A mix of two of my favorite genres, blaxploitation and zombie movies, Sugar Hill is a mildly entertaining trifle which unfortunately falls short of the expectations you might have of that dynamic combo. It seems to be shot like a 70s TV show, and in fact a version was re-edited for TV under the title The Zombies of Sugar Hill.
My main gripe would be that there is no gore. Every time a murder occurs, it takes place off-screen or is otherwise muted. That said, I did enjoy it for what it was, a cheesy 70s exploitation feature with some inspired casting and good/bad dialogue.
It also has a good score, with some nice foreboding spooky music, switching from keyboards for the moody parts to heavy percussion for the action bits. Features a funky-ass theme in The Originals’ “Supernatural Voodoo Woman.” Why this song didn’t become a big hit like “Shaft” or “Superfly” or even “The Payback”, I sure don’t know.
Nice cast, with The Baron (Don Pedro Colley) a big fave, with his bug eyes, demented smile and booming voice that reminded me of that lime-in-de-coconut guy. Morgan the Boss is played by Robert “Count Yorga” Quarry. “Mother Jefferson” herself is on tap as the supernatural voodoo woman, Mama Maitresse. The cop is credited to a Larry D. Johnson. And of course , no one can forget, Sugar, Marki Bey.
Sugar’s man owns a nightclub, but won’t sell to gangster Morgan, so he gets rubbed out, which is when Sugar goes to the old Voodoo woman to get some supernatural assistance. Baron Samedi (da debbil) makes a pact with her to get all of Morgan’s men with his zombies, and it’s on, brother!
There are several inventive deaths in the flick, like the attack by chicken foot. The zombies seem to acquire more and more webs as the film goes on, continuity person, where art thou? Another gangster gets his just desserts by being shoved into a coffin full of snakes. One of the best is the ho house death.
Sugar pretends to be a “masseuse” who convinces the gangster Fabulous (Night Court’s Charles Robinson!) into having a groovy group scene, then leaves the room, letting the zombies massage him. “Your hands are cold!” he says, yet still does not bother turning around until it’s waaay too late.
Meanwhile the fuzz is catching on to Sugar, so Baron Samedi sticks a pin in his voodoo doll, causing him to fall down the stairs and break his leg, taking him out of commission. Next, Sugar lures the Boss out to an old dark spooky house (everyone else is dead), leaving his moll behind the car. After looking through the house, he stumbles into a room that contains all of his former henchmen—now hideous zombies!
He jumps out a window, and runs into the forest. The gangster’s moll is attacked by zombies in the car (didn’t see that one comin’, didja?) and the Boss , trapped by zombies, runs right into a convenient patch of quicksand. The moll is given to the good Baron as payment (although he’d rather have Sugar, and can’t say as I blame him) and away they go, merrily back to hell.
And that’s it. The fact that they always cop-out on the violence detracted somewhat from my enjoyment, but still and all, I’d still rather watch this than the latest Sandra Bullock mess. Oh, and she calls the whiteys “Honk” instead of “honkie.” As in, “It’s time to die, Honk.” Weeks after I watched it, I’m still calling people Honk. Gotta like a movie that expands your vocabulary!
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