black monsters on screen, but he also expresses political and social views related to the socio-political atmosphere at the time. From the first scene, Blacula becomes an allegory for slavery, Mamuwalde is literally enslaved by Dracula’s curse and, as if dooming him to eternal bloodlust wasn’t enough, renamed “Blacula”. The “Deadlier than Dracula!” reading makes a good point of, “Ironically, much like the slaves he was attempting to free, Blacula finds himself transported to America by no choice of his own.” When Mamuwalde is freed from the confines of his coffin he must feed his hunger some way, so he does what any vampire must do and he sucks the blood from others. But he only does this when he needs to eat, I’m basing this assumption on the few times we actually see him bite someone and the way his appearance changes i.e. the unkempt facial hair and fangs. Mamuwalde doesn’t abandon those he bites, instead he welcomes them and their newfound vampireness into his own community.

Overall, I enjoyed the Blacula. It had an entertaining plot and had the right amount of horror with a sprinkle of humor to create a fun experience. Plus, there was the added bonus of a good soundtrack and unique title sequence. And I appreciated the relationship between Tina and Mamuwalde, though fast-developed, it’s hard not to be a fan of truly romantic relationship.

This week was a long one for me and Talulla as we tried to change up the seminar style format and cut down on the repetitiveness of our articles.  While I’m definitely happy with the result, I’m glad we don’t have to present every week (as I’m sure all the presenters before us feel too!)  Luckily, the readings this week were actually really interesting, and our screening was great too.  Let’s start with the screening.  This week we watched Blacula, which is an awesome Blaxploitation movie made in the 70’s.  I feel like it’s important to mention the time period because of how progressive it was.  It told a truly touching story about an oppressed prince Mamuwalde who starts on what he thinks is equal grounds with Count Dracula only to be enslaved with the curse of vampirism.  When Blacula wakes up, he attacks a gay interracial couple (which was progressive even if they were used for comic relief.)  It is worth noting that Blacula attacking the gay couple first might have been a decision to make him seem more human, like saying that their lives were worth less than another person’s because they’re gay.  That aside, the movie featured Blacula with a truly touching, if not a bit unrealistic, love story.  He believes that a young girl he meets named Tina is the reincarnation of his wife.  Unlike most stories where the man forces Tina to turn into a vampire, Mamuwalde leaves the decision entirely up to Tina, showing that he still has a human heart that the audience can relate to.  All in all, it was a really fun movie and I’m glad we got the chance to watch it.

This week’s readings were really interesting and I’m really glad that I picked this week.  I’ve always been really interested in racial issues from the 70’s and the era right after the Civil Rights movement.  Blaxploitation is a really cool response to everything that just happened in the past decade.  I personally choose to look at it like it’s a good thing.  A lot of critics see it as degrading, flat out racist even, but what the movement meant to urban audiences was undeniably a good thing in the end.  Since a lot of these movies were made on the fringe by studios that might not have their movies shown in a lot of theaters, the subject matter could be targeted towards the people they wanted them to be towards.  AIP (the absolute geniuses over there!) really knew how to make a film for a specific audience.  This movie made the “monster” seem like a real person that has just had some really bad luck, a misunderstood man out of time.  I wish the readings touched on this a little more actually, but I’m really happy that they talked about William Marshall and how he brought an air of dignity to the role of Blacula.  I couldn’t believe it when I saw how very much non-monster-like (is that a term?) he was.  It really pushed his role even more.  Overall, another great week and I can’t wait for the next one!

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.

This week I really enjoyed our viewing and readings. I had heard of Blacula but I had never seen it before Monday night. I very much enjoyed the film too. It is not something I would necessarily watch again but I wouldn’t tell someone to not watch it. I think there was a lot of things we could learn from Blacula regarding cult films. The film’s story is about a Prince named Mamuwalde. Mamuwalde ends up getting bit 1780 by Dracula, and gets the curse put on him that he will crave the thirst of other peoples blood and will be called Blacula. He ends up being let out of the coffin by a couple all by accident after they purchased it in the year 1972 and starts his spree on biting people and turning others into vampires also. Dr. Gordon Thomas tries to figure out why all these people are dying and eventually figures out there is a vampire somewhere in their town. He then runs into a woman named Tina who looked like his old wife Luva. He ends up falling in love with Tina but still continues his biting spree. At the very dramatic end when Tina ends up dying, even though he tried to revive her he said there was no reason for his living after she was killed.

