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{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Blacula
| image          = POSTER - BLACULA.jpg
| alt            = 
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[William Crain (filmmaker)|William Crain]]
| producer       = Joseph T. Naar<ref name="afi" />
| screenplay     = {{plainlist|
* Joan Torres
* Raymond Koenig
* Richard Glouner<ref name="afi" />}}
| starring       = {{plainlist|
* [[William Marshall (actor)|William Marshall]]
* [[Vonetta McGee]]
* [[Denise Nicholas]]
* [[Gordon Pinsent]]
* Charles Macaulay
* [[Thalmus Rasulala]]}}
| music          = [[Gene Page]]<ref name="afi" />
| cinematography = [[John M. Stephens]]<ref name="afi" />
| editing        = Allan Jacobs<ref name="afi" />
| studio         = {{plainlist|* Power Productions
* [[American International Pictures]]<ref name="afi">{{cite web|url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/54416-BLACULA?sid=e3010fa6-f605-4f33-bde1-8d9951c1f094&sr=15.421665&cp=1&pos=0|publisher=American Film Institute|title=Blacula|access-date=25 September 2019|archive-date=2 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220102230240/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/54416-BLACULA?sid=e3010fa6-f605-4f33-bde1-8d9951c1f094&sr=15.421665&cp=1&pos=0|url-status=live}}</ref>}}
| distributor    = American International Pictures
| released       = {{Film date|1972|08|25|United States|ref1=<ref name="boxoffice">{{cite journal |date=1972 |title=AIP Schedules Openings Of 'Blacula,' 'The Thing' |journal=[[BoxOffice (magazine)|BoxOffice]] |page=8 |quote=...opens for the first time Wednesday (26) in Washington, D.C., Dallas, Seattle and Oklahoma City... }}</ref>}}
| runtime        = 93 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = 
| gross          = $1,980,000<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/americanfilmdist0000dona/page/301/mode/1up|title= American film distribution : the changing marketplace|last=Donahue|first= Suzanne Mary|year=1987 |publisher=UMI Research Press |page=301|isbn= 9780835717762}} Please note figures are for rentals in US and Canada</ref>
}}
'''''Blacula''''' is a 1972 American [[blaxploitation horror films|blaxploitation horror film]] directed by [[William Crain (filmmaker)|William Crain]]. It stars [[William Marshall (actor)|William Marshall]] in the title role about an 18th-century African prince named Mamuwalde, who is turned into a vampire (and later locked in a coffin) by [[Count Dracula]] in the [[Castle Dracula|Count's castle]] in [[Transylvania]] in the year 1780 after Dracula refuses to help Mamuwalde suppress the slave trade. The film co-stars [[Vonetta McGee]], [[Denise Nicholas]], [[Gordon Pinsent]] and [[Thalmus Rasulala]].

The film was released by [[American International Pictures]] on August 25, 1972. ''Blacula'' was released to mixed reviews in the United States, but was one of the top-grossing films of the year. It was the first film to receive an award for [[Saturn Award for Best Horror Film|Best Horror Film]] at the [[Saturn Awards]]. It was followed by the sequel ''[[Scream Blacula Scream]]'' in 1973 and inspired a [[Blaxploitation horror films|wave of blaxploitation-themed horror films]].

==Plot==
In 1780, African prince Mamuwalde goes to [[Transylvania]] to seek the help of [[Count Dracula]] in suppressing the [[Atlantic slave trade|slave trade]]. Dracula refuses, however, and insults Mamuwalde by making a pass at his wife, Luva. After a scuffle with Dracula's minions, Mamuwalde is bitten by Dracula and transformed into a [[vampire]] while dead. Dracula then curses him with the name "Blacula" and imprisons him in a sealed coffin in a crypt hidden beneath [[Castle Dracula|his castle]] while leaving Luva with Blacula to die in the chamber.

