O. K. let’s get this out of the way first. I’m not going to lie to you. “Blackenstein” is one really awful picture. Now I know what you’re thinking; but yes, it is an actual movie, and I’ve actually seen it, once long ago in another time, on the bottom bill of a triple feature in a grindhouse theater, so I know it exists. But c’mon, it’s a movie called “Blackenstein” for God’s sake. How could any film like that be good?
And yet I must admit that it is bizarrely entertaining in that “so bad it’s good” kind of way. A lot of films try to fit that mold, but very few are successful. And “Blackenstein” is one of the very few that can lay legitimate claim to that exalted title.
Released in 1973, the film was an obvious rip-off of the low-budget black horror genre during the Blaxploitation era of the 1970’s, which included films like “Sugar Hill”, “Dr Black and Mr. Hyde” and the far superior “Blacula” and “Scream Blacula Scream” with William Marshall. Unfortunately “Blackenstein” suffers from a series of major problems – mainly a ridiculous premise, bad acting, a bad script, bad directing, bad photography, bad editing, laughable make up effects (but be honest now, you’ve probably seen brothers on the street who do kind of look like the monster),and bargain basement, low-rent production values. But the good news is that it’s as hysterical as you can imagine, and one has to wonder if the filmmakers were indeed trying to make a serious, scary film, or if it was meant to be one big spoof in the first place. In any case, you sure won’t be bored watching it.
The film was the creation of the film’s producer and screenwriter Frank Saletri, who was a criminal defense lawyer who decided to become a filmmaker and cash in on the then current Blaxploitation movie rage, and perhaps move on to bigger things. However, tragically, that was not the case for Saletri, since, almost a decade later, he was murdered in a “gangland-style” killing that remains unsolved.
But thankfully, for the curious, and those fascinated with the weird, the strange and inexplicable, Severin Films has announced that they will be releasing “Blackenstein” for the first time on blu-ray on May 30th, with a ton of special features, including two versions of the film: the original 78-minute theatrical release cut, and a longer 87-minute version; the featurette “Monster Kid,” an interview with writer/producer Frank R. Saletri’s sister, June Kirk; an archive news broadcast on The murder of Frank R. Saletri; producers/directors/actors Ken Osborne and Robert Dix remember Saletri; and “Bill Created Blackenstein,” an interview with creature designer Bill Munns.
Check out the trailer below and behold the terror of “Blackenstein”.