There are a lot of things that we can discuss regarding Blacula and the readings. One thing in the readings that we talked about was how race plays a big factor in this movie. One thing that we discussed was that really the curse Mamuwalde was placed under could relate to him being enslaved again. Mamuwalde was discussing with Dracula the slave trade at the beginning just to be put into this slave like trance of becoming Blacula. Another thing we discussed was that all of Mamuwalde’s victims were a group of the oppressed. All of his victims were black minus the one man at the beginning. With this being said, you could come to the conclusion because he was cursed because of his race that he tried to start a a group that could show they could have control.

One thing I also liked that we discussed this week was copy culture and piracy. I know many movies are copied over and over but I completely forgot about piracy in all honesty until we brought it up. When I was younger and wasn’t sure if I actually wanted to go spend money on a movie or if it would be worth it (or I went and saw it and it was so good I wanted to watch it again) I would look movies up on the pirated sites. Copy culture helps these movies get out there to others. Even when a movie goes scarce, you can almost always find it pirated online. This helps bring about cult movies and having them get the audiences they do. Without copy culture some movies would not get a cult following.

I also very much appreciated Sam’s presentation on Paranormal Activity. While he was presenting the movie I could tell how much he really did enjoy how Paranormal Activity got it’s cult following. I remember when I first watched Paranormal Activity which was right after it came out on DVD, I was young and actually scared. But while he was presenting I realized that this movie might have been the ones that sparked my love for horror movies as I did see it at a young age. It was very cool to learn more information on the movie that I did not know before he presented!

This was another fantastic and fun week in class. Our screening of the week was Blacula, a progressive and funny horror film. Tallula and Chris summarized the readings with great care, moved in a smooth manner, and they held our attention well.  Sam led a wonderful presentaion on Paranormal Activity, he kept us entertained, answered all of our questions with enthusiasm, and was clearly excited and education on the film. Just a lovely week! Go team!

Blacula was the most valuable blaxplotion movie of its time, considering classic tropes were bashed and reversed. This movie set the scene for other blaxploitation films, first seen as a way to stomp stereotypes and give their life values and concepts some recognition, but then vanished in the film industry because their culture was evidently romanticized and merely uses “blackness for profit while subtly reinforcing the white heteronormative patriarchy,” as stated in the reading Rethinking Blacula. As we saw in the film, where whiteness was the ultimate evil (differing from norms at the time). Blacula was one of the first movies to show African Americans with dignity and respect and not hyper sexualize relationships. The marketing, funding, and niche promotion was prevelant in relation to the screening, the reading on the Cult Cinema Marketplace being extremely important this week. There was a great deal of self-awareness and dedication under strict finical budgets in Blacula and other exploitation b-movie cult cinema.

I found the underlying associations in the movie interesting such as the obvious relation to slavery and homosexuality. Vampirism in Blacula is a direct correlation to the slave trade, such as when Mamuwalde gets bit by Dracula a demise from his masculinity. When he gets bit and cursed it is clearly referencing the lingering of racism and salvery in the present day (1970) and the superior white male power.  He strictly bites black people, trying to regain his masculinity and have power once again– Though he did bite Billy, the partner of Bobby McCoy, as though Mamuwalde was making a vampire empire of oppressed groups of people in America. It’s interesting because the movie was so progressive and even anti stereotypical for the exception of the flamboyant gay couples depiction and Skillets role. He lost his wife as well when he was cursed, and he was persistent with her being with him forever, but never forceful. Until the end when he bites her after being shot, so they can, yes, be together forever. He then commits suicide because his life without his supporting role is useless.

Above is my favorite scene, the shoe tit tat and the music… so groovy!