In 1972, two [[Interior decorating|interior decorators]], Bobby McCoy and Billy Schaffer, find the coffin and are informed that the coffin was previously owned by Count Dracula, who was killed by [[Abraham Van Helsing|Van Helsing]] in the late 1800s (much like in the [[Dracula|original Dracula novel]]). After purchasing the coffin and shipping it to [[Los Angeles]], Bobby and Billy open the coffin, only to become Blacula's first victims. At the funeral home where McCoy's body is laid, Blacula spies on mourning friends Tina Williams, her sister Michelle, and Michelle's boyfriend, Dr. Gordon Thomas, a pathologist for the [[Los Angeles Police Department]]. Blacula becomes infatuated with Tina, believing her to be the [[reincarnation]] of Luva due to her identically resembling the latter. Thomas notices oddities with McCoy's death that he later concludes to be consistent with vampire folklore. Blacula follows Tina after leaving the funeral home but unintentionally frightens her. Tina runs away from him, and Blacula loses her when he is hit by a cab. He then kills the cabbie, Juanita Jones, turning her into a vampire.

Thomas, Michelle, and Tina celebrate Michelle's birthday at a nightclub, and Blacula shows up to return Tina's purse, which she'd dropped the night before. Thomas answers a phone call from the funeral director, who informs him that McCoy's body has gone missing. Blacula asks Tina to see him again the following evening, but they are interrupted by Nancy, a photographer who takes a photograph of them together. Soon after, Blacula kills Nancy and destroys the photo she just developed, which shows Blacula conspicuously absent. The next evening, Blacula visits Tina at her apartment and shares how Dracula enslaved him and Luva and how he was cursed with [[vampirism]]. He and Tina then spend the night together.

Thomas, Lt. Jack Peters, and Michelle are meanwhile following the trail of murder victims, as Thomas begins to suspect a vampire of being the perpetrator. After Thomas and Michelle dig up Schaffer's coffin, the corpse rises as a vampire and attacks Thomas, who fends him off and drives a stake through his heart. Michelle now realizes the truth and that McCoy could still be out there. Telling Peters won't work, because they need to show him what's going on, and to do this, they'd need to thaw out the corpse of Juanita Jones. Thomas calls the morgue and instructs Sam, the attendant, to take Jones' body out of deep freeze and leave the room and lock the door. Sam rolls her body out, but neglects to lock the door due to a distracting phone call. Suddenly the door opens, and an undead Jones rises and immediately attacks and kills him. Moments later Thomas and Peters arrive at the morgue to find blood smeared on the corridor wall near the payphone where Sam answered the call, but no sign of Sam himself. They walk into the exam room by the freezer, where Peters sees a sheet-covered body lying on a gurney and pulls the sheet back to reveal Jones rising to attack him. Thomas keeps her at bay with a [[Christian cross]] long enough to open the window blinds and expose her to sunlight, destroying her.

That evening, Thomas, Michelle, and Tina are enjoying drinks at the club when Blacula arrives to pick Tina up. Thomas questions Blacula about vampires and makes it known that the police are planning a search for the vampire's coffin, provoking an uncomfortable Blacula and Tina to leave. Soon after, remembering that Nancy never gave Michelle her birthday photos, Thomas searches Nancy's house and finds a photo of Tina standing in front of an invisible Blacula. He correctly deduces that Blacula is the vampire they seek, and that Blacula and Tina are together. Thomas rushes to Tina's apartment, finding them embracing. Thomas and Blacula briefly struggle, but Blacula knocks Thomas unconscious and flees, killing a police officer in a nearby alley as he escapes. After McCoy is seen walking the streets of Los Angeles, Thomas, Peters, and several police officers track Blacula to his warehouse hideout. They locate a nest of several vampires there, including McCoy, and destroy them, but Blacula escapes.

Blacula hypnotizes Tina into going to his new hideout at a nearby underground chemical plant while Thomas and the police pursue him. Blacula dispatches several of the officers, but one of them accidentally shoots and mortally wounds Tina. To save her life, Blacula transforms her into a vampire. Blacula fights the police, one of whom locates the coffin and alerts Thomas and Peters. However, Peters kills a newly turned vampiric Tina with a stake, having believed Blacula would be in the coffin instead. Devastated and feeling he has no purpose to live after losing Luva again, Blacula commits suicide by climbing the stairs to the roof where the morning sun destroys him. Thomas and Peters witness Blacula's flesh melting away with maggots coming out of his face until only his skeleton remains.

