Coffy (1973) – Grindhouse Double Bill

Part of a Grindhouse Double Bill: Kill, Baby… Kill (1966) at 6:30pm, followed by Coffy (1973) at 8:15pm! Tickets only $16 (Buy Tickets Online).

The final event in the May Series Psychotronic Cinema, or “This movie’s a bit strange, isn’t it?”, presented by The Cinema Society of Kingston and hosted by writer/collector Barry Yuen. You can view the poster exhibit, Your Guide to Psychotronic Cinema in our upper lobby.

From series host, Barry Yuen: Pam Grier become a cult film star by appearing in various “Blaxploitation” films, always playing strong women who fought back against villainous characters. In COFFY, Pam plays a nurse who turns vigilante when her little sister becomes addicted to drugs. Coffy takes revenge on drug dealers and pimps in the city. The opening scene is quite startling, showing Coffy blast a drug dealer right in the face with a shotgun. Looking back, Grier said “My movies featured women claiming the right to fight back, which previously had been out of the question.” This seems pretty accurate for 1973. And Coffy does fight back heroically. Along with firepower, she uses her wits, her sexuality, and a ton of nerve as she eliminates drug pushers, pimps and crooked cops and politicians. At the end, it’s left unknown whether she will face any consequences. It’s not exactly a happy ending, but it spares us having a downer ending where she goes to prison. After the 70’s Grier seemed to disappear until Quentin Tarantino brought her back for his movie JACKIE BROWN (1997), but surprisingly, he didn’t give her anything to do that was half as outrageous as what she does in COFFY or FOXY BROWN.