October Edition #13: SUGAR HILL

Director: Paul Maslansky
Screenplay: Tim Kelly
Starring: Marki Bey, Robert Quarry, Don Pedro Colley, Zara Cully
Release Date: 1974

Let me give you the skinny on the whole deal! SUGAR HILL tells the story of a fine, foxy lady named Diana, nicknamed Sugar, who is engaged to a righteous brother named Langston Hill, owner of a happenin’ voodoo-themed nightclub called Club Haiti. Everything is going real nice for the couple until a group of thug-ass jive turkeys move in on Langston’s turf, trying to scare him into selling the club to Mr. Morgan (Quarry), a crooked businessman and a real honky. When Langston tells them to catch him on the flip side, they take things one step further, ambushing him in the parking lot and beating him to death. Desperately seeking to settle the score, Sugar turns to Mama McTress (Cully), a voodoo witch doctor who helps her summon the undead pimp-demon Baron Samedi (Colley), Lord of the Dead, and a real hep cat who volunteers his army of zombies to Diana. The dynamite duo goes on a groovy killing spree, bustin’ the heads of the mothafuckas who done killed her man, all while being tracked by Detective Valentine, her ex-boyfriend who is torn between stopping Sugar and his duty to the “Man”. She might look as sweet as sugar tastes, but Sugar Hill is about to get her bitter revenge, and don’t nobody better stand in her way! Can ya dig?

Do you like it? It's from the "Knievel Collection" of fine clothing.

"If you don't accept our offer, Mr. Hill, my associate here will beat you to death with his fancy hat."

SUGAR HILL is a stellar example of the blaxploitation/horror genre that has sadly gone mostly overlooked since it’s release, overshadowed by the more sensationally-titled BLACULA and BLACKENSTEIN. Had I known that a movie existed that combined zombies and 70’s blaxploitation, I would have looked this flick up years ago. All of the usual genre tropes are present, from the over-the-top jive talk and crazy afros to the portrayal of  all Caucasians as vile racists, but the inclusion of Haitian voodoo and zombie lore adds a nice dose of spooky fun and atmosphere to the proceedings.

Crack. It's one helluva drug!

After a crazy opening credits voodoo ritual set to the funky beat of a song called “Supernatural Voodoo Woman”, I pretty much figured out what I was in for, and was more than happy with what I got. The first few minutes are a bit slow, but as soon as Baron Samedi comes cackling onscreen with his sweet zombie brides, I was fully onboard with this ridiculous blast of 70’s trash. With top hat and cane in hand, the Baron is a straight-up pimp from beyond the grave and is easily the best part of the flick. In a way he acts as this movie’s Freddy Krueger, all toothy grins and wisecracks, toying with his victims, and showing up in various disguises throughout the movie’s running time. Whether he's a cab driver, a bartender, or a construction worker, his appearance is always an indicator that some seriously freaky shit is about to go down.

Freaky shit, goin' down.

The zombie army is actually made up of the shackled corpses of slaves buried in the swamps a century ago, and are simultaneously very creepy and very silly. There is a great resurrection scene in the swampy graveyard that goes on for a ridiculously long time, but I was fine with that as the scene evoked a palpably spooky atmosphere that ranks up there with the best horror pictures released by American International Pictures at the time. Draped in dirt, cobwebs, and with massive silver eyes popping out of their skulls, the zombie horde in this flick is both old-fashioned and eerily disquieting.

Apparently badass afros were a thing even amongst 19th century slaves.

Much like the DR. PHIBES films, which were also produced by AIP, this is split up into a series of vignettes in which Sugar, decked out in a sweet white jumpsuit, confronts each of the gangsters individually and wreaks bloody vengeance in a variety of gruesome fashions, including total dismemberment by multiple machetes, being fed to a horde of starving pigs, live burial with poisonous snakes, an unsettling undead massage/strangulation, and the usual manipulation via voodoo dolls. It’s all delightfully grisly, and all in good fun. Speaking of fun, there’s an amazing interracial catfight between Sugar and Morgan’s racist mistress that has absolutely no bearing on the plot, but probably should have been allowed to go on a good five minutes longer, or at least long enough for a boob to pop out. The script is also full of wonderful logical fallacies, such as the scene where Detective Valentine seeks out help at the local Voodoo Museum and Research Library, cause y’know, every city has one of those, right?

If the zombies are all the corpses of slaves, what the hell's up with the random white guy on the left?

This movie is dumb as hell and a shit ton of fun. Made at a time when the PC police had not yet completely marginalized and sugar-coated mainstream movies, it was refreshing to hear all of the wholly offensive dialogue, specifically the plethora of “N”-bombs, honky’s, peckerwoods, and other racial slurs that are dropped wholesale throughout this flick’s running time. That’s okay though, because by the time the end credits roll everyone who has engaged in such ignorant abuse of the English language has gotten their just desserts in true EC comics fashion.  Just take into consideration that this was simply a different time, and movies like SUGAR HILL serve as a nice time capsule of an era that, while not at all realistic, certainly makes for some groovy entertainment.

My Rating:
7.5/10