Blacula promises more than a standard blaxsploitation film by opening with Shakespearean actor William Marshall as Mamuwalde, African Prince, seeking Count Dracula's support to put an end to the slave trade. Dracula instead takes Mamuwalde's wife, enslaves him in vampiredom, changes his name to Blacula, and locks him in a coffin. Almost two centuries later the entire Dracula estate, including the coffin, falls into the hands of two interior decorators from California who inevitably loose a bloodstarved, shockingly inconspicuous Blacula onto modern (disco/funk fusion, platforms, and naturals) black-American society. References to racial tensions crop up almost as non-sequiturs throughout (most likely due to script alterations to ensure its "blackness"). Blacula remains a fascinating example of AIP's contribution to Hollywood's periodic discovery of (surprise!) a black audience. As the ad so hopefully proclaimed, "He's Blacula, He's Beautiful, He's Boxoffice!" -Kim Christian