|
Scream Blacula Scream 1973 ★★★★
From what I understand, this falls into the blaxpoitation genre, with a black Dracula, appropriately called Blacula.
I like what they did with the main character. You can tell it still relates to the classic Lugosi portrayal of the iconic vampire and Blacula speaks the posh English of a wise man. Not unlike Vincent Price's better moments.
That said, they do put on some different nuances. In my opinion, using voodoo to bring the vampire back to life was a very nice touch. The surrounding also mentions small tidbits of African culture and heritage, which adds to the story, making it more believable. Though I have to admit that I did not understand (most of) these references.
One scene that particularly struck me was the clash between Blacula and the pimps. When he tells them that they are “making their sister into a slave”, welll... there certainly are more subtle metaphors. But it is also a part of his character, noted in his protectiveness over Lisa, portrayed by Pam Grier.
Just like I was struck by the storyline in the beginning about the power hungry “heir” who wants to be the leader by any means necessary. Which ends up being his undoing. Now he has to live as Blacula's underling, a Smithers to his Burns. That does, however, also bring one of the funniest moments in the film when he is all mopey because he can't see himself in the mirror.
Pam Grier is stylish as always and William Marshall does a great job, portraying Blacula as a distinguished gentleman. Especially at the end, with a sole look conveying despair, betrayal and heartbreak, all at the same time. Great stuff there.
Recommended for fans of Vincent Price, vintage horror and blaxploitation.
De kollega’s maken de brug 1988 ★★
This movie is based on a Belgian tv series that was very popular in the late seventies and early eighties. The story centers around a group of public servants who don't really do much and thus have a lot of time to loaf about. That gives the chance to focus on the dynamics between the characters, resulting in a tone sometimes similar to what Ricky Gervais later did in The Office.
The story in a nutshell: a prankster puts a note about a day off strategically, knowing that the person responsable will probably forget to read it. He does so and everyone shows up on the day off. Once they find out, they want to leave, only to find that both the elevator and the stairs are out of order for different reasons. Ie, they're stuck until someone frees them.
It's a typical eighties-film, by which I mean that it has not aged very well. The story is not as captivating as it used to be and upon this rewatch, some of the characters seemed to be (a lot) meaner than I remember them being. Also, for a show considering itself dramady, it has quite the bit of drama (a marriage falls apart, a metoo incident occurs) and very little to laugh at. Apart from the scene where the two pranksters argue after a long dinner about who is more chablis-terated.
A document of its time. No less, no more.
__________________
|