Curse of the Voodoo

Rating:
Summary: Rod Allison
Review: A British hunter (Bryant Haliday) is on an African safari, when a less skilled hunting mate wounds a lion which then runs into the territory of a tribe that worships lions as a god. The hunter (Haliday) and his local African partner reluctantly chase down and kill the wounded lion.

The tribe puts a curse on him which follows him back to London, causing deteriorating health and hallucinations. He sees tribesmen - some in Western attire, some in loin cloths with spears - lurking around him in London. He can't convince anyone other than his estranged wife that it isn't due to insanity or his excesssive drinking. His African partner is held captive by the tribe and tormented.

Eventually, when his wife learns that the only way to break the curse is to return to Africa and kill the one who put it on him, he goes back to try to break the curse and rescue his partner.

Haliday puts in a strong performance as the anti-hero hunter, and the dark, psychological story has a lot of bite. Some viewers (and reviewers) are obviously put off by what they consider negative depictions of Arficans. Hollywood's current code of political correctness would never allow some of a film's African characters to be shown as superstitious, primitive, or the "bad guys," as this picture does.

To the contrary, I felt the picture reflected its creator's honest and informed assement of Africa, and the disregard for political correctness was not only refreshing, but a display of candor and open mindedness when compared to today's films.

Rating:
Summary: Poor quality thriller
Review: Also known as The Curse of Simba (no joke) and Lion Man, the Curse of the Voodoo is ridiculously worthless dreck that wouldn't scare my grandmother. While in Africa, big-game hunter Mike Stacey nabs himself a lion only to discover that a local tribe worships them as gods who immediately - yep, you guessed it - curse Stacey but good. (Isn't that always the way?) Anywho, it's not long before the creepy "going's on" begin, the only problem being that none of them are actually creepy. Apparently the tribal folk have cursed our hero with the flu or some such ailment, as he spends a large part of the movie wracked with feverish sweats. (If only it were dysentery). Pure nonsense and obviously not produced by Hammer, the studio responsible for the best of sixties British, fright-fests. The ignorant and arguably racist treatment of the African natives is particularly ugly. Avoid this flick at all costs, or you'll suffer the dreaded Curse of the Boredom.

Rating:
Summary: Poor quality thriller
Review: Also known as The Curse of Simba (no joke) and Lion Man, the Curse of the Voodoo is ridiculously worthless dreck that wouldn't scare my grandmother. While in Africa, big-game hunter Mike Stacey nabs himself a lion only to discover that a local tribe worships them as gods who immediately - yep, you guessed it - curse Stacey but good. (Isn't that always the way?) Anywho, it's not long before the creepy "going's on" begin, the only problem being that none of them are actually creepy. Apparently the tribal folk have cursed our hero with the flu or some such ailment, as he spends a large part of the movie wracked with feverish sweats. (If only it were dysentery). Pure nonsense and obviously not produced by Hammer, the studio responsible for the best of sixties British, fright-fests. The ignorant and arguably racist treatment of the African natives is particularly ugly. Avoid this flick at all costs, or you'll suffer the dreaded Curse of the Boredom.

Rating:
Summary: Rod Allison
Review: If you sit through this b/w British horror film about a stupid voodoo curse all the way to the end, you must be a horror completist. It's absolutely worthless junk without even any camp value. If you can't fall asleep, slip this disc in and you'll be out in no time.

Rating:
Summary: For Those Sleepless Nights
Review: If you sit through this b/w British horror film about a stupid voodoo curse all the way to the end, you must be a horror completist. It's absolutely worthless junk without even any camp value. If you can't fall asleep, slip this disc in and you'll be out in no time.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent. Classic British Horror
Review: This is a very well made film. Beautiful black & white photography, good story, and finely acted. I really don't understand how someone could not like this film, unless they've been raised on the action-filled, special-effects laden schlock that comes out of Hollywood these days. I found nothing objectionable in the depiction of the natives, I found it no different from the depictions of other primitive cultures in films of the era. In short, as good or better than most of the Hammer films.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent. Classic British Horror
Review: This is a very well made film. Beautiful black & white photography, good story, and finely acted. I really don't understand how someone could not like this film, unless they've been raised on the action-filled, special-effects laden schlock that comes out of Hollywood these days. I found nothing objectionable in the depiction of the natives, I found it no different from the depictions of other primitive cultures in films of the era. In short, as good or better than most of the Hammer films.