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.
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.