10 Best Indie Vampire Movies You've Probably Never Seen
9. Blacula (1972)
Blacula was one of the most successful films of the year when it was released, and remains one of the most famous blaxploitation films.
In a spin on the traditional Dracula story, Prince Mamuwalde visits Castle Dracula to ask the mysterious Count to support his push back against the slave trade. Dracula turns Mamuwalde into a vampire (unsurprisingly) and he is then delivered back to Los Angeles in a coffin to spread vampirism far and wide.
William Marshall, who would go on to star in the TV shows Pee-wee's Playhouse and in Star Trek as Dr. Richard Daystrom, brings energy and charisma to the role of Blacula. He is one of the many reasons why, despite some sizeable flaws, Blacula retains a peculiar entertainment factor.
The film isn't exactly refined, but it also isn't loaded without the inevitable campness that you may assume a film with such a title would have to put up with.
If ever there was a dusty VHS to pull out of the bottom of a bargain bin, this is it. Such was the film's success that it was followed by a slew of similarly veined films, including the sequel Scream Blacula Scream and the perhaps inevitable Blackenstein.