After watching and reviewing Near Dark and the original Blacula, I felt like I had paid my dues in full to Ruthless as far as covering the neck-biter’s scene. I mean, it’s not like the rest of my writers are chomping at the neck to review vampire films, or anything else for that matter. So, how did I end up watching Scream Blacula Scream? Goat-Damn if I can explain it. I’m just going to claim senility and inertia. It works both ways, you know.
Anyway, Scream Blacula Scream stars the great Pam Grier along with the bassoon radio-voice William Marshal again, so I guess that is my excuse. Pam Grier was the robust Coffy and Jackie Brown, so I just assumed a strong female character in this movie. Wrong! Even though she was a voodoo priestess, she was not predictably kicking Blacula’s ass in this movie. This was unacceptable, like the lack of homoeroticism in 80’s Action Movies. She was passive and subjugated to Blacula, just like Tina in the original movie.
Anyway, what about the movie? Well, what about it? After a family squabble at the funeral of the lead mambo (Voodoo Priestess), as to who would take over as top Voodooer, son of mambo Willis (Richard Lawson) leaves in a huff as Lisa (Pam Grier) is the chosen one. Willis decides to get even (but ends up totally hosing himself) by procuring some human bones from some voodoo vagrant and bringing them to life with a voodoo spell that included blood from some random pigeon. Unfortunately for Willis, the bones belonged to Mamuwalde, who immediately prison-bitches Willis and drains his blood. Blacula is in charge, you know.
The rest of the movie involves the usual vampire stuff, with again with cops (Atlanta cops this time), so inept that they wouldn’t be able to whip Pee-Wee Herman in a fight, even if he had his wanking arm tied behind his back. Scream Blacula Scream did have some better fighting, bloodsucking and gory deaths, but all in all, it was just more of the same.
The movie ends with Pam Grier finally remembering that she is Pam Grier after all, and she puts it to old Blacula, Jackie Brown style. For a sequel to a mediocre to boring original, Scream Blacula Scream was not a bad effort, but I sure can’t justify recommending that anyone watch this thing.
5.5/10.0 With the Goatesians Rating of More of the Same, but with Pam Grier
Special Ruthless Ratings -or- What I learned from Scream Blacula Scream
- Stop watching vampire movies
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