Mike Stacey (Bryant Haliday) is a big-game hunter, making his living leading expeditions into Africa. On one fateful hunt, a wounded lion manages to limp away, taking refuge on land ruled by the Simbaza tribe. The tribe worships lions as gods, and legend has it that they also practice an evil black magic, cursing anyone who dares to harm their feline friends. Not believing all of that mysterious hoopla, and eager to capture the weakened animal, Mike decides to track it down regardless of where it hides.

Deep in Simbaza territory Mike successfully kills the animal, but not before it pounces on him, seriously wounding his shoulder. His frantic gun shots alert the tribesman of his presence and the sounds of their Congo drums echo across the land. Needless to say, the Simbaza are pissed. That night the tribe pays a threatening visit to the expedition’s base camp to make their anger known. With everyone scared to death, except Mike of course, the hunting expedition is cut short.

Returning to England to resume his usual schedule of steady drunkenness and non-stop woman problems, Mike desperately tries to drink away his problems. Much to his dismay, he begins to see startling visions of the Simbaza chief amongst the locals. Not knowing whether he’s hallucinating, or if the chief is really hunting him down, Mike begins to panic. To make matters worse, he soon becomes ill with flu-like symptoms that progressively worsen. In desperate need of help, Mike’s wife meets with a Simbaza scholar. She learns that the only way to break the curse is to return to Africa and kill the tribesman that placed it upon him. On the edge of insanity and deathly ill, Mike has no other choice.

Otherwise known as The Curse of Simba, Voodoo is a tame but ultimately satisfying and effective British horror film. A strong character study, the picture effectively plays upon the fact that the supposed victim isn’t really someone that warrants sympathy. To be clear, Mike is an arrogant ass who’s perpetually drunk at his family’s expense and is perhaps more than a little bit racist. This characterization is the root of the film’s conflict, blurring the line between right and wrong.

Watching Mike slowly fall into madness provokes mixed emotions. While I could certainly feel his pain, I couldn’t help but think that he may be getting what he deserved. The age-old moral dilemma of determining what punishment is fitting for a crime steadily drives this film. As Mike slowly realizes the price of his ignorance, don’t be surprised if you find yourself taking the side of the Simbaza.

This DVD is the definition of bare bones, as there’s not one extra outside of the chapter selections. With a MSRP of $24.95, it would have been nice if Elite could have thrown in a couple of goodies. At the very least we could expect a trailer or maybe an informative insert. Fortunately, it’s not all bad, as the feature is presented quite nicely. The black and white image is at times stunning in its clarity and contrast. While it does shows signs of wear in places, particularly during the initial scenes, the rest of the film more than makes up for it. The Dolby Mono soundtrack is crystal clear and perfectly presents the sounds of Brian Fahey’s wonderfully driving score.

Curse of the Voodoo is also available as part of Elite Entertainment’s British Horror Collection. This set is a good way of offsetting the relatively steep price tag of this featureless disc. The collection contains four films from producer Richard Gordon including Horror Hospital, Inseminoid, and Tower of Evil.