Blacula
October 9, 2025
In this Blaxploitation classic, African prince Mamuwalde visits Count Dracula to seek help ending the slave trade but is instead bitten and cursed to live eternally as a vampire—Blacula.
Sealed in a coffin for centuries, things take a bloody turn when he's accidentally awakened in '70s Los Angeles, where he begins feeding on the city’s nightlife. One of the top grossing films of 1972, William Crain’s reframing of the vampire classic inspired a whole slew of blaxploitation horror films, including Blackenstein and Bill Gunn’s Ganja and Hess in 1973.
- Director: William Crain
- Principal Cast: William Marshall, Vonetta McGee, Denise Nicholas, Thalmus Rasulala, Gordon Pinsent, Charles McCauley
- Country: USA
- Year: 1972
- Running Time: 92 min.
- Producer: Joseph T. Naar
- Screenplay: Joan Torres, Raymond Koenig
- Cinematographers: John M. Stephen
- Editors: Allan Jacobs
- Music: Gene Page
- US Distributor: Park Circus