FEATURED POSTS

10 Questions with Shane Briant

The talented British' born actor Shane Briant made his screen debut in the Hammer horror film Demons of the Mind. Since then he's gone on to appear in over 60 films and television productions including Straight On Till Morning (1972), The Picture of Dorian Gray (1973), The Mackintosh Man (1973), Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter (1974), Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974), The Naked Civil Servant (1975) and Lady Chatterley's Lover (1981). Currently Briant is focusing his attention on writing fiction and he has recently completed a psychological thriller called Worst Nightmares that will be released May 12th. I've admired his film work for many years so I was thrilled to get the opportunity to ask Shane Briant a few questions about his early movies and current writing projects. READ MORE

THIS MONTH'S FEATURED POSTS

The Girl On a Motorcycle (1968)

The talented director and cinematographer Jack Cardiff has passed away at the age of 94. As the tributes start to roll out from various news sites and film blogs its become clear to me that most people regard Jack Cardiff as a great cinematographer and have little regard or knowledge of his directing contributions, which is a shame. Cardiff was a brilliant photographer and his groundbreaking contributions to cinematography are well worth celebrating. But his impressive work as a director on films like the wonderful D.H. Lawrence adaptation Sons and Lovers (1960), the entertaining spy thriller The Liquidator (1965), the excellent erotic drama The Girl on a Motorcycle (1968) and the effective horror film The Mutations (1974) is also worthy of applause. READ MORE

THIS MONTH'S FEATURED POSTS

Favorite DVD Releases of 2008

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but overall 2008 was somewhat of a lackluster year for new Region 1 DVD releases of '60s and '70s era films when compared to the previous two years (See: 2006 and 2007). Some of my favorite DVD companies such as BCI Eclipse and most recently New Yorker Films have folded. Boutique DVD companies are releasing fewer products and what is being released is often of questionable quality. With the failing economy and the rise in popularity of Blu-ray discs, it seems like the number of new worthwhile DVD releases might continue to drop dramatically in 2009. READ MORE

THIS MONTH'S FEATURED POSTS

Resurrecting Yusaku Matsuda

Toru Murakawa's Resurrection of the Golden Wolf (aka Yomigaeru kinrô; 1979) is a wildly uneven Japanese crime film that left me wishing it had been helmed by another director. The film's script was adapted from a popular novel by Haruhiko Ooyabu and directors like Seijun Suzuki have had great success turning Ooyabu's hard-boiled fiction into films, but Toru Murakawa doesn't have Suzuki's eye for detail or his pop art sensibility. Resurrection of the Golden Wolf runs much too long and the dramatic filler weighs down the action, but even with its flaws the movie still keeps your attention thanks to the star performance of Yusaku Matsuda. READ MORE

THIS MONTH'S FEATURED POSTS

We Are Controlling Transmission

This year analog broadcasting is coming to an end. On June 12th 2009 television stations in the United States will stop broadcasting in analog and switch permanently to digital. Digital broadcasting promises to provide viewers with a sharper picture and more diverse programming options, but this unavoidable change is forcing millions of people to buy new television sets or opt for getting a converter box that will often cost them $40 or more. I feel for these people because I didn't have complete cable TV Access or a digital television myself until 2007. READ MORE

Sugar Hill (1974)

by Kimberly Lindbergs | December 18, 2007

Categories | Movie Reviews, Horror, Blaxploitation

When it comes to blaxploitation horror films, the genre doesn’t get much better than Sugar Hill (1974) and I’m happy that I finally got the opportunity to see this low-budget gem a few weeks ago. The plot of Sugar Hill is rather simple and involves a beautiful and tough fashion photographer who goes by the same of Diana ‘Sugar’ Hill (Marki Bey). Sugar wants revenge on a group of ruthless mob members who killed her man in an effort to take over a popular nightclub he owned. Unfortunately for the criminals, Sugar’s man left the nightclub to her in his will and in order to take control of the club the mob is going to have to take Sugar down first, but that won’t be easy.

You see, Sugar has decided to enlist the help of a local voodoo priestess named Mama Celesete (Zara Cully) and the god of the dead who calls himself Baron Samedi (Don Pedro Colley). Together they raise a small army of zombie hit men to help Sugar take revenge on her man’s murderers. Of course, these aren’t just any zombies. Sugar’s undead army contains the corpses of angry ex-slaves and they have their own axe to grind with the gang of criminals, who are run by a wealthy white land owner named Morgan (Robert Quarry).

Sugar Hill doesn’t contain a lot of scary moments but it definitely has a nice atmosphere at times even if it’s marred by its low-budget. And there are a couple of rather creepy and effective zombie scenes in the movie. The film does have a hell of a lot of attitude, a great voodoo inspired score and a terrific premise. It’s also creatively shot by director Paul Maslansky and cinematographer Robert C. Jessup.

As entertaining as the movie is, the real reason to watch Sugar Hill is to see Marki Bey’s truly terrific turn as Sugar. Bey delivers a powerful performance in the film that’s impossible to forget. She also gets to wear some really stunning ’70s style fashions that would make Diana Ross envious. I had seen Marki Bey in a few other roles such as Lanie in Hal Ashby’s film The Landlord (1970) and as Officer Minnie Kaplan in numerous episodes of the television series Starsky & Hutch (1977-79), but it was wonderful to watch her carry a whole film by herself. Bey really holds the movie together and she makes Sugar a sympathetic character that you can’t help but root for and want to believe in, even if she is a little bloodthirsty.

Unfortunately, Sugar Hill was one of the last films that Marki Bey ever appeared in. She seems to have stopped acting in 1979 after her recurring role in Starsky & Hutch ended, and I haven’t been able to come across any substantial information about the actress.

Sugar Hill was produced by the infamous Samuel Z. Arkoff and released by American International Pictures (AIP). It was the only film directed by Paul Maslansky, who’s much better known for the movies he produced in the seventies such as the atmospheric horror films Castle of the Living Dead (1964) and The She-Beast (1966), as well as drive-in favorites like Race with the Devil (1975), Hard Times (1975), Damnation Alley (1977) and Circle of Iron (1978). He’s also responsible for producing all the rather forgettable Police Academy movies. It’s a shame that he didn’t make more films because he clearly shows that he has some directing skills in Sugar Hill, even if the movie is a little fractured and slow moving at times.

A rather shabby looking print of Sugar Hill was released in the UK on Region 0 PAL DVD from ILC Prime, but it’s currently out of print. You can find bootleg copies of the film on eBay from time to time, but I really wish someone would restore the movie and release it in widescreen if possible. You can also still find copies of Sugar Hill on video at Amazon. It definetly deserves to be seen by a wider audience who enjoy other entertaining blaxploitation horror films like Blackula (1972) and Abby (1974).

Visit my Sugar Hill Flickr Gallery to see more images from the film.