User reviews

As a film student at a university I will not identify, I must say that in spite of all its obvious limitations, I loved this film! In fact, I think it is equal if not better than the original "Blacula.' It is disappointing to me that many liberals (well, I am a moderate one myself) see these films as being politically incorrect stereotypes. I would argue that these were African-Americans making their own films and that they effectively broke or modified the stereotypes by taking them to extremes their own way. I think William Marshall is great in this film. He almost makes a better vampire than Bela Lugosi, but I don't know if I can put him alongside the great Max Shrek ("Nosferatu"). I was battling a case of the blues when I saw this,now happy days are here once again! Isn't that what movies are all about anyway? But, I do want to add one thing. Obviously, it is not an exceptional work of art. I gave it a 7 out of 10, but I did really, really enjoy this one!

"Scream Blacula Scream" of 1973 is a funky and fun to watch sequel to the minor Classic "Blacula" which brought Vampires into Blaxploitation cinema for the first time the year before. The success of "Blacula" also spawned a bunch of other Blaxploitation Horror flicks, such as "Blackenstein", "Ganja & Hess" or "Abby". The sequel basically has the same qualities and faults as the original. "Scream Blacula Scream" once again delivers a groovy 70s feeling, and William Marshall is more than cool in the eponymous role. What makes this film especially worthwhile is the casting of the queen of blaxploitation, the wonderful Miss "Coffy" and "Foxy Brown" herself, Pam Grier. I also liked how Voodoo was added to the plot. While it is again a cool film with a funky atmosphere "Scream Blacula Scream" is (as it was the case with the original) never creepy or scary in any way. What also disappointed me about the original was the lack of sleaze and violence, and the same is the case here, too. Nonetheless, "Scream Blacula Scream" is fun to watch. Mamuwalde alias Blacula (William Marshall) is resurrected by voodoo. As in the first part, Mamuwalde is not really a villain, but merely a tormented soul, who cannot help but turn into Blacula to satisfy his thirst for human blood in order to survive. Soon after his resurrection, he runs into Lisa (Pam Grier) a beautiful young woman who has particularly powerful Voodoo-skills... What follows are 90 minutes of goofy, but entertaining fun in funky 70s style. This is certainly no highly memorable blaxploitation effort, but it is a good time-waster and definitely fun to watch.

William Marshall makes a second and final appearance as the vampire Blacula whom you thought might have been killed off. But he returns in this film to become part of a power play in a voodoo cult.

As the queen of a cult lays dying her last act is to select Pam Grier as her successor passing over her son Richard Lawson. Lawson ain't about to have anything of that so obtains the bones of the now legendary Blacula and with a few incantations Blacula reappears. But he lets Lawson know that as a vampire and an African prince he ain't about to be doing his bidding.

In fact when he hears that Grier has powers and abilities far beyond the usual voodoo black arts practitioner and she might even cure his vampirism Marshall starts seeing thing her way in the power struggle. Marshall wants Grier to start doing the voodoo she does so well.

In all of this former police detective and now writer of the occult Don Mitchell tries to be the Van Helsing of the film. But he's not up to the task as Thalmus Rasulala was in the original Blacula.

I guess there were no more demands for future Blacula sequels so with these two films Marshall got one of his two career roles, the other being Dr. Dengstrom in a Star Trek episode. Scream Blacula Scream was an enjoyable piece of entertainment in the horror genre.

But as I said before Marshall came along too soon or he would have been James Earl Jones.

I thoroughly disagree with a previous reviewer. This movie is a lot of fun! Anyone who loves Pam Grier as much as I do must see it, even as she is definitely not the "action hero" here. She looks particularly sexy in a sweaty ceremony scene. Unbelievable dialogue highlights this film; like when Blacula makes a new convert and the guy realizes he has no reflection in the mirror and says, "Hey man, I don't mind bein' a vampire and all that sh**, but a man has got to see his face!" I was halfway through this movie before remembering William Marshall (Blacula) from Pee Wee's Playhouse as the Cartoon King ("Let the cartoon...BEGIN!") Anyway, if you've seen this film's title and you're familiar with Pam's early work, you know what you're in for. Have fun with it!

"Let the cartoooooooooooon begin!" Sorry, but for my generation William Marshall is best remembered as The King of Cartoons from Pee Wee's Playhouse, but little did I realize that he was originally the super cool vampire Prince Mamuwalde AKA Blacula! Marshall returns in this sequel that's surprisingly good. Having been vanquished at the end of the first film, Blacula is resurrected by a drug dealer who wants to use Blacula to exact his revenge. Blacula instead turns the dealer into part of a vampire army he commands for his own ends, part of which is securing Pam Grier, who hadn't broke out yet with "Coffy" which was released this same year. The vampires are creepy, the voodoo themed storyline is entertaining, and the film features a strong leads in Marshall and Grier. Overall, this is pretty silly blaxploitation film, but it's also quite entertaining in a camp sort of way. And look fast for Craig T. Nelson as a police sergeant.

