Sugar Hill (1974)

Review by Mari Lynne Rupp



When her boyfriend is brutally murdered, after refusing to be shaken down by the local gangsters running their protection racket, Sugar (Marki Bey) Hill, decides not to get mad, but BAD! Calling upon the help of aged voodoo queen Mama (Zara Cully) Maitresse, Sugar entreats her to call upon Baron Samedi, the Lord of the Dead, for help in gaining a gruesome revenge. In exchange for her soul, the Dark Master raises up a zombie army to do her bidding. The bad guys who thought they were getting away clean are about to find out that they're DEAD wrong.

This is a fun little popcorn movie with all the classical trappings of a 1970's blaxploitation movie set with some voodoo references and some convincing zombies for the zombie enthusiast. In my opinion,the zombi make-up makes the movie. It's like nothing else I'd ever seen, with 'brass eyes' and cobwebs working with the pale-blue skin tint. The acting from some is less than stellar, but the zombies are downright chilling, making the viewer thankful they didn't cross Miss Diane Hill.

There is some dialogue that, while edgy during its day is pretty cringeworthy, but worth it to get through to the climax of the film. It's a pretty well done grindhouse flick that would be a great double bill to any of that era, if that's your movie mood for the evening. 7/10

<