Blacula

Blacula is coming to the Electric Palace on Saturday 31 October, and it's not coming alone. It's part of a double bill with Jordan Peele's Get Out (2017), so you're getting two horror films in one sitting. The whole thing kicks off at 7.30pm.

Blacula is a 1972 horror film from the blaxploitation movement, directed by William Crain on the grand sum of $500,000. It's rated 15. The story follows Prince Mamuwalde, an 18th-century African prince who's turned into a vampire while visiting Transylvania, only to wake up in 1970s Brooklyn. It was originally titled Count Brown's in Town, but the film was reshaped by its star, William Marshall, a classically trained Shakespearean actor. He turned the character into the dignified Prince Mamuwalde, a role that helped break racist stereotypes and paved the way for later Black-led horror hits like Get Out, which grossed over £175 million worldwide and won Peele the Academy Award for best original screenplay.

That's where the double bill comes in. Get Out follows Blacula, so you'll see the 1972 blaxploitation original and the 2017 modern hit back-to-back. The pairing was curated by Anna-Maria Nabirye, who wanted a space where Black and global majority audiences could watch such films without feeling bothered by their blackness.

It's a long night of horror, so come prepared. The session starts at 7.30pm at the Electric Palace, 39a High Street, Hastings Old Town TN34 3ER.