A nutty antiques dealer starts to sacrifice women to an African idol.A nutty antiques dealer starts to sacrifice women to an African idol.A nutty antiques dealer starts to sacrifice women to an African idol.
- Director
- Writers
- Stars
Anthony Chinn
- Customer
- (uncredited)
Frank Forsyth
- Man at Will Reading
- (uncredited)
Alan Harris
- Coven Member
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
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!...
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!...
Jack Palance plays an antique dealer who dabbles with murder & black magic in 1970's London. There's many familiar faces in the cast here. The film starts & ends, predictably, well but sadly the middle part goes a bit flat. The picture quality wasn't great on my DVD but I think they did the best they could with what print was available.
working from memory here so forgive the hazy details..... jack palance chews the scenery as an antique dealer who becomes convinced that by sacrificing women to an african idol in his cellar he will have good fortune bestowed upon him. cue lots of crazy 70's fashions,music,drugs references etc etc. the film follows jacks downward spiral as he tries to keep the idol satisfied. cleverly the film never makes it clear whether jacks good luck is coincidence or whether it really does bring good luck. this film is well worth picking up for entertainment value.
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.
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.
Did you know
- TriviaThe part of Neal Mottram was written as British but an American performer was chosen to play him.
- GoofsThe orientation of Chuku's "hand", which has stab-knives for fingers, alternates between vertical and horizontal throughout the film, sometimes within the same scene.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Movie Macabre: Craze (1983)
- How long is Craze?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Mystic Killer
- Filming locations
- Oak and Saw Pub, Taplow, Buckinghamshire, England, UK(Pub car park where Neal leaves his own car)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime
- 1h 36m(96 min)
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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