Mike Stacey (Bryant Haliday) is a big game hunter who often takes people out into the bush to hunt. He is out on safari with a client, Mr. Radlett (Tony Thawnton) and another guide, Major Lomas (Dennis Price) so that Radlett can bag a lion. Radlett shoots the lion but only wounds it. The wounded lion runs off into the territory of a tribe called the Simbazis. Lomas tells Stacey that the Simbazi worship lions and that to kill one of the sacred beasts could result in his own death.
Knowing the he needs to kill the wounded lion to put him out of his misery, Stacey follows it into Simbazi territory with only the help of his native guide, Saidi (Dennis Alaba Peters). Stacey is attacked and injured by the animal but manages to shoot and kill it. He leaves Simbazi territory with the lion’s pelt to give to Radlett. Once he returns to the safari camp, drums can be heard in the distance. The leader of the Simbazi tribe (Danny Daniels) comes to the campsite and puts a curse on Stacey. He and his tribesmen then leave.
The next day Stacey finds that most of the bearers ran off during the night. The only one still in camp is Saidi. During the trip back Saidi, under the spell of the curse, attempts to kill Stacey. Stacey manages to overpower Saidi and the native runs away. He is captured by the Simbazi and tortured.
Back in Johannesburg Stacey learns that is wife, Janet (Lisa Daniely) has taken their son Tommy (Andy Myers) and returned to England. Stacey follows in an attempt to save his marriage. Back in England Stacey’s health begins to suffer. The doctor (Ronald Leigh-Hunt) believes that an infection has set in where the lion wounded him.
When nothing helps clear the infection Janet resorts to talking to an expert in the Simbazi culture (Louis Mahoney). The expert tells Janet that the only way for Stacey to save himself is to kill the person who put the curse on him.
“Curse of the Voodoo” AKA “Voodoo Blood Death” AKA “Curse of Simba” was released in 1965 and was directed by Lindsay Shonteff. It is a low budget British and American supernatural horror film.
The movie is short on voodoo but long on bland. It was rather slow-paced and a bit boring at times. The film is also peppered with lots of animal montages, which is typical of low-budget jungle films. There were a few moments when the movie shifted to back in England where things picked up a little. The scenes where Stacey begins to believe that he really is cursed are a little ambiguous. You’re not sure if he really is cursed or if he is hallucinating from the infection. Was it voodoo, was it the infection, or was it something else? I found those parts of it to be the highlight of the film, not enough to save it, but enough to allow me to finish watching it with some hope. I still ended up being a little disappointed.