The overuse of banging sound effects and banging drums and tedious chanting had me reaching for pain relief how to get past the voodoo that they didn't do do so well. This tedious horror movie is boring with unlikable characters, a ridiculous premise and an over-the-top presentation. Unhappy Wayne Crawford should be happy that his harpy of a wife has kicked him out so she can be with her girlfriend even though the scene that shows that doesn't give any of the people involved any sympathy including the wife's girlfriend.

The only support he gets his from his cop partner tail ends and they end up on the weirdest case of their careers, dealing with a series of mysterious decapitations that seem to be connected to Nigerian tribal curses. Steve Kanaly took a break from "Dallas" for this film, and he should have stayed at Southfork. There really is nothing to recommend about this although there are a few unintentionally funny scenes, but if there were any efforts to make a camp, they failed miserably. Save your head a lot of pain and just stay away.

Spazzy Miami cop Pete Giullani (a solid and likeable performance by Wayne Crawford) and his spunky partner Katherine Hall (a perky and appealing portrayal by the ever-luscious Kay Lenz) investigate a series of grisly decapitation murders that turn out to be the bloody work of a lethal African voodoo demon.

While director Francis Schaeffer fails to generate much in the way of either tension or spooky atmosphere, he still does manage to keep the enjoyably inane story moving at an even keel, makes nice use of the steamy Miami locations, delivers a satisfying smattering of gore, and stages a wild last reel confrontation between the demon and a chainsaw-wielding Pete with considerable flair and skill. Crawford and Lenz display a winning chemistry in the lead roles; they receive sturdy support from Steve Kanaly as the huffy Captain Ted Calvin, June Chadwick as Pete's bitter estranged wife Denise, and Sam Williams as helpful occult expert Samuel Juru. Hans Kuhle's fluid cinematography gives this movie an impressive stylish look and makes invigorating use of a smooth gliding camera. Julian Laxton's spirited score hits the stirring spot. An entertaining time-killer.

Compared to what you might think, it's really easy to make a movie. Here's what you do: You take a tribe somewhere in Africa. You film the village witch-doctor while he's doing some kind of ritual. you place some candles around him and BANG! All of a sudden appears a hideous demon. You transfer the whole thing to Miami and you're done. All the rest are details. Bad acting, huge mistakes in the script ? So what ? You got to give the makers of this film some credit: they were obviously very enthusiast and they did create an interesting demon. I don't mind films like this being made, but the problem with this kind is that they take themselves too serious. There's ain't much humor in this story.