Episode 117: Blacula

Blacula tells the story of an African prince named Mamuwalde who in 1780 is cursed by the infamous Count Dracula and is forced into the life of a vampire. He reawakens in the 1970s in Los Angeles, where he must adjust to his new settings and begin his life anew. However, he meets a woman who resembles his long-dead wife, Luva, and it sets him on a journey to be with her. He kills/feeds on random people in L.A., and eventually is hunted by the police. The blaxploitation genre of the 1970s was full of memorable and original films. Taking the Black perspective on social issues and even recreating stories from other subgenres of its time, the era was a sharp cutout in the industry that was fresh and bold. One such genre hadn't gone untouched unto 1972, horror. That's where William Marshall dawns the cape and added style to the Dracula mythos with Blacula. Making the Dracula story his own, Marshall was joined by Vonetta McGee, Denise Nicholas, Gordon Pinsent, Charles Macaulay, and Thalmus Rasulala in this subgenre first.