==Cast==
{{castlist|
* [[William Marshall (actor)|William Marshall]] as Mamuwalde / Blacula
* [[Denise Nicholas]] as Michelle Williams
* [[Vonetta McGee]] as Tina Williams / Luva 
* [[Gordon Pinsent]] as Lt. Jack Peters 
* [[Thalmus Rasulala]] as Dr. Gordon Thomas 
* [[Emily Yancy]] as Nancy
* Lance Taylor Sr. as Swenson
* Logan Field as Sergeant Barnes
* Ted Harris as Bobby McCoy 
* Rick Metzler as Billy Schaffer 
* [[Ketty Lester]] as Juanita Jones
* [[Charles Macaulay]] as [[Count Dracula]] 
* [[Ji-Tu Cumbuka]] as "Skillet" 
* [[Elisha Cook, Jr.]] as Sam
* Eric Brotherson as Real Estate Agent
* [[The Hues Corporation]] as themselves
* [[Gene LeBell]] as Dracula's henchman ''(uncredited)''
}}

== Production ==
According to director [[William Crain (filmmaker)|William Crain]], ''Blacula'' was born by [[American International Pictures]]' financial troubles in the early '70s. "The rumor was that they were in the red, and so they were going to do a Black vampire," he said.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-10-14 |title='Blacula' director swoops into Chicago to talk '70s low-budget horror |url=https://www.audacy.com/wbbm780/news/local/blacula-director-recalls-1970s-heyday-of-low-budget-horror |access-date=2025-05-05 |website=www.audacy.com |language=en}}</ref> The original script was called ''Count Brown's in Town'', and was "full of 'shuckin' and jivin.'"<ref name="fangoria">{{Cite web |last=Anderson |first=Lea |date=2022-07-27 |title=Celebrating 50 Years Of BLACULA |url=https://www.fangoria.com/celebrating-50-years-of-blacula/ |access-date=2025-05-05 |website=www.fangoria.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

Horror scholar Dani Bethea noted the film's similarities with the 1819 short story ''[[The Black Vampyre: A Legend of St. Domingo]]''.<ref name="fangoria" />

After [[William Marshall (actor)|William Marshall]] was cast to play the lead, he worked with Crain and the producers to heavily retool the main character of Blacula, who was initially more of a straightforward villain.<ref name="fangoria"/> His character name was changed from Andrew Brown to Mamuwalde, and his character received a background story about being an African prince who had succumbed to vampirism from the original [[Count Dracula|Dracula]].<ref name="Lawrence50">Lawrence, 2008. pg. 50</ref>

Many members of the cast and crew of ''Blacula'' had worked in television. William Crain had directed episodes of ''[[The Mod Squad]]''.<ref name="Lawrence49">Lawrence, 2008. pg. 49</ref> William Marshall had previously worked in stage productions and in episodes of ''[[The Man from U.N.C.L.E.]]'', ''[[The Nurses (Primetime CBS drama)|The Nurses]]'', ''[[Bonanza]]'', ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek]]'' and ''[[Mannix]]''.<ref name="Lawrence49" /> [[Thalmus Rasulala]], who plays Dr. Gordon Thomas, is best known for roles in episodes of ''[[The Twilight Zone]]'', ''[[Perry Mason (1957 TV series)|Perry Mason]]'' and ''[[Rawhide (TV series)|Rawhide]]''.<ref name="Lawrence49" />

''Blacula'' was in production between late January and late March 1972.<ref name="afi" /> It was shot on location in [[Los Angeles]], with some scenes shot in [[Watts, Los Angeles|Watts]] and the final scenes taken at the Hyperion Outfall Treatment Plant in [[Playa del Rey]].<ref name="afi" />

