Sugar Hill (1974 film)
| Sugar Hill | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Paul Maslansky |
| Produced by | Elliot Schick |
| Written by | Tim Kelly |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Nick Zesses and Dino Fekaris |
| Cinematography | Robert Jessup |
| Edited by | Carl Kress |
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Production
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| Distributed by | American International Productions |
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Release date
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Running time
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91 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $350,000 |
Sugar Hill is a 1974 American horror blaxploitation zombie film released by AIP. It starred Marki Bey as the title character who uses voodoo to get revenge on the people responsible for her boyfriend's death. The zombies in this film more closely resemble the creatures of voodoo legend - i.e., the walking dead who do the bidding of a human master - than the flesh-eating "living dead" ghouls popularized by George A. Romero. According to the film, the zombies are the preserved bodies of slaves brought to the United States from Guinea. American International Pictures had previously combined the horror and blaxploitation genres with Blacula (1972) and its sequel, Scream Blacula Scream (1973).
The story centers on Diana "Sugar" Hill (Bey), a voodoo queen using zombies to take revenge on a group of white thugs, led by mob boss Morgan (Robert Quarry). Hill's boyfriend, nightclub owner Langston (Larry D. Johnson), had been killed by Morgan's men when he refused to sell the club. With a former practitioner named Mama Maitresse (Zara Cully), she intends on destroying the men who killed her boyfriend and now want her club. Helping her out is the voodoo lord of the dead, Baron Samedi (Don Pedro Colley).
The film, budgeted at $350,000, was shot on location in Houston at such locations as the Heights branch of the Houston Public Library (a historical landmark), used in the film as a "Voodoo Institute". Sugar Hill was the last film Quarry did for AIP, after a run that included the Count Yorga movies. Also appearing in the film was Cully, who played Mama Jefferson on the TV show The Jeffersons. Charles P. Robinson, known for his role as Mac Robinson on NBC's Night Court, portrayed the character of Fabulous. Hank Edds created the makeup effects for the zombies in the film.
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