In the world of zombie-themed cinema, there is no question that George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead in 1968 pioneered a new era in Horror. What many consider the blueprint for the modern zombie film, many followed in the ‘70s, such as Bob Clark’s 1972 underrated feature Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things, Jorge Grau’s 1974 flick Let Sleeping Corpses Lie, George Romero’s 1978 classic Dawn of the Dead, and Lucio Fulci’s cult-favorite Zombi 2 from 1979. All must-watches for those who consider themselves fans of the genre, there was also the highly underappreciated Sugar Hill, which emerged in 1974 with its own unique twist.
What is considered a part of the microscopic Blaxploitation Horror genre (which gets a lot of negative flak because of such a derogatory classification), the truth is that many poignant and well-crafted films emerged during this period. You had 1972’s Blacula, 1973’s Scream Blacula Scream, as well as 1974’s Abby. With that being said, Sugar Hill took a story of revenge, added a voodoo theme to the mix, and it is very entertaining.
Directed by Paul Maslansky (who would go onto major success as the producer of the Police Academy franchise in the 1980s), Sugar Hill featured a talented cast led by Marki Bey (who had is recognized for roles on television with Charlie’s Angels and Starsky and Hutch) as Diana “Sugar” Hill, Robert Quarry (known for roles such as Count Yorga in 1970’s Count Yorga, Vampire) as ruthless mob boss named Morgan, Don Pedro Colley as the voodoo lord of the dead Baron Samedi, and Richard Lawson (an esteemed actor with a length career in film and television) as the well-meaning Lieutenant Valentine.
In this story, you have Diana “Sugar” Hill, who finds her nightclub owning boyfriend, Langston (Larry D. Johnson), slain by a group of thugs hired by greedy mob boss Morgan. With Lagnston out of the way, they assume Sugar Hill is no threat and has been frightened into submission. Instead, she proves to be a strong-willed woman who will stop at nothing to exact revenge. Turning to elder voodoo queen Mama Maitresse (Zara Cully), a grouping of zombies is resurrected to seek out and destroy each of those responsible for the murder of Langston.
Centrally a story of a strong woman who stands up to tyranny, the character of Sugar Hill is one of the earliest powerful female heroes in Horror cinema before there was Laurie Strode in 1978’s Halloween, Ellen Ripley in 1979’s Alien, or Nancy Thompson in 1984’s A Nightmare on Elm Street. Sugar Hill is calm, collected, intelligent, undeniably attractive, and vibrantly brought to life by Marki Bey.
Unfortunately, the film had a limited box office release in February 1974 and did not reach VHS until 1996. Somewhat lost in the sands of time, it was not until 2011 that MGM released it to DVD as part of a limited edition series, before Kino Lorber put it on Blu-ray in 2015. Editions that might be harder to come by now on the second-hand market, the good news is that Kino Lorber has decided to honor Sugar Hill again with a new issue on Blu-ray in 2025 as part of their Kino Cult Collection.
A very cool collection from Kino Lorber, which features a diverse mix of titles across different decades, Sugar Hill arrived as part of it on July 8, 2025. The thirty-second entry into the series, this new Blu-ray offers a very high-quality resolution of 1920 x 1080, which looks stellar, even though it is not given a 4K UHD treatment.
Beyond this, the special features mirror those of the 2015 edition (which include interviews with Don Pedro Colley, Richard Lawson, and Charles Robinson), but also feature new audio commentary from film historians. Dressed in a solid slipcase with original film art, it is a fitting way to honor a forgotten Horror gem. That is why Cryptic Rock recommends adding it to your collection, giving Kino Lorber’s 2025 Blu-ray release of Sugar Hill 4.5 out of 5 stars.
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