Sugar Hill

Blaxploitation had already given its spin on most of the popular horror movie tropes - Blacula, Blackenstein and Dr Black and Mr Hyde - so it was only natural that zombies should follow.  After all, with their connection to the voodoo religion, Haiti, African slaves and the like, it could be claimed that they were the only truly 'black' monster; a creation of the popular culture of the slave population forcibly transported to the Americas.  But, being an AIP production, Sugar Hill couldn't rip off just one genre.  Oh no, as well as being a voodoo/zombie horror film, it is also a gangster movie, as the white Italian mob find themselves facing off against the black power of voodoo.  To be honest, I'm amazed that this gangster/zombie sub-genre hasn't been explored more by exploitation film makers - it has everything, guns, murder, guys in suits and the walking dead.  Who wouldn't want to see the likes of Tony Soprano or Michael Corleone having to deal with the undead threat?

Sadly, I've never managed to track down Sugar Hill on either VHS or DVD and I don't ever recall it showing on UK television.  I'd dearly love to see it - crazy crossover genre bending movies are a guilty pleasure of mine.  That said, many reviewers who have seen it claim it to be somewhat disappointing.  However, on the basis of this trailer, it's a must see for us lovers of the obscure and bizarre.