Blacula (1972, William Crain)

What would a Blaxploitation marathon be without Blacula? Inferior, that's what. The fact that I love Horror films and my blog reviews a good amount of them made Blacula a no-brainer. Though I had never seen it before, I had heard of Blacula many times in the past. The first time I remember hearing about it was in Junior High School. A couple of my friends used to rent the worst movies they could find and many Blax films (particularly the ones with the most ridiculous titles) frequently popped up. I remember The Avenging Disco Godfather being one and Blacula was one of the other most memorable. The most ironic thing about Blacula though...well I'll get to that later.

Blacula tells the story of Mamuwalde (William Marshall), an African prince who pissed off Dracula (who happened to be a racist) a few hundred years ago and, as punishment, is turned into a vampire named Blacula and is trapped in a casket. Flash forward to the present when two gay art collectors buy an estate which includes the casket. After it is opened, out pops Blacula who turns them into vampire servants. Soon, Blacula is on the prowl and finds Tina (Vonetta McGee), the reincarnation of his love from the past, Luva. Blacula hypnotizes her and it is up to her friend Gordon (Thalmus Rasulala) to save her.

As I was saying, the ironic thing about Blacula is that it's a straight up horror film. The only real silliness is its name and how dated it is. It's really nothing more than a vampire story taking place in the present time (well present for when it was released). I half expected the film to be an over the top spoof (see Love at First Bite) but it is actually a solid vampire film. The story is interesting, the characters have more to them than expected and probably the biggest surprise for me, it's kind of scary. The vampire slaves have a terrifying look to them and seem to pop out when you least expect. William Marshall proves to be one of the most charismatic Draculas to grace the silver screen and pulls off the role with much success. His voice is what really does it, sounding oddly enough, just like Christopher Lee. Also of note is Vonetta McGee, who was in one of my favorite movies of all time (The Great Silence), a beautiful and fitting partner for Blacula.

RATING: 7/10

Bucktown (1975, Arthur Marks)

Fred "The Hammer" Williamson, one of the major stars of the Blaxploitation genre, made many a film in many different genres. From Blaxploitation to Spaghetti Western to Futuristic Italian Gladiator, The Hammer has done it all. When I read about Bucktown, and how it featured The Hammer AND Pam Grier, I knew I had to see it.

The Hammer plays Duke Johnson who shows up in Bucktown, a small southern town, to bury his brother. Bucktown is run by a Police force consisting of a bunch of corrupt, racist cops who make local businesses pay them protection money. Duke doesn't like the corruption and makes a stand by bringing in some friends from back home. His friends, led by Roy (Thalmus Rasulala) come to Duke's aid but it turns out that they have some other plans for the town, to help benefit their own needs.

Bucktown is a fun, kind of silly film. The Hammer brings it but unfortunately Pam Grier (who plays his deceased brother's girlfriend who eventually falls for Duke himself) is nothing more than wallpaper in the film (though very sexy wallpaper). Duke's friends (including a young, afro'd Carl Weathers) who come to save the day but also stir up some trouble of their own are convincing as a nasty bunch of mofos. The corrupt cops also do a good job at being bad. The story is fun and entertaining and there are some really good shoot outs and action scenes. The main problem is just the over the top silliness of the film.

RATING: 6/10

Truck Turner (1974, Jonathan Kaplan)

Isaac Hayes I've known about for a long time, though not as an actor. Unless you include his voice talents for the character Chef on the animated South Park television series, I knew him as "the guy who sang the Shaft theme song". I think the first time I saw Hayes as an actor was either in the William Lustig film Uncle Sam or in Keenan Ivory Wayans' I'm Gonna Git You Sucka. The first time I heard of the film Truck Turner was actually on a movie poster in the Brattle Theater in Cambridge, MA. I had no idea what the film was and soon after read that it was a Blaxploitation film. Still not knowing or thinking much about the film, I just decided to throw it on for the Blax marathon and all I have to say is "WHOA!"

"Mack" Truck Turner (Isaac Hayes) is an ex football player turned Bail Bondsman/Bounty Hunter. He and his partner Jerry (Alan Weeks) are hired to bring in a Pimp named Gator (Paul Harris). After a long chase, they finally kill Gator in self defense but (in a surprisingly scary scene) one of his bitches stabs Jerry. Though Jerry survives, He and Truck soon find themselves being hunted after a hit is put out for Truck by Gator's woman, who is now in charge of his "stable".

As far as urban action/exploitation films go, Truck Turner is a revelation. It had some of the best car chases I've seen, frantic gun and fist fights, beautiful women, kick ass heroes, and a good story. Of course there are also the pimps (they are the bad guys in this one), the lead being played excellently by Blaxploitation regular Yaphet Kotto. I'll also give a shout out to the pimp who had a different eye patch to match each of his pimp suits. One of the other things that really surprised (and delighted) me about the film was its humor. Truck's foul mouthed wisecracks (some of the funniest of which are to his cat) had me in hysterics. The direction is also well done and the film was directed by Johnathan Kaplan, who also directed one of my favorite films Over the Edge. Overall this film was a very pleasant surprise and delivered on many different levels. I could really find no fault in this film. I'd go so far as to call it pretty much perfect.

