Richard Lawson – Tripping Through Gateways

Blacula was a straight forward vampire film. And it spawned a sequel. Because if Dracula can keep coming back, why can’t Blacula??!!

In this film, the embittered son of a voodoo priestess seeks revenge against the Voodoo Community names another member as her successor. He raises Blacula from the dead, who swiftly turns him into a vampire. Again they start to build a vampire army.

A police Detective, Justin Carter is trying to solve the case of mysterious deaths, which lead him to Lisa. Lisa is the woman chosen by the Voodoo Community and a former lover of Carter’s. Blacula comes to desire Lisa and also believes she may be able to cure his vampirism through voodoo.

The film has some weird points, such as the bizarrely Nice Racist trope in the sheriff. He does not hate Justin, but he is dismissive of him at times.

While the film is not quite as good as Blacula, it does have some great moments. And both Marshall and Pam Grier turn in great performances. There is one scene between Blacula and Carter where there is a cat and mouse dance. It is an effectively tense scene.

It is kind of interesting to note that this came out the same year as Ganja & Hess. They approach the vampire myth from very different perspectives. Ganja & Hess is a deep dive into addiction and is largely an arthouse horror film. Scream, Blacula, Scream is a very standard sequel that is about quick scares and blood.

Really, though, Scream, Blacula, Scream manages to be a pretty entertaining follow up to the first film.

Diana’s beloved has been murdered…seeking revenge, she reached out to Mama Maitresse who calls forth the mystical Voodoo Priest Baron Samedi. He raises an army of the undead, telling Diana to “put them to evil use…it is all the want!”

The sole feature directed by future Police Academy producer Paul Maslansky, Sugar Hill is a unique zombie film. There had been films in the past about zombies and voodoo, but this was set in America and the protagonist is a young black woman. Being a blaxploitation film, the villains are whitey.

The look of the zombies is intriguing. They have bulging silver eyes and are covered in cobwebs. Add to the fact they are former slaves, wearing shackles and chains. This makes for a really good creepy moment early as an early victims hears the rattle of the chains as he is stalked by the zombies.

The deaths get pretty inventive, such as in one scene where the zombies feed a man to pigs (the zombies in the film are more agents of retribution, rather than flesh eaters).

The racism in the film is not subtle…in one scene, the girlfriend of Langston (the main heavy) states at one point, “That ain’t class, that’s color.” This does result in some clunky dialog…mostly from Bey’s Diana. Whitey and Honky feel kind of dated. But the disgust and racism from the white characters is palpable.

Don Pedro Colley is very entertaining as the scenery chewing Baron Samedi. Richard Lawson is the slick homicide detective and Diana’s former lover Valentine. But the film really rests in the hands of Marki Bey. Attractive and driven, she is quite impactful.

A product of it’s time, Sugar Hill is a fun horror film with a good cast (I feel like Bey should have been a bigger star. In spite of some of the dialog, she has presence). This is more of a “B” movie, but in the way you want a B-Movie to be.

The Freeling family have a good life. Steve and Diane have three children. One evening they are awakened by their youngest, Carol Anne, who is talking to the TV.

As days go by they notice unusual phenomena and not just Carol Anne watching static on the television. The dog responds to something nobody can see, the son is sure the tree outside his window is alive.

After a traumatic night which results in Carol Anne being taken by the spirits she has been communicating with. When paranormal researches come in, they are floored by what they find. It is decided they need the help of an exorcist to try and get Carol Anne back.

There are two things people likely recall most vividly. Cute little Carol Anne turning to the camera to say (eerily) “They’re Heeeeere” and Zelda Rubinstein as Exorcist Tangina. Her most famous line has been quoted in many films and TV shows…”This house is clean.”

Rubinstein is memorable in both appearance and performance. A small older woman, she brings an otherworldly vibe, and at times, her purposes almost seem at odds with the Freelings.

The effects still stand up, with only a few exceptions. The most obvious being a sequence with a character clawing his face off and it is obviously a dummy head. But otherwise, the ghost effects still work very well.

There is a longstanding belief that Spielberg is the director of Poltergeist, and it appears he was on set, though so was Hooper. He was filming E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial at the same time (a movie he offered to Hooper to direct). Hooper is the only credited director, but according to at least some individuals who were there, it was primarily Spielberg. It sounds like this was not one of those situations where Hooper was being replaced, and he had some creative input. It would appear they got along fine and Hooper was providing Spielberg cover in regards to contractual rules with E.T.

Regardless of who directed it, Poltergeist is an entertaining and somewhat unique horror film with a terrific cast.

Tag: Richard Lawson

Voodoo Salvation (Scream, Blacula, Scream, 1973)

Voodoo Vengeance (Sugar Hill, 1974)

Careless in Suburbia (Poltergeist, 1982)