All in all this was a great film to have watched and studied in cult films class– with an upbeat yet spooky sound track, and a great attitude towards gender. Im glad we had such fun time analyzing this film, especially considering Schlegel disclosing that he was foggy during class due to a recent accident. Peace out film groupies xx

I was extremely glad to lead the readings this week, alongside Chris. The readings were incredibly interesting, fun reads, and were so relevant to the our screening of Blacula (1972).

One of our readings, The Cult Cinema Marketplace, did not have much to do (directly) with Blacula, but was interesting nonetheless. This reading took a close look at cult cinema from the angle of political economy and pays close attention to labor, funding and entrepreneurship, marketing, niche promotion, exhibition, and black markets. The reading did a beautiful job at breaking down all the aspects of cult cinema from the angle of political economy, breaking it down into: Production Culture, Funding and Distribution, Marketing, Exhibition Culture and Piracy. Very simply put, the reading was about:

Production Culture

• Crew and cast working on films that became cult often display a “superior survivor” tactic–almost like they’re referring to an experience one has to be initiated to and graduate into (Think of Tom Savini crews).
• “I would say that our company is kind of a ‘tribal’ thing. Once you are in and get the secret tattoos–we’re then in there as a family operation…The core group that we have is intensely loyal. When work is slow they’ll come in anyway…It’s not just a paycheck issue.”

Funding and Distribution

• The spirit of independence of cult films is evidenced in their unique funding structure, complete with unsavory accounting tricks.
• There are two oppositions that run through the funding of cult cinema: (1) commercial funding vs. state involvement, and (2) single and multi-source funding.

Marketing

• Cult films don’t market themselves as cult. If they did, it would take the point away. Films become cult because their audience likes what it likes, it’s an audience that doesn’t want to be told what to like.
• Rather, the marketing of cult films is also has tricks, like piggy-backing off of other film titles’s success.

Exhibition Culture

• Exhibition in cult cinema is undisputed. It is the interaction between screen and audience that cults become solidified.
• The most significant exhibition contexts for cult cinema are midnight movies, film festivals, fan culture, underground and avant-garde exhibition, home viewing and the black market.

Piracy

• A special case of cult exhibition, one that is worth exploring, is the black market.
• Piracy is linked to qualities such as anarchism, anti-authoritarianism, lawlessness, grassroots democracy and equality.

Next, Blacula. Blacula was super progressive and revolutionary towards the blaxploitation era. Before Blacula, blaxploitation was seen as a cycle of repetitive action films rather than as a genre, but Blacula changed this by incorporating the horror genre with blaxploitation. Blacula was progressive because, unlike previously released blaxploitation films like Shaft (1971), it inverted tropes and avoided stereotypes (both vampire and black).

A great example of how Blacula steered away from stereotypes and tropes is in Mamuwalde and Tina’s relationship. Their relationship suggests a deep romantic attatchement, different from the usual trope seen in earlier vampire films of an abnormal sexual vampire.

All-in-all, I thought Blacula was a great film that was fun to watch. It had a dope “groovy” soundtrack (a blaxploitation trope that Blacula didn’t avoid) and a hip title sequence.

There are a few things I would like to talk about this week as I found this week’s readings and our screening of Blacula really interesting.

Before I get into the film though I really want to talk about the reading, The Cult Cinema Marketplace and particularly it’s subsection about marketing. I found this section to be quite fascinating. I often feel as if I am surrounded by constant advertising, and as a result of that I found that this chapter pulled back the curtain and revealed the thought that goes into these ads we see everyday and allowed me to reflect on some of them. One technique that got mentioned in the very beginning of the section was the ploy of associating a film with a topical fear/issue that is happening in the media at the time of the film in an attempt to tie the film to an already highly discussed topic. At first I couldn’t recall a good example this technique in action. That was until about ten minutes before I sat down to write this blog post and in an attempt to delay my responsibilities and surf the web I came across this BuzzFeed headline….

Posted the same day as the movie’s release and four days after the conviction of sex offender Harvey Weinstein, the article is a clear example of this idea of connecting a movie to a highly discussed hot-button issue.

