6.6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
When her boyfriend is brutally murdered, after refusing to be shaken down by the local gangsters running their protection racket, Sugar Hill, decides not to get mad, but BAD! Calling upon the help of aged voodoo queen Mama Maitresse, Sugar entreats her to call upon Baron Zamedi, the Lord of the Dead, for help in gaining a gruesome revenge. In exchange for her soul, the Dark Master raises up a zombie army to do her bidding. The bad guys who thought they were getting away clean are about to find out that they're DEAD wrong.
Starring: Marki Bey, Robert Quarry, Don Pedro Colley, Betty Anne Rees, Richard LawsonHorror | 100% |
Crime | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.84:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
None
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 4.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Paul Maslansky is perhaps best known for producing the “Police Academy” franchise, helping to guide the series through numerous film and television incarnations, keeping the slapstick alive even to this day, with threats of a remake popping up on a yearly basis. He only directed one movie during a lengthy career, the 1974 blacksploitation effort, “Sugar Hill,” challenging his early years producing Euro horror pictures to help create one of few black-centric zombie features. As a novelty, “Sugar Hill” is acceptable, highlighting strange happenings with silver-eyed undead soldiers under the command of a woman seeking revenge for the death of her boyfriend. As an endeavor with dramatic purpose, the effort lacks gusto, with concentration on ghoulish murders pulling attention away from pace and excitement.
The AVC encoded image (1.84:1 aspect ratio) presentation delivers a semi-troubling viewing experience, with chunky grain and little HD clarity. Glamour cinematography is used extensively for Bey, offering inherent softness that stands out against sharper visuals concerning co-stars and horror happenings. Detail isn't up to snuff, but the exploration of sweaty, creased faces and decorated sets provides select highlights, and outdoor excursions into the deep woods are passable. Color is secure but unremarkable, eased along by period costuming, which delivers comfortable blues and reds, while the silver of the zombie eyes registers accurately. Delineation is satisfactory with only a few darker moments that threaten frame information. Speckling and minor scratches are detected.
The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix delivers what "Sugar Hill" needs to set the mood, leading with a soundtrack cut that provides agreeable weight and depth, launching the listening experience on the right note. Dialogue exchanges are clean, only hampered by original recording limitations. Violent surges are handled well, never shredding extremes with loud reactions and gunplay (which sounds a little funny). Atmospherics are pronounced, retaining their artificiality. Hiss isn't a concern.
"Sugar Hill" takes a slightly different path than most blacksploitation efforts, using more genre elements than basic cinematic confidence, but pieces remain in place, including hateful white people and black rage, giving the picture marketable elements. It has a personality and an interest in gruesome incidents, providing the viewer some bang for the buck when it comes to the zombie awakening. However, there isn't enough consistency to fuel the feature for its entire run time, and the fatigue shows. "Sugar Hill" is at its best in select moments, especially anything that emphasizes the unique visual of Diana in general mode, siccing her undead goons on enforcers who deserve their painful fates.
2013
2019
2019
1987
Also Includes = I Eat Your Skin and Blue Sextet
1970
1996
Screamers / L'isola degli uomini pesce / Something Waits in the Dark
1979
1986
2001
1990
Uncut
2006
Warner Archive Collection
1936
2022
Collector's Edition
2019
1955
2011
Soul Vengeance
1975
1968
1973
Buio Omega
1979