Un tueur sous influence

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.

Jack Palance as an insane antiques dealer who worships an African deity in his basement and offers it human sacrifices? That's the kind of film that just can't lose! And it doesn't, although the copy I watched tries it's best with the worst sound ever, forcing me to up the volume on the DVD player to max and still struggle to hear some of the dialogue.

Now Jack can do these off-kilter roles in his sleep and this NOT being a spaghetti western, he's actually required to be there on screen for most of the film. It's a joy to see him in his Primark devil robes with his coven, worshipping this African statue while a chick dances nude and then cuts herself. It's all harmless fun until some ex-coven member turns up and accidentally impales herself on the statue's trident, and the subsequent windfall gets Jack all thinking that maybe he should be upping his game when it comes to demented statue worshipping.

In his non-insane life, Jack owns a shop with a weedy assistant who knows what he's up to but doesn't want to turn Jack in and lose his job (because he'd have his benefit cut when trying to claim Unemployment Benefit as technically he would have quit) so he just goes with the flow while Jack stuffs American tourist's heads into his Argos basement oven. By this point the cops are sniffing around and Jack isn't exactly putting them off the trail.

So just when you're thinking we're getting a stalk and slash film Craze takes a side road into an elaborate plot to bump off Jack's rich Aunt which involves getting Diana Dors drunk and him jumping out of a cupboard wearing a Poundland horror mask. Will Jack get away with his plan to continually offer sacrifices to his statue? Or will his assistant get fed up being paid minimum wage? Will David Warbreck do anything when he finally shows up near the end of the film? I ain't saying, but it's as daft as you would expect.

I seem to own rather a lot of Jack Palance films (Man in the Attic, It can Be Done Amigo, Brothers Blue, Portrait of a Hit-man, Welcome to Blood City etc) and he's a lot more animated than usual in this one. Not an essential film, but a good time waster thanks to the daft plot.

I must say I'm very surprised, even quite shocked, to see all the negative ratings and read the downright harsh reviews on "Craze". Sure, it's far from original and probably not even all that memorable, but one simply has to admit it provides tremendous 70s horror entertainment thanks to its schlocky plot, Grand Guignol make-up effects and the fabulously over-the-top performance by the great Jack Palance! Honestly, if you love the horror genre, I cannot believe, nor accept, that you won't enjoy "Craze". Good old Jack depicts financially struggling antique dealer Neil Mottram, living in the heart of London. He organizes ritual sacrifice games in his basement to honor the God ChuKu, which is a hideous African statue with huge eyes and razor-sharp fingers. Neil already was loony, but he gets dangerously disturbed when he learns the tacky sacrifices weren't sufficient. In return for dead female sacrifices, ChuKu offers wealth and luxury. So, predictably, Neil gets hooked on the thrill of both money and committing murder, and roams around London to scout for potential new victims. As soon as the police begins to suspect him, Palance's murder schemes turn into meticulously prepared plans, and I thought this was great. The whole set-up to get rid of his rich aunt, for instance, with waterproof nightly alibis and even his own car sabotaged, is very ingenious and fascinating to observe. The kills are deliciously gruesome, nasty and perverse. Poor ladies get impaled, stabbed, viciously strangled or even stuffed in the incinerator. "Craze" clearly isn't director Freddie Francis best work, but his weak direction is widely compensated by the unhinged Jack Palance and the numerous guest appearances from great starts in minor roles.

Unassuming antiques dealer, Neal Mottram (Jack Palance) acquires an African idol called Tuku. We were already shown in the opening scene that Mottram has a dark, homicidal side.

When a woman is inadvertently impaled, Mottram quickly discovers a cash windfall. Putting two and two together, he starts trolling for female sacrifice candidates. While the bodies pile up, so does the money. Mottram's lifestyle gets a serious upgrade!

With the police closing in, Mottram fears nothing due to his megalomaniacal madness.

CRAZE is a twisted tale of insane greed and karmic retribution. Palance is incredible in his despicably devilish role. He's really good at playing these unhinged characters!

Watch and be amazed!...

Edith Evans was one of the greatest actresses of the last century.So why did she demean herself by appearing in this rubbish.It is a huge cringe worthy minute when she is scared by Jack Palance with a silly mask on.He really didn't need the mask.His face was enough to frighten anyone.His features were as mobile as Chuku.Probably the low point of everybody's career.