Thursday, 15 October 2026 at 9 pm
Directed by: William Crain
USA, 1972, colour, 93'
In 1780, the African prince Mamuwalde travels to Transylvania to seek the help of the local Count Dracula in the fight against the slave trade. Dracula refuses him; moreover, he bites him on the neck and turns him into a vampire, giving him the name Blacula. He locks him in a coffin and places it in a crypt hidden beneath his castle.
Almost 200 years later, in 1972, two interior decorators discover a coffin. They learn that it belonged to Count Dracula, who was killed in the late 19th century by the vampire hunter Van Helsing. The decorators decide to transport the coffin by ship to Los Angeles; en route they open it and become Dracula's first victims.
Blacula was created at the height of the 1970s Black exploitation film wave, when there was a demand for Black vampires on the cinema screen. In keeping with the emancipatory aspirations of these films, the character of the “Black Dracula” is not a one-dimensional villain but a once-noble prince who fought against slavery and was later made a victim of the evil original Dracula. Critical reception was highly divided: some praised William Marshall's performance in the title role, the music and the screenplay, while others claimed it was formulaic and full of holes. In any case, one thing is certain – musically, it stands out from all previous horror films, as the soundtrack is characterised by a funk sound.
Commentary by: Damir Radić
Tickets for the screening on 15 October 2026 at 9 pm can be purchased online HERE, as well as at the Surogatkino KIC box office one hour before the start.