Once again it has been shown that the sequences can be better than the original. Although "Scream Blacula Scream" isn't scary at all, unlike most of such movies it isn't stupid. It has a fairly well-written story, with a moderate amount of humor and interesting characters. The acting is good, music is even better, and movie keeps your attention from start to finish. It's not effective as horror, but it's quite decent low-budget movie worth watching.

6/10

The revived Prince Mamuwalde yearns to be cured of his bloodsucking habits and, to this end, seeks the help of a voodoo-practicing young woman. The raison d'etre behind this inferior sequel (directed by the man behind the two "Count Yorga" movies) to a surprisingly successful "Blaxploitation" take on the vampire myth only comes to the fore during the last fifteen minutes of the film; the rest is taken up by standard thrills, even more humdrum detection and, hilariously, copious use of – no pun intended – colorful slang: at one point, 'Blacula' himself is described as "an interesting dude"; met by a "What's happenin'?" greeting when he overhears the intentions of one of his newly-fanged acolytes to go against his direct orders – who also pleads with his master to tell him if he looks good now that he can no longer cast a reflection in the mirror!; and dismissed as an alcoholic hallucination by an inebriated partygoer with a cry of "Shiiiiiit!" As intimated earlier, the pacing is a bit off for most of the film's running time and, while William Marshall is as commanding in his role as the first time round, the welcome appearances of Pam Grier (as Blacula's would-be savior) and an unrecognizable Bernie Hamilton (as a tramp whose actions set the narrative in motion) do not help matters much.

When the voodoo priestess Mama Loa dies, she had not selected who would be the next leader of the cult. Her ambitious and arrogant son Willis Daniels (Richard Lawson) believes he will be her successor, but the cult chooses his stepsister Lisa Fortier (Pam Grier) instead. Willis is angry and meets an old voodoo leader that gives Mamuwalde bones and written instructions to him to seek revenge against the cult. He resurrects Blacula that turns him into a vampire and his minion. Blacula goes to a party at Justin Carter (Don Mitchell)'s house and meets his girlfriend Lisa, who is a powerful voodoo practitioner. Blacula continues his crime spree and while Justin investigates the murder cases, Blacula asks for help to Lisa to use her powers to get rid of his curse using a voodoo doll. Will she succeed?

"Scream Blacula Scream" is a Blaxploitation horror film and sequel of "Blacula". The first film was very funny, but this sequel is not so comic. Anyway, it is also a worthwhile entertainment. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Os Gritos de Blácula" ("The Screams of Blacula")

This film essentially begins with a dispute over who will take the place of the dying leader of a voodoo cult with her son "Willis Daniels" (Richard Lawson) angrily denouncing the more popular practitioner "Lisa Fortier" (Pam Grier) and threatening all those who oppose him. To make good his threats, he visits another voodoo priest who gives him the bones of an African prince by the name of "Mamulwade" (William Marshall) and tells him that, by following certain instructions, he can summon an entity so powerful that nobody can stand in his way. Naturally, being an extremely arrogant person, he does exactly what he is told. What he doesn't count on however, is that rather than having a powerful demon at his command, the newly resurrected vampire known as Blacula subjugates him to his will instead. Not only that, but rather than destroying Lisa Fortier like Willis so desperately wants, Blacula decides to do the exact opposite and protect her--for reasons known only to him. Needless to say, this infuriates Willis but, since Blacula is so powerful, there is little he can do for the time being. Even so, he remains adamant in his desire to destroy her the very first chance he gets. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this film started off rather well but seemed to lose its bite a little further on. That being said, while I don't consider William Marshall to be quite as good a vampire as Bela Lugosi or Christopher Lee, I suppose he played his role well enough, and I have rated this film accordingly. Average.

An interesting and, dare I say it, better-then-the-original follow-up to Blacula. Where the first was essentially set-up, this is dynamite pay-off. William Marshall and his team of phantom vampires are generally creepy this time (thanks to a director who's been there before) and the story presents an interesting take on the vampire story with Voodoo elements combined. Pam Grier is an expert on the occult, and agrees, with some heavy reservations mind you, to take on Mr. Blacula and tries to rid his little problem with the help of voodoo dolls! If this sounds silly, it probably is, but it's presented quite interestingly and with a lot of style that the cheesiness isn't too obvious. Quite a little surprise.

Played Perfectly Straight, Despite Some Jive Talk and Enormous Afros, this Sequel is More of the Same Blaxploitation with Clunky Montage and a Very Weak Ending.

