This film begins with a man named "Neal Mottram" (Jack Palance) performing a black magic ritual in front of an African idol called "Chuku" in the basement of his antique shop. Immediately after the ritual, a woman named "Muriel Sharp" (Kathleen Byron) storms in, demanding the African idol, claiming Neal stole it from her. A struggle follows, ending with Muriel impaling herself on the idol. Using her death as a sacrifice to gain favor with the African idol, Neal then disposes of her body in a nearby river and continues with his day. A few days later, two detectives from Scotland Yard, "Sergeant Wall" (Michael Jayston) and "Constable Russet" (Percy Herbert), arrive, and because his name was found in Muriel's address book, they begin questioning him about her. Based on his answers, Detective Wall quickly suspects that Neal knows more than he admits. Meanwhile, as Neal talks to his assistant "Ronnie" (Martin Palmer), he happens to find some gold coins in an old desk, which he immediately believes are a sign of Chuku's blessing for the sacrifice of Muriel. From that moment on, Neal decides to keep sacrificing women at the altar of the African idol, firmly believing that Chuku will protect him from the consequences of his actions. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this was an okay British horror film, largely thanks to the solid acting from everyone involved. Admittedly, the idea of anyone worshipping an idol as silly-looking as Chuku is somewhat laughable, but even so, the film managed to hold my interest for the most part, and I have rated it accordingly. Average.
