Sugar Hill

When her boyfriend is brutally murdered, after refusing to be shaken down by the local gangsters running their protection racket, Sugar Hill (Marki Bey), decides to call upon the help of aged voodoo queen Mama Maitresse; Sugar entreats her to call upon Baron Zamedi, the Lord of the Dead, for help in gaining a gruesome revenge.

Whether or not this is a blaxploitation horror film, I have no idea. There is definitely a theme of the black heroine (a poor man's Pam Grier) taking on white crooks. And the police detective has a pretty impressive fro going on. But the line between blaxploitation and a film that just happens to have black stars is a blurry one in the 1970s...

What I do know is that this is a fun picture from Sam Arkoff and AIP. Not particularly scary and never taking itself too seriously, we get about half a dozen people attacked (one at a time) by a zombie horde. And these are real zombies -- the voodoo kind -- not those flesh-eating zombies that have taken over the horror world today.

Not the best film, not the worst, but definitely one that probably gets overlooked too often and is worth a peek for those who are into the voodoo zombies and already saw the bigger name films like "White Zombie" or "Serpent and the Rainbow". I get the impression that this film was an influence on Adam Green's "Hatchet" series, though that may just be my imagination.

Interestingly, despite being made after George Romero's "Night of the Living Dead", this film finds its roots more in the racially-inspired zombies of the 1940s and 1950s. Namely "King of the Zombies" (1941), "I Walked With a Zombie" (1943) and "Zombies of Mora Tau" (1957).

1974's "Sugar Hill" marked the end of Robert Quarry's brief horror stardom beginning with 1970's "Count Yorga Vampire" (a total of 6 features), although he worked continuously in smaller roles in lower budgeted films. In the early 70's, AIP maintained its policy of old fashioned horror, all PG titles, even after the departure of James H. Nicholson, the ideas man, leaving Samuel Z. Arkoff, the financier and distributor, alone in charge. The 2 Count Yorga films were profitable, as were the Blaculas, and other black-themed takes on familiar subjects arrived, like this one here, plucked from obscurity (like "The House on Skull Mountain") by recent showings on Turner Classic Movies. Zombies and voodoo no longer go together in this age of flesh eating Romero copies, but provide all the intrigue in a script filled with clichéd characters and dialogue. Marki Bey stars in the title role, turning to voodoo to avenge the beating death of her fiancée by the hired goons of crime boss Morgan (Quarry), complete with Southern accent and horny moll (Betty Anne Rees, a prior victim in 1972's "Deathmaster"). Betty and Marki even engage in a catfight, ala Pam Grier, a nice touch considering neither would continue acting much longer. Richard Lawson ("Scream Blacula Scream") pads out the running time in a dead end investigation that fails to stop the bloodless carnage carried out by the walking dead, ancestral slaves still in shackles, lifeless eyes covered in creepy webs. Easily the real standout is Don Pedro Colley, a far cry from his restrained performance in 1970's "Beneath the Planet of the Apes," playing the role of Baron Samedi, leader of the dead, a part essayed one year before by Geoffrey Holder in the James Bond thriller "Live and Let Die." Among the supporting cast, the lone familiar face is top henchman Charles Robinson, who appeared in ROOTS:THE NEXT GENERATIONS, before landing a co-starring role on NIGHT COURT. Director Paul M. Maslansky was no stranger to horror, having first worked with Michael Reeves and Christopher Lee on 1964's "The Castle of the Living Dead," mostly as a producer. AIP continued to have hits for the remainder of the 70's ("The Food of the Gods," "The Amityville Horror"), but never really latched on to the genre's changes escalated by "The Exorcist," and by 1980, Sam Arkoff had sold out, the company renamed Filmways, continuing to churn out hits ("Dressed to Kill"). By that time, the blaxploitation era was already long gone, waiting to be rediscovered.

Sugar Hill is an entertaining voodoo zombie flick from 1974. A club owner in New Orleans is murdered and his wife Sugar goes to a voodoo woman to conjure up Baron Samedi the voodoo revenger. Sugar and the Baron, and the Baron's zombies, go after the mafia kingpin (same guy who played Count Yorga, Vampire) and his henchmen on a bloody trail of voodoo revenge. The Baron even poses as a taxi driver to lure an unsuspecting victim to his fate. Where did Baron Samedi learn to drive a car in the kingdom of the dead? Just wondering.

