Blacula (EOTWS)

End Of The Week Shorts #27 extract: Blacula (1972)

Blacula, one of the most iconic blaxploitation movies ever made, was nowhere near as bad as I thought is was going to be. Nonetheless, this is not a very good movie at all. The dialogue is clunky, the action isn't too good and the direction loses focus - but, if a focus was sustained, this would have been the most impressive element of the film. There are, however, many immersive sequences and the film itself is entertaining enough as a 'black horror' (a genre of film which this pioneered). 

The biggest downfall of this movie is simply that it isn't very clever. There is an attempted commentary on slavery and racial tension in post-Civil Rights America, but this is predicated on a romanticisation of African kings that is, in all likelihood, historically incorrect. So, a weak advocation of black power and unity amongst black people, Blacula doesn't work incredibly well on any level, but, is, in many regards, passable.