Blaxploitation takes a trip to the voodoo bayou for this campy yarn. The story centers on a grieving woman named Diana “Sugar” Hill who enlists zombies to get revenge on the mobsters who killed her man. She doesn’t know anything about voodoo herself, so relies on a creaky old voodoo priestess to summon a lord of the underworld, who in turn commands his army of the undead like Thriller extras rising from the graveyard. Despite the dark themes, it’s all in good, PG-rated fun, with everyone having a grand old time with the ridiculous premise.
Buy Sugar Hill Blu-rayThe story develops as expected, including pit stops for a great cat fight between Sugar and a racist white lady, racist mobsters getting their comeuppance, and funny effects such as a reanimated chicken leg attacking someone and silver-painted ping pong balls for zombie eyes. The groovy opening song is appropriately titled “Supernatural Voodoo Woman” by The Originals, a real earworm. We’ve covered this film before, way back when it dropped on DVD, and it remains a cheesy delight.
If Maslansky’s name seems familiar to you, you’ve watched too many Police Academy movies. He’s most famous for producing that entire series, while this film represents his sole directorial credit. Considering how little preparation went into the film, it’s surprisingly cohesive, with Maslansky adeptly pacing the ridiculous story. His cast is game, with the Vanessa Williams-esque Marki Bey classing up the joint; voodoo baddie Don Pedro Colley devouring the scenes with extreme camp, a clear inspiration for Dr. Facilier in The Princess and the Frog; and Lawson along for the ride as a principled detective. Fun trivia: Lawson spent most of the last decade as Beyoncé’s stepdad, and is also father to actress Bianca Lawson, who got an early break as Kendra the Vampire Slayer in Buffy, keeping undead battlin’ in the family.
The Blu-ray is stacked with bonus features, although they all appear to be sourced from the 2015 release. In addition to an audio commentary track by Maslansky and a separate commentary track by a group of film historians, the disc features expansive individual interviews with Maslansky, Colley, Lawson, and Robinson. Maslansky’s is the most illuminating as he discusses the genesis of the project, which largely amounted to the studio chief giving him a vague concept, some cash, and a three-week shooting schedule. No restoration notes are included, and it’s likely the same scan as the original Blu-ray release, but the picture quality is more than up to par with virtually no flaws, while the DTS sound is crisp and clear.
