(Streamed via Raygun)
Director Lindsay Shonteff and his Devil Doll star Bryant Haliday reteamed for this effective voodoo thriller. Haliday plays a smarmy great white hunter who kills a lion on sacred ground in Africa. Since the local tribe worship lions as gods, they put a voodoo curse on him. Once Haliday is back in London, he tries to reconnect with his estranged wife (Lisa Daniely). It is not a happy reunion, however, as he is haunted by the witch doctor’s fiendish curse wherever he goes.
Shonteff delivers a couple of solid sequences, namely the big game hunting scene which is accompanied by an almost humorously bombastic score. Other memorable scenes involve Haliday going out for a midnight stroll and being menaced by the sound of a snarling lion, and when he is pursued by the apparition of the witch doctor on the streets of London. The best scene is the terrific African dance sequence set in a London nightclub where a black dancer does what can only be described as the ‘60s version of twerking. I would like to think the reason this scene goes on for so long was because Shonteff was trying to juxtapose the native dancing of Africa with the more modern dance of swinging London in the ‘60s. More than likely, he just wanted to get lots of footage of the dancer shaking her moneymaker for all its worth.
With his pale, pockmarked face and devilish demeanor, Haliday is ideally cast as the big game hunter getting his just desserts. He’s just as good at being an asshole in Africa as he is being haunted by specters in London. Dennis Price also lends fine support as Haliday’s hunting buddy.
What sets Curse of the Voodoo apart from typical voodoo-themed horror flicks is that much of the horror is psychological. Yes, Haliday’s visions stem from the witch doctor’s curse, but they can also be seen as a metaphor for his alcoholism (many characters chalk up his increasingly erratic behavior to his drinking) and/or guilt. Although the pacing sort of sags here and there (especially once Haliday lapses into a comatose state) and the final confrontation is a tad underwhelming, this is nevertheless an entertaining, low key horror flick that works more often than not.
AKA: Voodoo Blood Death. AKA: Curse of Simba. AKA: Lion Man.
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