Unlike the dull sequels to straight adaptations of Bram Stoker's novel "Dracula," including Universal's "Dracula's Daughter" (1936) and Hammer's "The Brides of Dracula" (1960), "Scream Blacula Scream," a sequel to "Blacula" (1972), the blaxploitation reworking of Stoker's tale, manages to improve upon the original. The production values are a bit more polished in this second, albeit still distinctly B-picture, outing. The dolly for shots of vampires lunging at their victims is not visible, at least, within the frame this time. They adopted the animated bat transformations first used in Universal movies such as "Son of Dracula" (1943) and "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein" (1948), and there's a flashback scene within a globe that's reminiscent of a similar pool scene from the original "The Mummy" (1932).This sequel also continues the original's uneven balance between campiness and social commentary. Once again, Blacula's battle with humanity assumes an allegorical punch, as African-American vampires battle a predominately-Caucasian police force in an American urban landscape--or, in one of the film's more campy sequences, the policemen just happen upon some super-convenient wooden stakes as they prepare for battle with the vamps, who are hidden behind doors in a Scooby-Doo-like haunted house. "The name is Blacula!"--seemingly ripping off the line from "They Call Me Mr. Tibbs" from "In the Heat of the Night" (1967)--is another uproarious moment. I especially like the comparison of red wine to blood during a dinner between Justin, the Van Helsing type, and Blacula, the latter of who, unlike Bela Lugosi's Dracula, does drink wine. Arguably, however, the campiness undermines the seriousness of the allegory somewhat. Despite William Marshall giving another dignified and sympathetic portrayal as the titular vamp, for instance, it's hard not to laugh at his sporting seemingly even more odd facial hair than in the last movie--he even has hair under his eyes, for crying out loud.Regardless, one of the best scenes of social commentary this time is when Blacula lectures two pimps on how they're imitating their slave masters and, then, he beats the life from them. Blacula's origins 200-some years prior during the slave trade, when he was an African prince who was betrayed by Dracula, were established in the first film and replayed this time with the aforementioned flashback-within-a-globe scene, as well as by Justin, a Black ex-cop who now specializes in African antiquities--including former possessions of Blacula's and his late wife's. In his confrontation with the pimps, however, Blacula remains oblivious to the irony of himself imitating the vampiric enslavement of others that was forced upon him by Dracula.Fortuantely, "Scream Blacula Scream" drops the reincarnation romance of "Blacula," a storyline that has nothing to do with Stoker's novel and has plagued other Dracula movies, from the 1974 Dan Curtis TV movie to the 1992 Francis Ford Coppola version. Instead, "Scream Blacula Scream," which like its predecessor is a loose reworking of Stoker's material, interestingly re-imagines two important aspects of Stoker's novel that the vast majority of supposedly more-faithful Dracula adaptations either contradict or ignore. One of these is the religion of Stoker's book, the Catholicism of which is frequently reduced on film to occult kitsch, and the other is the book's strong heroine Mina, who is generally lessened in movies to a misogynistic damsel-in-distress trope.The religion and the strong heroine of "Scream Blacula Scream" are both found within its Mina-type-character Lisa (played by Pam Grier). Instead of Stoker's Catholicism, which Mina, Van Helsing and the other human characters of the novel employed to defeat Dracula, Lisa harnesses the power of Voodoo, which may benefit or harm Blacula. The sexualized Voodoo-ritual scene between Blacula and Lisa is a nice alteration of the sexual nature of Dracula and Mina's hypnotic bond from the book. The Voodoo also fits in well with the series' themes of African origins and racism, as the bigoted cop Harley spouts a series of slurs and stereotypes regarding the faith, and it provides a counterpoint to the vampire cult being amassed by Blacula.The result is a campy blaxploitation flick that shouldn't merely be characterized as so-bad-it's-good, but is, instead, just good--as the racial allegory of the original "Blacula" is more fully realized by the religion of Voodoo, and it features, perhaps, the best Mina of all Dracula-esque movies.(Mirror Note: Blacula displays no reflection in a mirror in one scene where he approaches a victim, and Willis, the Renfield-type vampire slave to master Blacula, is upset in another scene when he discovers that he can't groom himself properly for a night out due to his newfound lack of a reflection. Another scene also addresses that undead corpses cannot be photographed.)

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.

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.

This follow up to 'Blacula' really doesn't quite deliver what it should. While the first film is by no means perfect, it is highly entertaining and quite well paced. 'Scream Blacula Scream' howls 'cash-in', basically being a carbon copy of the original (myth versus science / voodoo versus science) with the addition of Pam Grier. One might expect Pam's role to be one of a bad ass chick sent down to kick Blacula's ass, but no, sadly she is wrongly cast as a fairly dull damsel in distress.The pacing of the film is altogether incredibly sluggish - indeed, the most is made out of some of the spooky set pieces, but this feels like a dragged out 45 minute TV show with bigger ambitions than it could actually deliver. There is a vast amount of tedious filler - not that the first film didn't heavily feature musical performances, but these were at least were rather fun.The ending itself seems to also sum up the film; it just stops really, after the set 'movie length' has been covered it sinks into a severe anti-climax. The director and cast cannot have been proud of this effort which is best avoided. Watching the trailer will sum up the film, and you'll get to see (most) of the highlights and then have time to watch a more decent film!