Most of the Freddie Francis' directed films are average at best or just slightly above. Of course the above average films all have Christoper Lee or Peter Cushing or both starring in them. Although special mention goes to his 1972 Tales From the Crypt which is great and by far my favorite film from him. Here we have Jack Palance in the starring role as an art dealer who has the odd habit of committing murders. Not just any murders might I add but human sacrifices to the African God Chuku. That's Chuku in the above picture.
Chuku is supposed to return the favor by giving Neal Mottram (Palance) all the money he could desire. The psychotic Neal kills in a variety of ways including donning a mask (as seen above) and hiding in a poor old lady's wardrobe cabinet. The woman opens the cabinet doors and is frightened to death. Also starring is Diane Dorrs (Theater of Blood, From Beyond the Grave and, Hannie Caulder) as Mottram's sometime girlfriend. Hugh Griffith (Ben Hurr and The Incredible Dr. Phibes) has a small part as a lawyer. Suzy Kendall (a giallo regular from The Bird With the Crystal Plumage, Spasmo, and Torso) plays a hooker in one scene. Edith Evans (Tom Jones! and The Importance of Being Earnest) plays Mottram's endearing Aunt Louise.
A few days into shooting for the film director Francis knew it was going to be a huge flop. This was to be the final film produced by Herman Cohen ( I Was a Teenage Werewolf, I Was a Teenage Frankenstein, and How To Make a Monster) who used the same scriptwriter Aben Kandel for most of his films. What Kandel wrote worked OK for films in the 50's but this was the 70's and according to Francis the script was stale, and trying to make the film felt like he was "flogging a dead horse". He also claims Palance checked out of making the film about a week into production which doesn't really show up in the film. That doesn't mean the film is good. Far from it in fact. While it did well at the box office it certainly seems to be one that cashed in on the reputations of all the participants as opposed to the finished product. The film seems flat even though Palance offers his normal intimidating over the top lunatic take on his role. Like I said Palance isn't the problem. Just about everything else seems to be. Two "ooga booga" masks out of five for this one.
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