Scream Blacula Scream tries to rise from the grave of its predecessor, but like the titular vampire, it’s stuck wandering the night in tattered robes, moaning old dialogue, and wishing for better lighting.
If 1972’s Blacula was a surprise hit that managed to juggle horror, tragedy, and racial subtext with some finesse, its 1973 sequel is the cinematic equivalent of a broken-down hearse: loud, slow, and directionless.
🕯️ Voodoo, Vampires, and Very Little Plot
You know you’re in trouble when a film tries to revive a dead vampire using voodoo… and the voodoo looks like a discount sĂ©ance hosted in someone’s cousin’s garage. Willis, the pouty voodoo reject, resurrects Blacula using bones and bad vibes. And surprise—Blacula immediately bites him and turns him into a vampire henchman. So much for revenge. It’s like summoning Dracula and asking him to be your intern.
The narrative then tiptoes through an aimless investigation subplot with Justin, an ex-cop turned occult collector who feels like a gumshoe in search of a better movie. Meanwhile, Lisa (Pam Grier), the only person with actual mystical skill and on-screen charisma, spends the runtime wrestling with her conscience about whether or not to help a centuries-old killer with a thirst for redemption and a cape that screams “Shakespeare in the Park.”
đź’€ Blacula, But Make It Slower
William Marshall once again commits fully as Prince Mamuwalde, but he’s shackled to a script that gives him monologues no one wants and victims no one remembers. For all his regal posturing and sonorous voice, Blacula spends more time wandering through shadowy hallways than actually doing anything terrifying.
Despite the title, there’s very little screaming. Mostly just mumbling, slow stalking, and the occasional vampire who rises from the dead looking more confused than cursed. The horror elements are neutered by pedestrian pacing, awkward staging, and lighting that varies wildly between “wax museum” and “home invasion camcorder.”
🎠A Tale of Two Leads
Pam Grier, fresh off Coffy and oozing potential, is tragically underused. Her Lisa is supposedly a powerful voodoo priestess, but she spends most of the film being gaslit, manipulated, or sidelined while men argue about rituals. The final act asks her to perform an exorcism, but she barely gets halfway through before it’s interrupted, dropped, and replaced by a voodoo doll stabbing that ends the movie like a bad Chucky parody.
And then there’s Richard Lawson as Willis: a man so petulant, so melodramatic, he makes Eddie Munster look dignified. He’s supposed to be scary. Instead, he’s just irritating—and somehow less threatening after becoming a vampire.
⚰️ Final Verdict: Stake This One and Be Done
Scream Blacula Scream wants to be a supernatural showdown, a horror sequel, and a blaxploitation showcase all at once—and it drops every ball it tries to juggle. There are moments of atmosphere, and Marshall’s performance still carries gravitas, but they’re buried under a mound of sluggish pacing, clunky dialogue, and a plot that feels like it was made up on the ride to the set.
By the time the finale arrives, complete with a weak showdown and the dumbest use of a voodoo doll this side of a Goosebumps episode, you’ll be screaming too—but only out of boredom.
Rating: 1.5 out of 5 ritual candles
For a film called Scream Blacula Scream, it’s awfully quiet—and worse, it gives you nothing to scream for.