== Music ==
The music for ''Blacula'' is unlike that of most horror films as it features a [[funk]] soundtrack,<ref name="Ankeny">{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/blacula-music-from-the-original-sound-track-mw0000041585 |title=Blacula [Music From the Original Sound Track] |last=Ankeny |first=Jason |publisher=[[Allmusic]] |access-date=August 22, 2021 |archive-date=August 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210822152236/https://www.allmusic.com/album/blacula-music-from-the-original-sound-track-mw0000041585 |url-status=live }}</ref> as opposed to [[classical music]].<ref name="Lawrence55">Lawrence, 2008. pg. 55</ref> The film's soundtrack features a score by [[Gene Page]] and contributions by [[the Hues Corporation]].<ref name="Ankeny" />

==Release==
''Blacula'' opened in [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]], [[Dallas]], [[Seattle]] and [[Oklahoma City]] on August 25, 1972, and in [[Chicago]] two days later.<ref name="boxoffice" /> Prior to its release, American International Pictures' marketing department wanted to ensure that black audiences would be interested in ''Blacula''; some posters for the film included references to slavery.<ref name="Lawrence56">Lawrence, 2008. pg. 56</ref> American International Pictures also held special promotional showings at two New York theaters; anyone wearing a flowing cape would receive free admission.<ref name="Lawrence56" /> ''Blacula'' was popular in America, debuting at #24 on ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]''{{'}}s list of top films. It eventually grossed over 1 million dollars, making it one of the highest-grossing films of 1972.<ref name="Lawrence57" />

=== Home media ===
[[Shout! Studios|Scream Factory]] released the film on Blu-ray as a double feature with ''[[Scream Blacula Scream]]'' on March 2, 2015.<ref name="thedissolve" />

==Reception==

=== Critical reception ===
''Blacula'' received mixed reviews on its initial release.<ref name="Lawrence57">Lawrence, 2008. pg. 57</ref> ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' gave the film a positive review praising the screenplay, music and acting by William Marshall.<ref name="Lawrence56" /> The ''[[Chicago Reader]]'' praised the film, writing that it would leave its audience more satisfied than many other "post-[[Bela Lugosi|Lugosi]] efforts".<ref name="Lawrence57" /> [[Gene Siskel]] of the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' awarded three stars out of four, calling it "well-made and quite frightening."<ref>{{cite news|first=Gene|last=Siskel|authorlink=Gene Siskel|date=July 31, 1972|title=Blacula|newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]|page=15}}</ref> A review from [[Roger Greenspun]] in ''[[The New York Times]]'' was negative, stating that anyone who "goes to a vampire movie expecting sense is in serious trouble, and ''Blacula'' offers less sense than most."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9C01E4DB113DEF34BC4E51DFBE668389669EDE&scp=1|work=[[The New York Times]]|title=Blacula (1972)|first=Roger|last=Greenspun|authorlink=Roger Greenspun|date=August 26, 1972|access-date=February 5, 2011}}</ref> In ''Films & Filming'', a reviewer referred to the film as "totally unconvincing on every level".<ref name="Lawrence57" /> The ''[[Monthly Film Bulletin]]'' described the film as "a disappointing model for what promised to be an exciting new genre, the [[black horror]] film." and that apart from the introductory scene, "the film conspicuously fails to pick up on any of its theme's more interesting possibilities–cinematic or philosophical."<ref>{{cite journal|title=Blacula|journal=[[Monthly Film Bulletin]]|volume=40|issue=468|pages=188–189|publisher=[[British Film Institute]]|location=London, England}}</ref> The film was awarded the [[Saturn Award for Best Horror Film|Best Horror Film]] title at the [[1st Saturn Awards]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.saturnawards.org/past.html#horror|work=Saturn Awards|title=Past Saturn Awards|access-date=February 5, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511180136/http://www.saturnawards.org/past.html#horror|archive-date=May 11, 2008}}</ref>