Another technique I wanted to talk about that was mentioned in this section was the use of stunts, rumors, scandals and daring an audience to ‘sit through’ and experience. I think Sam did a great job in his presentation this week explaining how Paranormal Activity used this strategy effectively in its promotion and the “demand it” feature associated with its screenings, the reading even mentions this. It also mentions The Blair Witch Project and how it used the internet to blur the lines between fabricated and genuine scandals/rumors associated with the film. While reading this I was reminded of a similar publicity tactic I had read about that had happened 19 years before. In similar style to The Blair Witch Project, the 1980 Italian horror film, Cannibal Holocaust directed by Ruggero Deodato, was shot using a found-footage documentary style focusing on the killing of a documentary crew by a tribe of cannibals. In a grand publicity stunt to make it seem as if the footage was real and the killings truly happened Deodato had his actors sign an agreement stating that they would not appear in any media for a year following the release of the movie. It wasn’t until Deodato was arrested and charged with murder that he had his actors resurface and appear in an interview all together. I think that this is truly a great example of using a fabricated rumor to your advantage when publicizing a film.

Before I wrap-up I would like to briefly talk a little bit about the movie Blacula. I really enjoyed this screening. I particularly thought the soundtrack was truly spectacular and I couldn’t help but dance in my seat every time it came around. It is very evident in the film and expertly articulated in the reading, Deadlier than Dracula, that Mamuwalde is no ordinary vampire of his time. He is a true noble gentleman only killing because of his cursed lust for blood. As a woman, I truly appreciated Mamuwalde’s treatment of Tina. In the scene where he tells her that he sees her as the reincarnation of his late wife I was fully prepared to watch as he raped and killed her if her reaction to the news was negative. I was greatly relieved when he said he would do her no harm either way she took the news and proceed to leave peacefully. I was quite pleased when he did not try to infect her with his curse and only bit her in an attempt to save her life. In my opinion Mamuwalde is a true romantic anti-hero.

Now as a woman in her twenties who attended a middle school that was split pretty evenly between ‘team Edward’ and ‘team Jacob’ I can’t help but think that Blacula paved the way for such movies as Twilight. As it is mention in the Deadlier than Dracula reading, before Blacula the character of Dracula was often depicted in the Victorian era and used his powers to control the woman he desired. It was Blacula and Mamuwalde who placed vampires in a more modern context of 1970s Los Angeles and as a character capable of love toward another and not just a desire for carnage. Therefore in theory — the girl with the Edward Cullen folder who sat next to me in 7th grade french class has Mamuwalde to thank for her deep desire to date a vampire.

Tonight, we watch Blacula, a film by American International Pictures. This is one we have heard and discussed last year in Intro to Film. This is probably the best example of Blaxploitation or at least one of best I can think of.  This may fall into a Blaxploitation, but for most it is seen as black empowerment. Due to the fact it is the first time that a film was dominated mainly by an all-black cast. Another great thing about this film was it was produced by AIP. So far, I have seen two films by AIP, and both have been great. I wish I could have been around for the release to go see them in the drive ins. I think it would be such a cool experience, especially since I have never been to a drive in.

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I think my favorite part of the film is the first real jump when the cab driver comes running out of the room at the coroner. I found this to be the best one because Pat jumped so hard. He may try to play if off that that alarm was just perfectly timed, and it was what got him. All I know, is that he jumped, and it was awesome.  He may try to say that he didn’t, but we all saw it.

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We talked about how almost all the vampires in the film were African American with the exception of the one office and bobby or Billy, I can’t remember which one it was. I think this was the main idea of really allowing this to be a great blaxploitation film. Everyone that Blacula transferred his curse to was of African descent other than the beginning. This just shows how the goal was not to take advantage of these actors, but to impower them. All the characters were very sophisticated with the exception of Skillet. He was the only one who seemed to play into a stereotype, but I felt that was for more of a comic relief.

Also, how come when Blacula is about to attack his next victim, he grows extra hair on his face. I just thought it was strange, but maybe it was a way to make people understand the difference. Guess this is a way to show when he is Blacula or Mawuwalde. Glad to be back to movies that I can actually enjoy. Good way to bounce back from last week’s showing.

