Craze
Craze
R | 02 June 1974 (USA)
Craze Trailers

A demented art dealer and antique shop owner performs nightly rituals in honour of the African god Chuku, whom he believes will reward him with unimaginable wealth and power if he merely offers up human sacrifice.

Reviews
Solemplex To me, this movie is perfection.
RyothChatty ridiculous rating
Roy Hart If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.
Brenda The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one
malcolmgsw 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.
Michael Ledo Neal Mottram (Jack Palance) leads a group of pagan god worshipers in black robes in his basement. He discovers if he kills someone, he gets riches. Of course this gets out of hand, arouses suspicion, as Neal sets up an alibi at a B&B.The story wasn't that well thought out, fairly simple and inane. What made the film unwatchable was the poor quality of the transfer, especially the sound.Guide: Nudity (Venicia Day)
Leofwine_draca Even a roll-call of some of the finest talent around in Britain at the period can't save the life of this shoestring horror yarn, done in at the first hurdle thanks to an utterly routine story from Herman Cohen, the guy who once made a highly entertaining brace of movies with Michael Gough earlier in his career. Little entertainment value is on offer here, with some insipid direction from the usually reliable Freddie Francis - who overdoes the close-up lens far too much, it must be said - and rock-bottom production values meaning there is no room for special effects or much in the way of action. Instead, the plot follows a standard murder-mystery template, with the string of murders interspersed with lots of police procedural investigation. Sadly, the investigation is helmed by Detective Wall (Michael Jayston), one of the most miserable, ill-mannered and frankly unlikable characters I've seen in a film, and despite his dogged determination to nail Palance his character is utterly banal and devoid of interest.The one clever aspect of the movie seems to be the infernal idol of the title itself; Palance's theory that sacrifice brings reward is never proved or disproved during the film, leaving a level of ambiguity which is about the film's strongest value. Is Palance's downfall due to the intelligence of the police force, or perhaps because his servant finally took an axe to the idol when he could stand it no longer? CRAZE never makes it clear one way or another. Another strong value is the cast list, with most faces being recognisable to exploitation fans; it's just a shame that most actors and actresses are wasted with poorly-written parts. Take for instance Martin Potter, who excelled as a baddie in SATAN'S SLAVE; here his foppish, bland shop assistant is totally unmemorable in every way.Palance himself overacts with relish, hamming his way through a role which gives him plenty of scope to enjoy himself. Francis seems obsessed with sticking the camera in his gurning face and Palance can't play a scene without his character smirking to himself with pride for getting away with the crimes. I do enjoy overacting here and there, but the incessant nature of Palance's performance does eventually become a bit wearing. Even once-great Trevor Howard (PERSECUTION) turns up wasted as the superintendent, whilst there are only tiny bit parts for Percy Herbert and later Euro-stalwart David Warbeck.The only halfway decent performance is a comedy one from Hugh Griffith (LEGEND OF THE WEREWOLF) as a greedy solicitor. As for the female talent, there are plenty of pretty faces around - Julie Ege and Suzy Kendall to name but two - but again they play only one-dimensional victims. The biggest insult is the character of Diana Dors, an ageing sex-starved housewife ridiculed by other characters in the movie; hardly a decent part for one of Britain's biggest former idols.
sol1218 (There are Spoilers) Having been into the Black Arts all his adult life London antiques dealer Neal Mottram, Jack Palance, secretly has monthly, when there's a full moon, jam sessions with his coven of witches. These sessions are held in the basement of his antiques shop to bring him as well as his followers financial rewards in what ever business that their in.Worshiping this African Idol named Chuku Mottram has to provide it with monthly human sacrifices to keep his luck going. That resulted in him getting out of debt and becoming independently wealthy with his shop used as a front for his murderous activities.The local police are a bit suspicious of Mottram since he's suspected of being involved in two different murders of women who were known to him and ended up savagely mutilated, and in one case burned to a crisps, and found floating in the Thames River. With Chuku constantly needing new blood to be spilled to satisfy his gluttonous appetite Mottran comes up with a plan to do in his old and rich Aunt Louise, Edith Evens. Mottron orchestrates a night out and sleep in with an old flame of his the chubby and chunky Dolly Newman, Diana Dors, who runs a Bed & Breakfast in town and whom he hasn't seen in over three years.Getting Dolly good and drunk on her favorite brew, Cherry Brandy,Mottran checks out of her place and travels 70 miles to Aunt Louies home. Hiding in the closet Mottran catches her by surprise wearing a Halloween mask scaring the sick old lady to death. For some strange reason Mottran later drives a wooden stake through the dead lady's heart, like she were a vampire, and then drives back to Dolly's. Mottran jumps into bed with her just as she wakes up, from the effects of all the booze she drank, making Dolly think that he spent the entire evening, and a good part of the morning, with her.The police lead by this tough talking and no BS guy Det. Sgt. Wall,Michael Jayston, feel that it was Mottram who murdered Aunt Louise? How could that be! Didn't the coroner determine that Aunt Louise was already dead before the stake, the so-called murder weapon was used to sacrifice, not kill, her by the insane Mottram? With her death being the result of Mottran scaring her to death a fact that the police were totally unaware off!The weak link in Mottram's chain of murders turned out to be his live-in protégée in his antique shop the naive and alcoholic prone Ronnie, Martin Potter. Ronnie when he finds out about his boss' dirty deeds comes apart and starts to hit the bar scene drinking himself almost to the point of passing out. At the the same time Ronnie gets up enough courage to smash to pieces Mottram's evil idol Chuku.Being tailed by the police Ronnie leads them to Mottram's basement where Chuku is and where Mottram just came back after he offered another blood-sacrifice to Chuku, hooker masseuses and part-time dominatrix Sally,Suzy Kendall.Wild final with Mottram going completely berserk as he tries to defend his Idol Chuku from Ronnie's drunken ax attacks. Beating him up and throwing Ronnie head-first through the store window with the police, headed by the rough and ready Det. Wall,coming on the scene to put the cuffs on the now crazed and hysterical Mottram. Mottram didn't go, or give up, willingly and it had to take a full load of lead from Det. Wall's revolver to finally put the homicidal madman down.