Among more recent reviews, [[Kim Newman]] of ''[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]]'' gave the film two stars out of five, finding the film to be "formulaic and full of holes".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://empireonline.com/reviews/reviewcomplete.asp?FID=133985|title=Blacula Review|work=[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]]|access-date=February 5, 2011|first=Kim|last=Newman|author-link=Kim Newman|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402100532/https://empireonline.com/reviews/reviewcomplete.asp?FID=133985|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref> ''[[Time Out (company)|Time Out]]'' gave the film a negative review, stating that it "remains a lifeless reworking of heroes versus vampires with [[soul music]] and a couple of good gags."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://timeout.com/film/reviews/67973/blacula.html|work=[[Time Out (magazine)|Time Out]]|date=10 September 2012|access-date=February 5, 2011|title=Blacula Review|archive-date=26 February 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100226080035/http://www.timeout.com/film/reviews/67973/blacula.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Film4]] awarded the film three and a half stars out of five, calling it "essential [[blaxploitation]] viewing."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.film4.com/reviews/1972/blacula|work=[[Film4]]|title=Blacula (1972)|access-date=February 5, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324051745/http://www.film4.com/reviews/1972/blacula|archive-date=March 24, 2012}}</ref> [[AllMovie]] gave the film two and a half stars out of five, noting that ''Blacula'' is "better than its campy title might lead one to believe...the film suffers from the occasional bit of awkward humor (the bits with the two [[homosexual]] interior decorators are the most squirm-inducing), but Joan Torres and Raymond Koenig's script keeps things moving at a fast clip and generates some genuine chills."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://allmovie.com/work/blacula-5991/review|work=Allmovie|access-date=February 5, 2011|author=Guarisco, Donald|title=Blacula: Review|archive-date=January 18, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220118170620/https://allmovie.com/work/blacula-5991/review|url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[The Dissolve]]'' gave the film two and a half stars, stating that "The placement of an old-fashioned, Bela Lugosi-type Dracula—albeit much, much sweatier—in a modern black neighborhood is a great idea, but the amateurish production leaves Marshall as stranded in the film as his Mamuwalde is stranded in the times."<ref name="thedissolve">{{cite web|url=http://thedissolve.com/reviews/1415-blaculascream-blacula-scream/|publisher=[[The Dissolve]]|title=Blacula Scream Blacula Scream|access-date=March 3, 2015|last=Tobias|first=Scott|date=March 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402231830/https://thedissolve.com/reviews/1415-blaculascream-blacula-scream/|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>

On [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film holds an approval rating of 46% based on {{nowrap|28 reviews}}, with a [[weighted average]] rating of 5.3/10.<ref name="rottomaotes">{{cite web |title=Blacula (1972) - Rotten Tomatoes |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/blacula |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |publisher=Flixer |access-date=23 October 2022 |archive-date=3 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171203190425/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/blacula/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Themes ==
''Blacula'' is notable for featuring the first Black vampire in film history.<ref name="Lawrence49" /><ref name="fangoria" /><ref name="afi" /> [[Robin R. Means Coleman]], in her book ''Horror Noire: Blacks in American Horror Films from the 1890s to Present'', writes that the film reimagines classic horror archetypes to a contemporary Black experience<ref name="fangoria" /> Lea Anderson, in ''[[Fangoria]],'' described it as "anti-adaptation,"

<blockquote>''Blacula'' not only does the work of, as Dr. Robin Means-Coleman describes, “reimagining the classics” to “[reinvent] the [horror] genre from the vantage point of Blackness,” but accomplishes this so effectively as to transform the narrative into a wholly original piece of Black art, tricky as that may be to articulate. The brilliance of Crain's adaptation is that it's actually an anti-adaptation. It doesn't seek out narrative minstrelsy (when Blackness is casually splashed on a white story as the film's title suggests) but rather uses that familiarity as a red herring to tell a different story altogether.<ref name="fangoria" /></blockquote>

Means-Coleman states the film allegorizes the [[Atlantic slave trade]].<ref name="horror noire">{{Cite book |last=Means Coleman |first=Robin R. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/548660379 |title=Horror noire: blacks in American horror films from the 1890s to present |date=2011 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-88019-0 |location=New York |oclc=548660379}}</ref>