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We then went into the cult movie of Paranormal Activity and how this is considered a cult film. I felt as if this was a too well-known franchise, but similar to Saw a few weeks earlier there was more to this film than we knew. I have always known these films to play great into the Hollywood system because they are high grossing and low budget films. What I did not know, was how they came to actually be shown on the big screen.  I did think it was interesting to compare this to the Blair Witch Project.  How these two films all came from a simple idea and were very simplistic to make. If I didn’t learn what it took to get this film to theaters, then I may never have considered this a cult film.

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I had a lot of fun with this week’s screening of Blacula. I remember back in History of Film learning about API and blaxploitation, and wanting to learn more about those films. Blacula was both more and less than what I expected. More, in that it was a truly great film with an engaging plot and cast, and less in that I wasn’t overwhelmed by the exploitation element.

I knew I was gonna enjoy the film from the first scene. Let me say this—William Marshall as Mamuwalde is quite attractive. From that first scene Marshall sets up the film perfectly in his serious portal of the character, and at no point did I find the other actors lacking in enthusiasm. The biggest ‘o shit’ moment for me was the first scene where Dracula says “I would willingly pay for so beautiful of an addition to my householders as your delicious wife” after Mamuwalde discusses abolishing the slave trade. In that instant Dracula is no longer just a blood sucking monster, he’s also a white man oppressing the black community. I found it interesting, but a good call that the name ‘Blacula’ was only ever said once—and by Dracula. The name itself is so corny, but when Charles Macaulay delivers the line you know your meant to take it seriously. One of the readings for this week even pointed out that by ‘naming’ Mamuwalde Dracula is acting as a slave owner renaming his slaves. While Mamuwalde never refers to himself by that name, Dracula’s curse however does enslave the noble prince into a blood sucker himself, forced to act as the one who cursed him.

Our discussions this week were the best by far. I also found the essays more comprehensible that some of our previous weeks’ readings, mainly because the topics we discussed focused on representation of cultures and minority groups in film. “Rethinking Blacula: Ideological Critique at the intersection of Genres” by Brooks E. Hefner brought up an interesting topic that we didn’t get to discuss: Dr. Gordon Thomas. The equivalent of Dr. Van Hellsing (now that’s a bad ass name), Hefner states

“In theory, he [Gordon] should provide the viewer with an alternative hero in the Shaft/Slaughter mold in whom the viewer’s sympathies should lie. Instead, it is the romanticized Mamuwalde who is more likely to elicit viewer sympathy,”.

              The essay goes on the say that while Mamuwalde was well received by black audiences, Gordon was seen an Uncle Tom figure, or taking on stereotypes of what a ‘proper black’ should be in the eyes of white society. Gordon is heavily compared to another famous Blaxploitation figure, John Shaft. The essay goes into great detail about how Shaft, while written as a black hero, is disconnected with Harlem, and is mostly involved in “only white and black middle-class settings…what is hinted at in the character of John Shaft becomes overtly expressed in the words of Gordon Thomas,”. Gordon openly states that he wants to move to the suburbs, which suggests that he wants to disconnect himself and his family from the black community of L.A. I think what really makes Gordon so different from Mamuwalde is in climax of the film. While Mamuwalde is seen taking out the L.A police forces one by one, it is Gordon who leads this final charge against the vampire. In this way, the final confrontation becomes more than a simple “heroes vs monster” show down. The essay goes on to say the “By the films conclusion, the black heroes have firmly positioned themselves as ideological opposites.”

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              The most shocking scene in the movie for me was when Tina was shot by a white officer. My reaction was “O my God, he shot her! The hostage! How could he take that shot?” That was the moment that really brought home the divide and horrible brutality of law enforcement towards black communities. The officer doesn’t show any reaction to shooting Tina, someone he knows to be innocent and a victim. He doesn’t care. And that was the scariest part of the film to me. That lack of consciousness shown by L. A. officers. While Mamuwalde only bites Tina to save her, it is Gordon and Peters who kills Tina in the final scene, solidify Gordon as an accomplish to the police force.

              Blacula is such a great film to study, and for numerous reasons. I feel like I could talk about it forever. I really enjoyed this film. What started out as a simple money grab for AIP became one of the best classics, cult or otherwise.