Voodoo Zombie Blaxploitation

Last night, the people (or person) behind the Grindhouse Film Festival series screened the relatively unknown blaxploitation-horror gem, Sugar Hill. Not being too well-versed in blaxploitation (just like most of Portland, it would seem, given how surprised Halstead was at the crowd that showed up), this movie was unknown to me. I'm aware of some of the other entries in the hybrid genre -- Blacula, Scream Blacula Scream, Dr Black and Mr Hyde -- but again, I've never seen any of them. But much like the kung-fu films I spent years blissfully ignoring during my years of near-constant VHS scouring, opting instead to make my way through the horror section of all the video rental stores in my area -- the Grindhouse series has been slowly exposing me to some great blaxploitation films; Sugar Hill being no exception.

Like so many films of that era, and especially those that fall under the "grindhouse" banner, Sugar Hill is not without its flaws -- in acting, in the plot, in its own logic; but also like so many of those grindhouse films, that's where a lot of the film's charm comes from. It's schlocky, it's silly, it's pandering, it's kinda stupid, but it's also entertaining and fun.

If you're a fan of some of the other genres that fall under the collective grindhouse umbrella, then I do recommend this one to you. Yes -- it falls short in some areas, but the voodoo approach to the (stale, even then) zombie movie is a nice change of pace.
If you're not a fan, you can probably skip this one. Overall, it's pretty basic fare.