Ryan Coogler’s Sinners has reintroduced Black vampires to contemporary audiences, but the genre’s lineage reaches back into the Blaxploitation era — most famously with 1972’s Blacula. In that film, William Marshall refused to play a one-note caricature and instead gave his character, Mamuwalde, dignity and a tragic 18th-century origin that rewired the role from stereotype to sovereign presence.
Three decades later, Eddie Murphy followed that lineage in Wes Craven’s genre-bending Vampire in Brooklyn. Murphy’s Maximillian is written as a scion of Dracula whose family flees through Egypt and the Bermuda Triangle to survive persecution. The film proves that Black vampire stories can be at once comedic, unnerving, and thoughtful — a hybrid that honors earlier entries while staking its own claim in the subgenre.
The film premiered on October 27, 1995, and remains a seasonal favorite for viewers seeking laughs with their chills. ([justwatch.com](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/wes-cravens-vampire-in-brooklyn?utm_source=openai))
In the film’s opening, Maximillian arrives in New York aboard a derelict ship whose dead crew evokes classic seafaring horror. Ship inspector Silas Green (John Witherspoon) and his nephew Julius Jones (Kadeem Hardison) discover the vessel, and the movie quickly leans into a B-movie-meets-Blaxploitation sensibility: a wolflike transformation, punchy funk cues, and playful genre references collide to establish a tone that alternates between fright and farce.
Photo: Paramount PicturesAfter helming the last Nightmare on Elm Street film, Craven sought to expand beyond pure horror and experiment with tonal fusion (his follow-up, Scream, would continue that exploration). At the same time, Murphy wanted to play against type — submerging his comic instincts in a role that leaned on Dracula mythos rather than pure slapstick. That creative tension explains the film’s expository first act and uneven pacing; once the pieces click, the movie’s strengths — cast chemistry, set-piece invention, and a willingness to swing between scares and laughs — become clear.
Angela Bassett anchors the film as Detective Rita Veder, bringing gravitas to a character caught between duty and temptation. Her rapport with Allen Payne’s Detective Justice gives the story a procedural backbone, while Murphy’s comic instincts find a foil in Kadeem Hardison’s Julius — their partnership veers into Abbott-and-Costello territory as Julius slowly succumbs to his role as Maximillian’s thrall.
Image: Paramount PicturesWhen Rita and Maximillian finally collide, the film tightens: seduction and menace rise in equal measure as Maximillian systematically dismantles her life — murdering a roommate, isolating her from allies, and even disguising himself to erode her faith. The narrative tilts Gothic in its final act, resolving with temptation, transformation, and a post-credits tease that hinted at a sequel that never came.
Though the movie underperformed on release and earned mixed reviews, it has since been reassessed by many viewers as a cult curiosity with memorable performances and bold tonal choices. Today, the film streams on multiple platforms — including Paramount+ and Hulu — and appears across aggregators and free services depending on region and licensing windows. ([paramountplus.com](https://www.paramountplus.com/movies/video/cOgWGCC6zEvgHA8hTs8iPQknReoR4BwH/?utm_source=openai))
Whether you approach Vampire in Brooklyn for nostalgia, for Murphy’s shape-shifting charm, or for Craven’s genre playbook, it remains an intriguing and singular entry in the Black horror canon: ambitious, uneven, and frequently unforgettable.
Source: Polygon
