Horror Flick of the Week: Sugar Hill (1974)

For those of you distraught at the seemingly small selection of watchable horror on Netflix instant, rejoice. I have found a movie (I'd been looking for for ages) that will tickle your fashion bone, chill your spine bone, and remind you just how good an exploitation film can be. I speak of course, of Sugar Hill.

Now I'm hoping you managed to get the plot from that quick trailer, and I'm sure you might have caught that it's rather like a combination between Dr. Phibes/Theatre of Blood/Cleopatra Jones. If you didn't, trust me...it is. What's more, I watched the movie expecting more slash and hack deaths for the bad guys than the sheer variety of epic murders delivered to me. There's of course, the voodoo, plenty of zombies (with some of the most interesting make-up I've ever seen), the massage parlor massacre, and more. It's just...god it's good.

Half the time, I was thinking about how awesome the storyline was...and how deliciously campy-cheesy it managed to be, while still maintaining quite excellent film quality for the genre. The other half of the time, I was reminded that the 70s get a horrible wrap for clothes, which really isn't justified. Just look at all the glamorous get-ups she wears in that trailer, the gorgeous hairstyles, and those INCREDIBLE LEISURE SUITS!

Well, what are you waiting for? Watch it. Watch it now! QUICKLY!