Curse of the Voodoo

Bryant Haliday is a world-weary professional hunter who kills a lion partially wounded by a member of his party. The rest of the film follows the effects of the curse put on him by the local tribe who worship lions. There is no voodoo as such and they should have kept to the original titles, The Lion Men, or Curse of Simba, but no doubt Mr Gordon reasoned these weren't strong enough for exploitation purposes. The tribesmen, presented as savages, do respect the lions which is more than the idiots today who pay huge sums of money to hunt these magnificent animals down. Somehow big-game hunting of the past doesn't seem so bad though.

The film moves at a leisurely pace when back in England and the attempts to emulate Lewton don't really come off. The original version under review runs for 82 minutes and it's understandable that some of the later footage of Haliday's inner torment was cut. Dennis Price is good but has to little to do and Beryl Cunningham's exotic dancing is certainly captivating. Brian Fahey provides a driving score even if it's used inappropriately in places.

One of my sci-fi/horror/fantasy reviews written 50 years ago: Directed by Lindsay Shonteff. Produced by RIchard Gordon. Original British title: Curse of Simba. Released in America by Allied Artists. Screenplay by Brian Clemens; Photography by Gerald Gibbs; Edited by Barrie Vince; Music by Brian Fahey. Starring: Bryant Halliday, Dennis Price, Lisa Daniely, Mary Kerridge, Ronald Leigh Hunt, Jean Lodge, Louis Mahoney, Valli Newby, Beryl Cunningham and Mike Nightingale.

Voodoo curse torments a white hunter who killed a lion in an area of lion-worshiping natives. It dominates his life back in London until he returns to Africa to kill his curser. Fine music, female pulchritude and excellent, suspenseful photography help punch up the weak story. An English forest is used to simulate the African bush, giving these scenes a most unroutine look in comparison to the stock safari saga. Lack of chills or supernatural atmosphere causes the film to be far inferior to Shonteff's memorable next effort: "The Devil Doll".

I was expecting a good horror film with Dennis Price.Instead it was a disappointing low budget drama with Dennis Price appearing from time to time,looking absolutely dreadful.An unknown leading man is of no assistance.

Curse of the Voodoo (AKA Voodoo Blood Death) stars Bryant Haliday as hard-drinking big-game hunter Mike Stacey, who kills a lion in Simbaza territory, thus incurring a curse that slowly causes him to go mad. The only way for Mike to break the curse is to kill the man who placed it on him.

Having set up the basic premise, this dull film does very little of interest, with Mike - having returned to London - spending most of his time half-cut or hallucinating, while his estranged wife Janet (Lisa Daniely) looks concerned. Mike sees scary Simbaza tribesmen lurking around every corner, and is even chased across Hampstead Heath by a couple of them, but Lindsay Shonteff's lacklustre direction achieves very little in the way of suspense or excitement.

To pad out the run-time, we get a prolonged dance routine in a nightclub, Beryl Cunningham gyrating enthusiastically to some jungle rhythms, and we get to see Mike's doctor (Ronald Leigh-Hunt) meticulously arranging his medical bag, which kills some more time. There's also a spot of gratuitous skin from gorgeous Valli Newby as a lonely young woman who invites Mike back to her flat for some no-strings-attached nookie (however, while the lovely lady strips down to her undies, Mike passes out on her bed - the drunken fool!).

The pace is slow, and the script is dull. Dennis Price appears from time to time as Stacey's pal Major Lomas, adding some class to proceedings, but the film is largely a waste of time, with our thoroughly unlikable lion-killing 'hero' turning to murder to free himself of his curse.

3.5/10, rounded up to 4 for IMDb.

I got the chance to purchase this movie at a very reasonable price several years ago. I knew little of the film, except that it was an old black and white British thriller from 1964, I had never seen it. This one just didn't show up on the Saturday night "Creature Features" that I loved as a kid growing up in the late 60's and early 70's. Now I was expecting a short semi-cheesy exploitation Horror film, perhaps similar to "The Woman Eater", a British black and white quickie about a living tree discovered by a mad scientist on an expedition who brings it back home to his laboratory where he "feeds" it female victims. I was way wrong in my expectations, and I wasn't aware at first that this was the same director (Lindsay Shonteff) who brought us the very eerie "Devil Doll" film. So at first I was very disappointed that this wasn't really a Horror movie at all. I watched it and then put it back on the shelf for a couple of years. Something made me pull it down and watch it again. THEN I "got" it. This isn't supposed to be a Horror movie at all, despite the title. The closest thing i can compare this to is perhaps an extended episode of the original "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" or the "Alfred Hitchcock Hour" TV shows. Now I love those shows. And if someone had prepared me that this film was like that I would have gone into it with proper expectations set. And i'm sure I would have enjoyed it the first time around. One can watch this wondering if the things that our protagonist thinks he's seeing and hearing are really a result of the curse placed on him in Africa or perhaps the hallucinations of a fevered, sickly mind, since he is also ill after his African travels. At least that's how I perceived at least the middle section of this movie, and I like films that can work on more than one level. Like I said, if only someone had prepared me for the type of film this was, chances are I would have gone into it with proper expectations and would have dug it the very first time. If however, you are looking for something more in the Horror genre, from this same time period, this director's "Devil Doll" is much more of a true Horror film (also featuring Bryant Haliday the same main actor featured here). That film has some incredibly eerie moments that, at times, come near to an almost "Carnival Of Souls" vibe. So if this isn't your cup of tea you may still want to check that one out. I'll give this one a solid 7 stars, but considering that the early reviewer of this film had different expectations and gave it such low ratings as a result, i'll raise it 8 stars.