After watching Tales From The Hood, my Netflix Instant Queue suggested a number of "blaxploitation" movies with a horror theme, including Scream, Blacula, Scream. Were the original Blacula available, I would have gone for it. I have always been curious about those two movies, but I didn't want to start with a sequel.
Instead, I picked another IQ suggestion: 1974's Sugar Hill. The tag line sold me - "Meet Sugar Hill and her Zombie Hit Men." Yes, please.
Diana "Sugar" Hill (so named by her boyfriend because she "looks as sweet as sugar tastes") is deeply in love with Langston, the owner of Club Haiti. Langston gets beaten to death by Fabulous (played by Mac from Night Court) and his fellow henchmen for refusing to sell the club to their boss, Mr. Morgan. What's a grieving woman to do?
Baron "The Mailman" Samedi
Seek the help of voodoo priestess Mama Maitresse and Baron Samedi, the Lord Of The Dead, that's what. Baron Samedi, who looks a little like Karl Malone, is more than happy to help Sugar kill the men who killed Langston by raising an army of zombies to do Sugar's bidding. The price for the Baron's help? Well, it ain't Sugar's soul he wants.
These zombies aren't the flesh-eating/brain-eating kind of zombie. Instead, they are the drum-playing, machete-swinging, feed-you-to-the-pigs, voodoo kind of zombie. And they look awesome, with their silvery reflective eyes and their dusty, cobweb-covered bodies.
These zombies have had their eyes "shined" like Riddick from Pitch Black.
Sugar Hill is a fun revenge flick with a veneer of voodoo culture and a 70s grindhouse vibe. It would make a great double feature with J.D.'s Revenge, in which a 70s law student is possessed by the spirit of a murdered 40s pimp bent on revenge. Check them out if you're looking to broaden your horror horizons. I love you, Instant Queue!
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