RATING: 10/10

The Mack (1973, Michael Campus)

A key element to most Blaxploitation films are Pimps. Either Cops (usually White) vs. Pimps, Pimps vs. Pimps or a Black Man's ascension from poverty to pimpin'. The Mack is a mixture of all three, plus a good amount of sex and violence. This film was recommended to me a couple years ago and I just never got around to watching it until now. The one thing that I was told about the film that made it a must see was a Pimp convention, which I'll admit made me very curious.

Goldie (Max Julien) just got out of jail. He goes back to his old neighborhood with the dream of becoming the biggest pimp around. His brother, who has been working to make a change while Goldie was in the joint, disapproves of his brother's new venture. Goldie is determined to follow through with his plans and soon enough he becomes the top pimp around. Unfortunately, the current big pimp, Pretty Tony, thinks Goldie is getting to be too big and tries to stop him. Two racist cops also get in the mix and try to bring down "The Mack".

The Mack was a fine film with a good mix of drama, action and pimpin'. Max Julien does a great job as Goldie, with the toughness and coolness that the role demands. The rest of the cast do a great job and (as I was told) the "Playa's Convention" was awesome. The costumes, haircuts and attitudes brought the perfect amount of outrageousness to the film. Richard Pryor is also great as Goldie's right hand man.

RATING: 7/10

Black Mama, White Mama (1973, Eddie Romero)

Though technically not a Blaxploitation film per se, it (ironically) has probably the greatest Blaxploitation title in film history. Directed by low budget Filipino film maker/producer Eddie Romero (infamous for his Beast of Blood films), Black Mama, White Mama is a cross between a WIP film and a Chase film. Starring Pam Grier and Margaret Markov, who starred together again in The Arena, a WIP/Gladiator (!?!) film, I had been looking for this film for awhile and finally found a copy, a two disc set with Foxy Brown.

Two women on an island prison, revolutionary Karen Brent (Margaret Markov) and prostitute Lee Daniels (Pam Grier) are chained together and are being sent to another facility. Karen's revolutionary friends try to rescue her but are stopped by the cops. Karen and Lee manage to escape into the woods though and then become the targets of a manhunt. Despite their dislike for each other, they have to work together to either find Karen's friends or Lee's Pimp's headquarters.

Black Mama, White Mama has all the elements to make a decent action/exploitation film. The interplay between Markov and Grier is fun but the film itself could be better. Sid Haig is great (as always) as bounty hunter cowboy Ruben, but the rest of the characters are forgettable. There are some nice n' sleazy WIP scenes involving showers and lesbian prison guards but that's only in the first half hour of the film. Worth a watch and definitely a nice story (co-written by Jonathan Demme no less) but nothing to write home about.

RATING: 6/10

Foxy Brown (1974, Jack Hill)

Originally conceived as a sequel to Coffy entitled Burn Coffy Burn!, the producers were against sequels so Hill rewrote it as a new character, Foxy Brown. Basically the same character as in Coffy, but there are a few small differences. Easily Hill's most well known film, which is kind of surprising it being an almost grittier version of it's predecessor. Continuing on with my Jack Hill and Blax reviews....Heeeeeere's Foxy.

Foxy Brown (Pam Grier) has a brother Link (Antonio Fargas) who can't seem to keep himself out of trouble. A drug dealer and user, Link is in trouble with his dealers because of some money that he owes them. Foxy helps him out, but after Foxy's undercover agent boyfriend Michael (Terry Carter) undergoes plastic surgery to hide his identity, Link sells him out to save himself. Foxy then goes undercover as a prostitute to get revenge on those responsible for Michael's death.

Foxy Brown is another Jack Hill, Blaxploitation and Action film classic. Pam Grier kicks major ass as Foxy and with a similar plot to Coffy, Hill actually manages to add in even more sleaziness. There are many shocking scenes in the film, especially when Grier is raped and shot up with heroin, not to mention the "present" that she delivers in a glass jar. Though not as tight as Coffy, Foxy Brown still delivers and has lots of action and great characters (especially Antonio Fargas as Link) to keep viewers more than entertained.

RATING: 8/10

Coffy (1973, Jack Hill)

Black History Month has begun and I decided to start with Jack Hill's Coffy and Foxy Brown to simultaneously start a month's worth of Blaxploitation reviews and finish out my Jack Hill reviews (Sorceress coming eventually). Coffy was the first Jack Hill film I saw. I forget exactly why I watched Coffy the first time, but it began my interest in Blax films, Jack Hill and Pam Grier. For that, I owe Coffy a lot.

Pam Grier plays Miss Coffin, a young nurse who goes by the name Coffy. Her 11 year old sister is in a hospital after shooting up some bad smack and Coffy makes it her personal goal in life to rid the world of dope dealers.

Pretty simple premise but like all of Jack Hill's films, there is much more to it. Coffy is filled with colorful characters, lots of action and a great story. Pam Grier gives one of her best performances here as the innocent nurse by day/vigilante by night and Sid Haig shows up too as a racist henchman named Omar. Robert DoQui also gives a fine performance as the over the top pimp/drug dealer King George. Coffy is perhaps Hill's most enjoyable, violent and over the top film, which is really saying a lot. It also made Grier one of the first female action stars, also an impressive feat, especially for a low budget blaxploitation film.

RATING: 9/10