<blockquote>In the film, the name “Blacula” is a curse bestowed upon Prince Mamuwalde by the Count ([[Charles Macaulay]]); “a [[slave name]],” as Coleman notes. Dracula transforms him into a monster in the same gesture as this attempt to “[rob him] of his (African) identity”—and make no mistake, Mamuwalde does become a monster, sympathetic as he may be. After centuries incarcerated in a coffin, he “makes a much-belated trip through the Middle Passage” and “finally makes his appearance in the new world—enslaved by vampirism and auctioned off” as part of an estate sale to the interracial queer couple who become his first victims.... As a byproduct of centering Black perspective, Crain actually deepens [[Bram Stoker|Stoker]]'s characterization of Dracula by placing him in an eighteenth-century context that characterizes the slave trade and chattel slavery as parasitic institutions. The Count of [Bram] Stoker's imagination would be a slaveowner (complicated as that legacy is for its xenophobic, antisemitic coding). As such, Mamuwalde's disgust for both him and the slave trade offers a counternarrative to common misconceptions about pre-colonial African culture, demonstrates Black resistance to enslavement without completely revising that history, and complicates the binary of hero/monster that is so often taken for granted.<ref name="fangoria" /></blockquote>

Horror scholar Dani Bethea said in a ''Fangoria'' interview:

<blockquote>The story of Mamuwalde is such a poignant and heartbreaking one that truly has an incontestable tether to the [[Candyman (film series)|Candyman]] mythos—Black men in the prime of their lives, caught betwixt and between insidious white supremacist structures that wield some sort of damnation (vampirism in this case) as an everlasting punishment. It's chilling and brings to mind the [[Zombie|zonbi]] narratives and folklore I learned about as a child that spoke of' the walking dead', its connection to slavery (which the film delved into that Mamuwalde was trying to stop), and the horror of a non-afterlife where one is cursed to walk the earth forever.<ref name="fangoria" />

It is also notable that Billy and Bobby are considered to be the first gay-coded couple in a horror movie.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Scheetz |first=Cameron |date=2025-09-23 |title=Wait, does 1972's campy Blacula feature the first-ever gay couple in a horror movie? |url=https://www.queerty.com/wait-does-1972s-campy-blacula-feature-the-first-ever-gay-couple-in-a-horror-movie-20250922/ |access-date=2026-02-16 |website=Queerty |language=en}}</ref></blockquote>

==Aftermath and influence==
The box office success of ''Blacula'' sparked a wave of other [[Blaxploitation horror films|Black-themed horror films]].<ref name="Lawrence57" /><ref name="Lawrence58">Lawrence, 2008. pg. 58</ref> American International was planning a follow-up film titled ''Blackenstein'', but chose to focus on a direct sequel to ''Blacula'' instead. ''[[Blackenstein]]'' was eventually produced by Exclusive International Pictures.<ref name="Lawrence59">Lawrence, 2008. pg. 59</ref>

Other, similarly themed films produced in the wake of ''Blacula'' included ''[[Ganja & Hess]]'' (also featuring Black vampires), [[Abby (film)|''Abby'']] (also starring William Marshall), and [[Sugar Hill (1974 film)|''Sugar Hill'']].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Brownfield |first=Troy |date=2022-08-25 |title=50 Years Ago: Blacula Was a Very Different Horror Classic |url=https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2022/08/50-years-ago-blacula-was-a-very-different-horror-classic/ |access-date=2025-05-05 |website=The Saturday Evening Post |language=en-US}}</ref>

The film's portrayal of a Black vampire influenced the creation of the [[Marvel Comics|Marvel Comic]] ''[[The Tomb of Dracula]]'' and its breakout character, [[Blade (character)|Blade]].<ref name=":1" /> [[Troy Brownfield]] noted Marshall's portrayal of the title character influenced later Black horror antagonists in films like [[Candyman (1992 film)|''Candyman'']] (1992), ''[[Tales from the Hood]]'' (1995), and [[Bones (2001 film)|''Bones'']] (2001).<ref name=":1" />

In the animated television series ''[[The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy]]'', the depiction of Dracula (voiced by [[Phil LaMarr]]) is inspired by Blacula.

Blacula appears briefly in ''[[The Simpsons]]'' episode "[[All's Fair in Oven War]]" ([[The Simpsons season 16|season 16]], episode 2), voiced by [[Karl Wiedergott]].

