Review: Sugar Hill (1974)

“I just don’t want anything happening to my man.”–“Sugar” Hill

“Nothin’ gonna happen. Nothin’ gonna happen, Sugar.”–Langston

With this kind of dialogue occurring moments after a stirring rendition of “Supernatural Voodoo Woman”, you know that something is damn well going to happen!

After thugs representing a criminal named Morgan (Robert Quarry, Count Yorga, Vampire) threaten Langston (Larry Don Johnson), then attack him outside of his nightclub–all of the thugs wearing stockings on their faces yet otherwise totally recognizable from moments before I might add–they leave him dead in the parking lot. Langston’s girlfriend, Diana “Sugar” Hill (Marki Bey), vows revenge on Morgan and his gang by seeking out some good old fashioned voodoo justice courtesy of friends Mama Maitresse (Zara Cully, The Jeffersons) and Baron Samedi (Don Pedro Colley, Beneath the Planet of the Apes).

If you can’t figure out what happens next, you’re just not ready for Sugar Hill!

There’s no way in hell a movie like Sugar Hill would fly today, unless it was done as a parody similar to I’m Gonna Git You Sucka or Hollywood Shuffle. It’s purely a product of the seventies when you couldn’t swing a dead cat without hitting some sort of weird exploitation film (with Sugar Hill firmly falling under the subgenre of “Blaxpoitation“). The movie has rampant use of unflattering dialogue and scenes that are demeaning, particularly to African-Americans. However, Sugar Hill is also primarily targeted to that audience mostly because it’s meant to be a revenge film against the ruthless, powerful white men who constantly underestimate and undermine the black characters. Morgan and his gang are despicable people who more than deserve their comeuppance and are systematically dispatched by pretty imaginative methods thanks to the long dead Haitian zombies.

For as silly as it is, Sugar Hill isn’t without its charms. Don Pedro Colley is gloriously over the top as voodoo priest Baron Samedi and easily the best thing about the film. It’s also nice to see the movie hearken back to the original use of a zombie army where they are used more as mindless dead walkers under someone’s control rather than flesh eating ghouls made popular by 1968’s Night of the Living Dead.

Would I recommend Sugar Hill? Absolutely! I’ve always been a fan of films of the seventies, regardless of the genre, and Sugar Hill would work as part of an entertaining double feature alongside another campy zombie film like Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things or, even better, paired with the fantastic Blacula. It’s by no means a great film but I believe almost every movie can be enjoyed if you take it at face value. Sugar Hill isn’t meant to be a meaningful work of art, just a rollicking good piece of exploitation that can help you pass the time while putting a smile on your face.

Sugar Hill is available on DVD from Amazon.

Sugar Hill grade: C

My 31 Days of Halloween Retrospective

Each year, I always promised myself that I’d watch a horror movie a day and was never able to get around to it. (I’ve gotten to the age where my goals aren’t as lofty anymore, apparently.) Due to time constraints and other circumstances, the whole plan always fell apart and usually early on in the month (which was nice because then I didn’t have to watch everything go down the drain later on).

This year, I was finally able to complete my task. Not only was I able to watch one a day, but nearly all of them were films I had never seen before–the one lone exception was The Legend of Hell House, something I’d seen years ago, but had never viewed on Blu-Ray with additional special features.

Anyway, here’s the complete list of every film seen and reviewed (the grades I gave each are within the posting at the end of the review). They span nearly 100 years, from 1921 all the way up to 2014. Hopefully, there are a few that will catch your eye and that you’ll enjoy (or despise) as much as I did. Thanks to all of you who read and commented the past month. Who knows, maybe I’ll do it again next year.