There are Some Highlights to Go with the Low Lighting, but Most of it is Hokey Humdrum with Pam Grier Wasted as a Shrinking Voodoo Priestess. William Marshall is Again Commanding and is a Towering Presences that Really Does Impose as the Threatening Vampire.

There is an Exorcism Scene that is Pure Sexual Symbolism as Grier Goes All Hand-Job on a Voodoo Doll of Blacula as He Seems to be Deriving Pleasure as the Ritual Proceeds Until Coitus-Interruptus. It's Pretty Lame Filmmaking with the Sweaty Pair Bobbing and Weaving Through the Thing that is Made with the Least Bit of Style.

Overall, Disappointing and the Climax is Rushed and by the Numbers. The Final Shot is Anything but Money.

The members of the Count Dracula Society were on to something when they voted BLACULA the scariest (theatrical) film of 1972 (THE NIGHT STALKER, scripted by Richard Matheson, came creeping across tv screens the same year, and rivaled BLACULA for outright fright). SCREAM,BLACULA,SCREAM! proved a worthy follow-up. The voodoo angle was a logical next step, and, for a kid whose preference was for fright films, it did not disappoint. And it STILL doesn't: I caught this one on a cable channel not too long ago, and I was surprised at how creepy it still is, after all these years. Pam Grier's character here is more sympathetic than the vast majority of the parts she's had over the years, and she is more than capable in the role. William Marshall is as majestic as ever. The direction is even better than in the original. All told, a sequel worth seeing.

After a dying Voodoo queen, Mama Loa, chooses an adopted apprentice, Lisa Fortier (Pam Grier) as her successor, her arrogant son and true heir, Willis, (Richard Lawson) is outraged. Seeking revenge, he buys the bones of Mamuwalde the vampire from the former shaman of the voodoo cult, and uses voodoo to resurrect the vampire to do his bidding.

This film seems to get a bad rap. In the first Blacula, there was an attempt to make the vampire more refined, more serious and a character who was not just a joke. Some say they did not take the same approach the second time around. Well, I don't agree with that. Having him be knowledgeable in African art seems pretty refined to me.

Maybe an army of vampires or a voodoo priestess is a little silly, but this is AIP we are talking about. The point is to have fun, and this movie is fun.

William Marshall, the Christopher Lee of Blaxploitation horror, returns as Blacula, resurrected from the dead by voodoo cultist Willis (Richard Lawson), who wants revenge on Lisa Fortier (Pam Grier), destined to be the cult's next leader. As in the first film, Blacula sets about creating a small army of blood-slurping followers, while ex-cop Justin Carter (Don Mitchell) puts together the pieces of the puzzle and comes to the only conclusion: vampires!

This rushed into production sequel isn't a patch on the original, lacking that film's fun factor. Marshall once again puts in a strong performance, but the plot is deathly dull, with very little of interest happening for much of the time. Pam Grier, so often the strong female lead, is relegated to helpless girl-in-peril, at least until the very end when she kills Blacula via the use of a voodoo doll. Funniest moment comes when narcissist Willis realises that he can no longer see his reflection in a mirror, although the library scene had me chuckling a lot as well: check out how many copies of Summer in Sodom, The Erotic Revolution and The Zolotov Affair they've got on the shelves!

I'm a Dracula fan and I really got a kick out of this film. True, if you try to perceive it as merely serious horror, then you might be disappointed. But if you view it as a Dracula Genre-Blackxploitation Meets Hammer Films-1970's Culture Shock Satire, then it's a lot of fun! Sure, I'll watch anything with Pam Grier in it; and I have! I love William Marshall's deep-voiced, precisely-dictioned intonations too. How many actors can walk into a 1970's black nightclub in a tux and cape,sans "afro" and carry it off with his effortless aplomb? But this film has more than humor. It was fairly well thought out and is entertaining escapism. It also has all the usual funny little peccadillos of the low budget film genre. These are numerous and often hilarious. I watch it almost every time I see it on cable. [Of course I also loved Dr. Black and Mr. Hyde, with Bernie Casey.] For my money, any Dracula is good Dracula... or is that Blackula?

This June 27,2008 will mark the 35th anniversary of the premiere of "Scream Blacula Scream". The continuing story of Mamuwalde,the black prince who at night becomes Blacula the vampire played by William Marshall.

This time,Mamuwalde meets up with a voodoo priestess played by"Foxy Brown" Pam Grier who just might be able to cure him of his long suffering curse. Will he be cured or will he cursed forever?

The movie is scary great and the music is "hip". What can I say it was the 70's.

