Cult Film Week: Coffy

Hey kiddies and welcome to the last day of Cult Film Week and I hope you have been having a blast as much as I have.  This time around I wanted to speak about exploitation director Jack Hill.  From his early horror movies like writing The Terror and Blood Bath of which he directed both; to the wild notion of blowing up Pam Grier back in the day over the major screens and drive-ins.  So pour me a cup, add a little sugar and some milk cause that how I take it.   This is Coffy.

Dirty Harry ain't got nothing on her...

Spoilers are murder, baby.

Right off the bat this film does not screw around and gets your right in the heart of the action.  A smack pusher and his lackey are rounding up any snowbirds that wanna get their groove on for a taste of the candy. Dig?    Coffy gets back to their rathole and is just frenzied for a fix…or is she?   After a few quick lookieloos at the goodies she feels the best to freshen up for her sugar man is with…a sawed off twelve gauge double barreled shotgun?!!  Sheesh good thing he didn’t make a weight joke cause God only knows what might have happened.  Our pusher man is now minus most of his head and his assistant don’t know nothing about nothing.  Realizing he is useless Coffy offers him the choice: take a fix and risk not getting the dose right or lose the top of his head as well.

Pam Grier is an optional extra with the Lincoln Continental. 

Now you may be asking yourselves why Coffy is so hell bent to drop these turkeys and what possessed her to be so damn angry?  Well not more than a few minutes of back story let you know that Coffy’s 11 year old sister got conned into heroin, got hooked and is going through methadone treatment at the very hospital she is a nurse at.   Yeah if that isn’t reason enough to clean up the streets hell I cannot really think of a better one.  A risky but clever enough plan is to play the wide eyed innocent girl that goes back to her targets’ pads, puts on the moves and takes the suckas out.   

 Sorry got caught up in the lingo there.  Whew, okay I’m back. Coffy’s Ex, Carter (William Elliott of They Call it Murder, Night of the Lepus, Hangup, Adam-12, and Police Story) always has her back and truly cares about her.  They head back to his place so she can take a break from the hospital when Carter unloads that his department has been bought off by the Mafioso.  Cops are taking bribes left and right and Carter is a straight edge cop that believes in the system.  Just after that bold statement two men wearing ski masks come in and start to be the living crap out of the cat and slap Coffy around as a witness.   Carter is rushed to the hospital but after that severe a beating it is unknown if Carter will ever walk again.  This of course just fuels Coffy more to continue her vigilante ways.  Her lover City Councilor Howard Brunswick (Booker Bradshaw of Star Trek, Julia, The Name of the Game, Skullduggery and The Strawberry Statement) believes in using the law to benefit the people and brother she is head over heels for this smooth cat and it is clearly illustrated in the scene after the night club get together.  

Yes for the younger viewers or parents of these younger viewers be advised LOTS OF NUDITY.  After her *ahem* rigorous evening Coffy sets her sights on a pimp named King George (Robert DoQui of The Man, Willie Dynamite, Treasure of Matecumbe, Guyana: Cult of the Damned, Insight and Robocop) who ought to have killed his costume designer.  No kidding Huggy Bear would have lost his lunch from that much orange.   George runs the ladies and heroine for the man with the plan Don Arturo Vitroni( Allan Arbus of M.A.S.H.)  Major Freedman of M.A.S.H. is running the dope racket??!!!  No, say it ain’t so baby.   From catfights, gunfights, taking down thugs and a few car chases, this film gave Pam the look of a take no prisoners bad ass. 

Either these curtains go or I do!

Kind of wished Omar (Sid Haig of The Big Bird Cage, Black Mama, White Mama, Foxy Brown, Savage Sisters, House of 1000 Corpses, and House of the Dead 2) got some more to do in this flick other than just look menacing through most of it but hey I am a Haig fan so sue me.  It’s gritty, dirty and just done like things are in down town.   Underrated and unappreciated, I had a blast watching this lady terminator go to town.