Comics writer John Jennings said "[''Blacula''<nowiki/>'s influence is] immeasurable. Because it was one of the first really serious, very slick, very nicely done [Black horror films]."<ref name="fangoria" />

== Related media ==

=== Sequel ===
{{main|Scream Blacula Scream}}
A sequel to the film titled ''Scream Blacula Scream'' was released in 1973 by American International. The film again stars William Marshall in the title role, along with actress [[Pam Grier]].<ref name="Lawrence58" /> It failed to recapture the financial success of its predecessor.

=== Graphic novel ===
A graphic novel adaptation, ''Blacula: Return of the King'', was published in 2023 by Zombie Love Studios.<ref name="fangoria"/> It was written by [[Rodney Barnes]] and drawn by Jason Shawn Alexander.<ref name="fangoria"/>

=== Reboot film ===
On June 17, 2021, it was announced that a [[Reboot (continuity)|reboot]] was in development. The film will be a co-production between [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer|MGM]], [[Bron Studios]] and Hidden Empire Film Group with [[Roxanne Avent]] producing and [[Deon Taylor]] and Micah Ranum co-writing. Taylor will also direct the film.<ref>{{cite web |last=Jackson |first=Angelique |date=June 17, 2021 |title='Blacula' Reboot in the Works From MGM, Bron and Hidden Empire Film Group (EXCLUSIVE) |url=https://variety.com/2021/film/news/blacula-reboot-deon-taylor-1234999358/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211103032843/https://variety.com/2021/film/news/blacula-reboot-deon-taylor-1234999358/ |archive-date=November 3, 2021 |access-date=November 2, 2021 |website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of American films of 1972]]
* [[Vampire film]]
* ''[[Dracula A.D. 1972]]''
* [[The Black Vampyre: A Legend of St. Domingo]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

===References===
* {{Cite book
 | last= Lawrence
 | first= Novotny
 | title= Blaxploitation films of the 1970s: Blackness and genre
 |year= 2008
 | publisher= Routledge
 |isbn= 978-0-415-96097-7
 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PCtxcIbnt2QC
 |access-date=February 5, 2011
}}
* {{Cite book
 | last= Kane
 | first= Tim
 | title= The Changing Vampire of Film and Television
 |publisher= McFarland & Co
 |year= 2006
 |isbn= 0-7864-2676-4
 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WuNkAAAAMAAJ
 |access-date=February 5, 2011
}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|0068284}}
* {{TCMDb title|id=68979}}
* {{AFI film|54416}} 
* {{Rotten-tomatoes|blacula}}
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKgcLOOW-3Y Official Trailer #1] on [[YouTube]]

{{Dracula}}
{{Saturn Award for Best Horror Film 1972–1990}}


[[Category:1972 films]]
[[Category:1972 horror films]]
[[Category:1972 LGBTQ-related films]]
[[Category:1970s supernatural horror films]]
[[Category:African-American horror films]]
[[Category:American gothic horror films]]
[[Category:American supernatural horror films]]
[[Category:American International Pictures films]]
[[Category:American vampire films]]
[[Category:Blaxploitation films]]
[[Category:Dracula films]]
[[Category:1972 English-language films]]
[[Category:Films about reincarnation]]
[[Category:Films set in 1780]]
[[Category:Films set in 1972]]
[[Category:Films set in Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Films shot in Los Angeles]]
[[Category:1972 American films]]
[[Category:Films set in Transylvania]]
[[Category:Films about princes]]
[[Category:Films about birthdays]]
[[Category:Gay-related films]]
[[Category:Fictional portrayals of the Los Angeles Police Department]]
[[Category:Films about hypnosis]]
[[Category:Films about sisters]]
[[Category:American LGBTQ-related films]]
[[Category:Film characters introduced in 1972]]
[[Category:Fictional African people]]
[[Category:Black characters in films]]
[[Category:Fictional mass murderers]]
[[Category:Fictional vampires]]
[[Category:Male horror film villains]]
[[Category:English-language horror films]]
[[Category:Saturn Award–winning films]]
[[Category:Allegory]]

{{Wikipedia attribution|original_title=Blacula|access_date=2026-02-27}}