Culture
Now Playing: What is a Black Vampire Movie?
By: Gordon Briggs
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Now Playing is a column by film scholar Dr. Gordon Briggs. This installment in the series corresponds to the Now Playing column that ran on Tuesday, May 13 about Sinners.
Sinners isn’t the first vampire film to tackle race. Ryan Coogler’s horror movie is the latest entry in the subgenre of the Black Vampire flick. These films, which range from creepy to campy, often use vampirism to sink their teeth into ideas about race, sexuality, and identity.
Blacula (1972)
The granddaddy of them all would be Blacula (1972). Here, after being bitten by a bigoted Count Dracula, an African prince vampire wakes up in modern-day LA with a thirst for blood. When he’s done, everyone from an innocent gay couple to the LAPD will feel this undead brother’s bite. Like many Blaxploitation films, the production values can be questionable, but my God, William Marshall is a suave bloodsucker (the man’s voice is so deep and commanding you can believe it has supernatural power). Plus, the movie has some genuinely scary moments, my favorite being one where a murder is shown via a crazed lady vampire running full-bore towards the screen. Rating: ★ ★ ★
Ganja & Hess (1973)
Upon its initial release, the studio cut it to ribbons, changed the title, and released a compromised product to confused audiences. However, over the years Ganja & Hess (1973) has garnered a cult following as one of the strangest vampire films out there. In a movie that’s more of a weird tonal experiment than a linear story, we follow a couple of Black bloodsuckers as they walk around in the day, steal food from blood banks, and try desperately to assimilate into ‘human’ (white) culture. As the film unfolds, its mood gets more and more eerie, and gradually it becomes clear that the vampirism on display is a metaphor for race and class in America. Praised by critics, but doomed to obscurity upon its initial release, this is an artsy little oddity waiting to be rediscovered. Rating: ★ ★ ★ 1/2
Blade (1998)
Not only is Blade (1998) an entertaining superhero movie (Did Snipes just beat up a dirty cop? Nice.), it’s also a great Black Vampire flick. Part of the story’s appeal is how this vampire hunter takes us into seemingly ordinary places that actually mask a vampiric underworld. Here, subway trains run alongside secret vampire temples. A meat locker hides a nightclub for bloodsuckers, and in one of my favorite scenes, we roast a fat Jabba vampire inside his underground lair. Of course, I can’t leave out Snipes and Dorf. Different actors would’ve mocked the material, but not only did they inhabit these comic book characters, they looked damn suave doing it.★★★1/2