CRAZE (1974) – Episode 223 – Decades of Horror 1970s

“Don’t stand there like a blithering idiot… and don’t give me that shocked routine!” Blithering idiot? Maybe. Shocked Routine? Never. Join your faithful Grue Crew – Doc Rotten, Bill Mulligan, Chad Hunt, and Jeff Mohr – as they dive into Craze (1974), a star-packed feature directed by Freddie Francis.

Decades of Horror 1970s
Episode 223 – Craze (1974)

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Decades of Horror 1970s is partnering with the WICKED HORROR TV CHANNEL (https://wickedhorrortv.com/) which now includes video episodes of the podcast and is available on Roku, AppleTV, Amazon FireTV, AndroidTV, and its online website across all OTT platforms, as well as mobile, tablet, and desktop.

A nutty antique dealer starts to sacrifice women to an African idol.

 

• Directed by: Freddie Francis
• Writing Credits: Herman Cohen, Aben Kandel; (from 1967 novel, The Infernal Idol, by) Henry Seymour
• Selected Cast:
  • Jack Palance as Neal Mottram
  • Diana Dors as Dolly Newman
  • Julie Ege as Helena
  • Edith Evans as Aunt Louise Nash
  • Hugh Griffith as Solicitor
  • Trevor Howard as Supt. Bellamy
  • Michael Jayston as Detective Sgt. Wall
  • Suzy Kendall as Sally
  • Martin Potter as Ronnie
  • Percy Herbert as Detective Constable Russet
  • David Warbeck as Detective Wilson
  • Kathleen Byron as Muriel Sharp
  • Marianne Stone as Jane – Barmaid
  • Dean Harris as Ronnie’s Friend

The Grue Crew anxiously awaited a watchable streaming version of Craze (1974) for years. Why? With three Oscar winners (Freddie Francis, Jack Palance, Hugh Griffith) and two Oscar nominees (Dame Edith Evans, Trevor Howard), and a story that includes a witch’s coven, a psychopathic killer, and a demon named Chuku, it must be a good movie, right? Well, “good” is such a subjective term, but nary a one of the crew uses that word as a descriptor of Craze. However, it almost makes you hungry as Jack Palance chews the scenery with relish, which is unquestionably worth watching.

At the time of this writing, Craze (1974) is available to stream from Tubi. 

Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror 1970s is part of the Decades of Horror two-week rotation with The Classic Era and the 1980s. In two weeks, the next episode, chosen by Chad, will be Moon of the Wolf (1972), with David Janssen, Barbara Rush, Bradford Dillman, John Beradino, Geoffrey Lewis, and Royal Dano, and based on Les Whitten’s novel. 70s TV horror, anyone?

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