This movie also stars Michael Conrad "Hill Street Blues",Bernie Hamilton "Starsky and Hutch", and a young Craig T. Nelson (as Craig Nelson)who later on gained fame with the horror movie "Poltergeist" and TV shows like "Coach","The District", and "My Name is Earl" to name a few.

A must for fans like me of those 70's horror movies.

When Blacula first was unleashed to the public after the successes of Shaft and Badass , it became a cult hit among horror fans of all races and ages. Rated PG (equal to a pg-13 rating today) and made on a low budget, it made its money back through reissues and tv airings and became a mainstay of black horror cinema not to mention blaxploitation cinema in general. A sequel was rushed to capitialize on the success of the movie, and it's a good one as well as a stand alone movie. Pam Grier is awesome and the rest of the cast too. Beyonce's father in law makes his screen debut in this film long before he was in Poltergeist and the classic 1983 miniseries V. This movie is not for kids as it's teenage horror and harsh language. Worthy of a rental.

Even better than the original, which was pretty fine in its own right. This sequel to the so-called Blaxploitation classic concerns the resurrection of Prince Mamuwalde, aka Blacula, by a voodoo cultist who's trying to take over his group after the death of their leader (his mother). Opposing said cultist is the priestess Lisa (Pam Grier). Do you think Blacula just exacts revenge on the part of the son? Naw, son! He's out for himself, same as always. He gets the idea that the lovely Lisa can use her voodoo magic to put Blacula's soul to rest, but of course Lisa is a little reticent about that option. The bodies keep piling up, because of course Blacula has no compunction about bleeding folks dry. This movie is an example of how good genre pictures could be in the early 1970s, even with (or especially with) a modest budget. This was an early role for Grier, who has gone on to make a boatload of entertaining films, and although her acting is kind of raw here (to be fair), she shows quite a bit of charm and personality, traits that would be on better display in later movies like Coffy. Still, how often to you get to see a black-themed horror movie without it devolving into nonsense (Scary Movie, A Haunted House, Paranormal Movie)? The answer is not often. The atmosphere is haunting and feels authentic.

Surpasses the original (which itself was a good yarn) thanks mainly to the charisma of William Marshall (reprising his role), and the effective plot formula employed by horror specialist director Bob Kelljan.

Lovely Pam Grier co-stars as a modern voodoo cultist, whose estranged brother (Lawson) threatens to end her reign after he's overlooked as cult leader following the death of their mother. He instead unwisely awakens the long-dead spirit of Manuwalde (aka Blacula), a move he'll soon regret.

Director Kelljan's experience in the genre shows, and fans will instantly recognise the plot structure lifted from his earlier Count Yorga Vampire and it's sequel, the Return of Count Yorga.

Scary, witty and well-acted, it's a fun and frightening way to spend 85 mins and despite its obvious low-budget, still manages to provide a shock or two kudos to Marshall and his commanding, Shakespearean eloquence (which is on-par with that of Robert Quarry's sophisticated portrayal of Count Yorga). Another enduring AIP master-stroke well worthy of a look.

Having just rewatched Blacula, I've now done the same with Scream Blacula Scream. Once again, William Marshall reprises his character of Prince Mamuwalde who became the feared Blacula. Pam Grier plays Lisa Fortier who becomes the new voodoo priestess after her elderly predecessor dies. The one who thought he should have taken over, Willis Daniels (Richard Lawson), is the one who brings Blacula back to life when he buys a bag of bones from the Ragman (Bernie Hamilton) and performs his own voodoo service. Lynne Moody plays Denny, Willis' girlfriend. Don Mitchell plays Justin Carter, an ex-detective who's with Lisa and who is the one that thinks about the marks on many victims' necks are the work of a vampire which he tells a skeptical Sheriff Harley Dunlap (Michael Conrad). I'll stop there and just say this was almost as effective as Blacula. I did like the way director Bob Kelljan had both the music score and the background music play at the same time at the same volume to provide many chillingly effective scenes. And there was a humorous scene with a couple of pimps (Bob Minor, Al Jones) harassing Mamuwalde that I got a kick out of. So on that note, Scream Blacula Scream gets a recommendation from me. P.S. Many of the supporting cast I cited are probably more well known outside of this movie like Don Mitchell had played Mark Sanger on the TV series "Ironside". Richard Lawson would years later play one of the exorcists whose name is Ryan on Poltergeist. Lynne Moody was the original Jenny Willis on "All in the Family" before Belinda Tolbert replaced her on the spin-off "The Jeffersons". And then there's Michael Conrad who would eventually become Sergeant Phil Esterhaus on "Hill Street Blues" becoming well known for the tagline "Hey, let's be careful out there." And another player, Janee Michelle who played Gloria, is a native of the Seventh Ward of New Orleans which is a two-hour drive from where I now live. Also, she was-in N.O. parlance-a "Creole's Creole".