Dead Snow (2009)

The Legend of Hell House (1973)

The Sacrament (2013)

The Stepford Wives (1975)

What Ever Happened To Baby Jane? (1962)

White Zombie (1932)

Dementia 13 (1963)

Zombie Strippers (2008)

Tentacles (1977)

Screamtime (1984)

Hatchet For The Honeymoon (1970)

Happy Birthday To Me (1981)

Blue Sunshine (1978)

The Haunted Dollhouse (aka DevilDolls) (2012)

Stake Land (2010)

The Phantom Carriage (1921)

The Hearse (1980)

Death Bed- The Bed That Eats (1977)

World War Z (2013)

Doc of the Dead (2014)

Mr. Sardonicus (1961)

Blacula (1972)

In The Mouth of Madness (1995)

The Psychopath (1966)

13 Sins (2014)

House of the Long Shadows (1983)

Spider Baby or, The Maddest Story Ever Told (1967)

All The Boys Love Mandy Lane (2006)

Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979)

Scarecrows (1988)

Torture Garden (1967)

 

Review: Blacula (1972)

I’m not even going to beat around the bush. Blacula is awesome on so many levels that I can’t believe it’s taken me 42 years to see it.

I tried so hard to wait for the upcoming Scream Factory Blu-Ray release of Blacula and Scream, Blacula, Scream but the street date isn’t until sometime in February so I relied upon my backup recorded from TCM.

The story’s pretty basic. In the late 18th century, Prince Mamuwalde (William H. Marshall) seeks Dracula’s help in stopping the slave trade. Dracula turns him into a vampire (hence the name Blacula) and imprisons Mamuwalde’s wife in the room to die as she looks upon his coffin.

Two hundred years later, interior designers purchase items from Dracula’s castle and ship them to Los Angeles. One of those items is the coffin containing Blacula, who, once released, begins to leave a trail of bodies and turned vampires in his wake as he woos Tina (Vonetta McGee), a dead ringer for Mamuwalde’s wife.

Again, the vampire story’s pretty standard. But the execution? A thing of joy.

Blacula wastes no time in telling its tale. Almost immediately, and without suspicion, Dr. Gordon Thomas (Thalmus Rasulala, who played the dad in several episodes of What’s Happening?) knows something’s amiss and it doesn’t take him much longer to pin the blame on vampire attacks. Tina becomes enamored of Blacula rather quickly, even after he blatantly lays out who he is and she doesn’t bat an eye. Finally, there’s the pursuit of Blacula by Thomas and the authorities (also in a hurry to jump on the vampire bandwagon) that includes a multi-vampire attack in a warehouse where a random open box filled with kerosene lamps provides an array of handy available weapons.

Underneath it all, Blacula is really a love story with Mamuwalde’s pursuit of Tina acting as the main spine of the story. The vampire aspect of the story is just gravy, but a tasty one at that. In fact, modern day stories of the undead could use a lesson about pacing from Blacula. Get in and get out. There’s no need to linger.

While watching Blacula, I couldn’t help thinking of The Strain, the FX series I reviewed this past summer. In it, several of the main characters (including Eph, the one we’re supposed to identify most with) just can’t seem to wrap their heads around the fact that people are being transformed into vampires by a virus. It takes them forever to catch on to anything and, as a result, the show sometimes seems sluggish. Not so with Blacula–they know that vampires walk and will do anything to stop them.

Blacula arrived near the beginning of the 70s “blaxpoitation” craze and is completely a product of that era. There are slick talking guys, one with the name of Skillet (Ji-Tu Cumbuka, who I remember fondly from a very short lived 1979 series entitled A Man Called Sloane where he played Torque) that provide comic relief. Afros? Check, especially on Tina’s sister, Michelle (Denise Nicholas, Room 222). What about an appearance from a musical act on the film’s soundtrack that lasts much longer than it should? Yes–the Hues Corporation, best known for their #1 1974 hit “Rock The Boat”, are here as well performing two of their songs.

Blacula has it all. There’s nothing you won’t love about the film and I highly recommend purchasing the Blu-Ray upon its release in February. Scream Factory usually includes some cool extras on it, but even if the disc is sparse, the film’s content alone is worth the price!

Blacula grade: A