I am a huge horror movie fan. I have seen a lot of zombie movies and a lot of movies like Blacula. I liked Blacula and I liked Sugar Hill also. They are both more like comedy than horror. But that is what the film makers intended I'm sure. Over-the-top craziness. There is very little gore in his movie so the makers were not going for shock value. They did a good job creating interesting and colorful characters as the protagonists and antagonists. The zombies are well-done, unique, and very creepy-looking. This movie is just a lot of fun. Recommended.

Marki Bey stars as a foxy lady, named Diana "Sugar" Hill. Her handsome prince fiancé, Langston, owns a Voodoo-themed night club in the deep south. The club is so successful, that the local mobster, Mr. Morgan, wants to pressure Langston into selling the club to him. When Langston refuses, Morgan's thugs beat Langston to death, in the parking lot of the club.

Consumed with anguish and thoughts of vengeance, Sugar decides to take matters into her own hands. She seeks out an elderly Voodoo priestess, named Mama Maitresse. Sugar explains to her, that she needs Mama's help, via her Voodoo powers. Mama Maitresse conjures up the ruler of the dead, Baron Zamedi. He then summons an army of Zombies, who were all former slaves, to help Sugar dispatch Langston's killers, one-by-one.

Marki Bey can certainly compete in the looks department, with that other 70s Blaxploitation goddess, Pam Grier. Ms. Bey is completely convincing as the grief-stricken Sugar, who is determined to settle the score with Morgan and his henchmen.

Robert Quarry's performance as the suave yet vicious Morgan, is pulled-off well. But it's not Quarry's most compelling role. He was much more charismatic, in his past performances in his Vampire films. So if you're a Robert Quarry fan, be forewarned that he doesn't shine that brightly, in this film.

Betty Anne Rees plays Morgan's racist, sex-starved girlfriend, Celeste. Betty Anne has a natural talent for portraying licentious, dangerous characters, with malicious intent. Her wicked-looking, gleaming gray eyes, make your blood run cold. Celeste is a particularly vile character, and Sugar exacts exquisitely appropriate revenge on her, in this film. Viewers will be cheering at Celeste's utter comeuppance, orchestrated by Sugar and the zombies.

Don Pedro Colley as Baron Samedi, gives an over-the-top performance. Don really chews-up the scenery, emoting like mad. You can tell that he really enjoys his role, as Baron Samedi. The other actors give mostly wooden performances. Especially Richard Lawson's portrayal of Valentine, the cop who was also Sugar's former love interest.

Like virtually all the films of the Blaxploitation genre, Sugar Hill's main thrust is revenge. Only a tiny handful of 70s Blaxploitation films, worked horror into their plot-lines. Of those, Sugar Hill stands out from the rest of the bunch. For fans of 70s Blaxploitation films, Sugar Hill delivers the goods.

"Diana 'Sugar' Hill" (Marki Bey) is in love with a man named "Langston" (Larry Don Johnson) who happens to own a nightclub in Louisiana called "Club Haiti" which the local mob boss "Morgan" (Robert Quarry) wants to buy. But Langston doesn't want to sell. So Morgan has Langston beaten to death. Seeking revenge Sugar Hill goes to the local voodoo priestess,"Mama Maitresse" (Zara Cully) who summons the evil "Lord of the Dead" named "Baron Samedi" (Don Pedro Colley). Sugar Hill offers Baron Samedi her soul if he will help her kill those responsible for the death of her boyfriend. He agrees and summons an army of zombies to do her bidding. At any rate, rather than spoil the film for those who haven't seen it, I will stop right here and go no further on the plot. I will say, however, that Marki Bey was pretty and performed quite well. Additionally, while I didn't care for the way Baron Samedi was initially presented, I began to enjoy the performance of Don Pedro Colley more as the film went on. All things considered, I thought that this was a pretty good zombie film.