Voodoo Woman (1957) User Reviews

This is bad voodoo

[evilskip · 3/10 · 24 March 2000]

Let's face it, this is a pretty bad film.However if you go in ready to make fun of it you can survive the experience.Okay, you'll scream in agony a lot.African jungle fun in a dopey kind of way.

Tom Conway (who spends most of the film wearing a funky chapeau) is using the local witch doctor and mad science to create a "perfect" being.It looks like a varmint that has been on a six week drunk and is in a sack dress.Ugly is being kind.But it won't kill for him because he's using a good girl as his subject.He needs a bad bad girl.

Marla English and Lance Fuller are two petty crooks in search of African gold.Acting lessons for Ms English should have been at the top of the search list.She's a bad girl and lets everybody know it in a performance worthy of a junior high school play.Mike "Touch" Connors is the white guide English & Fuller con into leading the expedition.

English & Conway finally meet and it is a match made in hell.She is the perfect subject to become his voodoo creature because she'll do anything (stress anything) to get what she wants.You will do anything to stop the agony of this movie at this point.

What made this movie interesting for me was Conway wearing that funky tribal hat/headdress/floral piece!Still trying to figure out what kind of dead animal it was.Guess he thought if he pulled it down low enough over his eyes nobody would recognize him.

Truly bad cinema.

"She's a black magic woman..."

[babeth_jr · 4/10 · 3 April 2006]

This 1950's howler is so bad it's unintentionally funny. Tom Conway portrays Dr. Gerard, a scientist who is turning natives into a monster using voodoo. His poor wife, played by Mary Ellen Kay, is being held captive by her wacko hubby who has no time for her but threatens to kill her if she leaves him. Along comes Marla English as a greedy murderess who has already killed a man to find treasure in the jungle. Her idiot boyfriend, portrayed by Lance Fuller, is along on the safari. They hire "Touch" Connors, (later renamed Mike Connors, of Mannix fame) as a guide. English is a terrible actress, but hey, no one else in the cast were turning in academy award winning performances either. "Touch" (I'm sorry, I can't even type the name without cracking up, I mean, what the...) gave the only half way decent performance of the bunch and that's saying a lot. The monster is only seen briefly, and the ending is predictable to say the least. I would say this movie falls into the "it's so bad, it's almost good" category of movies. It's good on a rainy night when nothing else is on the tube.

On the low end of the endless string of silly, disposable AIP movies

[lemon_magic · 3/10 · 22 July 2013]

Random thoughts that popped into my head while watching "Voodoo Woman":

1) Poor Tom Conway. Either he thought this role was beneath him (but took it anyway to keep the wolf from the door) or he was completely out of his depth, because he gives a completely squirrelly and disconnected performance where he is obviously reading from cue cards most of the time. Plus...that HAT!!!

2) Poor Lance Fuller. The guy had a certain way about him, but alas his talent is strictly 3rd tier, and it doesn't help that the character he plays is a greasy slimeball.

3) Poor Mike Connors. He pretty much carries the movie, but he should have carried it straight out the door and into the dumpster.

4) The lead female - someone should have gently taken her aside and told her the difference between "tough noir temptress" and "irritating, hateful harpy". She actually looked pretty good in the role, but every time she opened her mouth, I wanted to punch her.

6) The final scene where the murderous harpy tries to retrieve the final remaining chunk of gold from the edge of the volcanic pit where it came to rest, only to lose her balance and fall in...is the single most badly staged and unbelievable choreography of a "fall" I can remember seeing. Apparently it never occurred to the poor lady to bend her knees.

7) This wasn't nearly as bad as earlier AIP fodder like "Beast With A Million Eyes", and I am sure someone had fun watching it as the bottom half of a Drive in double feature...but 40+ years down the road, it has not aged well. Good AIP/Corman stuff almost always had the germ of something interesting and creative driving them...but this poor cast- off just comes off trite, rote, and derivative.

8) At the end of the day, people who were trying to make a living in the movie business got paid. At least there's that.

The incredible obscured lumbering monster - and that's just the film.

[parry_na · 4/10 · 31 January 2019]

I was surprised to find this film was made in 1957. The production style made me think 'Voodoo Woman' was made at least fifteen years earlier.

Smooth, deeply disinterested Tom Conway plays Dr. Roland Gerard, a Frankenstein wannabe determined to make a new life form out of a young woman using the magic of voodoo. Ultimately, he might even breed the resultant creature and ... take over the world, probably. Maria English plays Marilyn Blanchard, a cold hearted manipulator and killer who would do anything to get what she wants. It takes most of the running time to get these two characters together, and she proves a perfect choice for his ideal woman on which to experiment. She's not easily sympathised with though, and English gives her not a moment of warmth. Hers is my favourite performance in the film.

This is a very low budgeted Samuel Z. Arkoff/Alex Gordon production, and subtle lighting gives the impression of more money being spent than is the case. The resultant creature, however, is a hoot. Wisely, Director Edward L Cahn obscures our view of the dear old white-haired curio for the most part, because it really doesn't look very fearsome at all.

Mike 'Touch' Connors - yes, 'Touch' is his nickname - plays rugged hero Ted Bronson, and blond Mary Ellen Kay is nice Susan, wife of evil Dr. Gerard, and original focus of his indecipherable experiments. The evil Doctor takes to wearing a hilarious straw hat pulled over the eyes to aid his experiments. He even says that 'nothing will stop me now' towards the end.

The whole thing is a determined, fairly wretched 'B movie', with every effort made to ensure it never rises much above adequate. It's a fairly fun ride, charming even, but never threatens any kind of greatness.

I Have Seen Worse

[januszlvii · 4/10 · 14 January 2023]

Voodoo Woman is not the greatest film I have ever seen, but I have certainly seen worse: A LOT WORSE. There are exactly two reasons to watch this movie. 1: Mike Connors ( Ted Bronson). 2: Marla English.( Marilyn Blanchard). Marla in her final film ( she retired to raise a family), is drop dead beautiful as always ( particularly in a sarong). She is also one of the nastiest women you will ever see in a movie ( she murders two men in cold blood). The only thing she cares about is having gold. Connors is the hero here and although it was years earlier, looks just the same as he did on Mannix. He even reminds me of Joe Mannix in a fight: Connors is also the only one who is not stupid, evil or both. Anyway 4/10 stars 2 for Connors and 2 for looking at Marla English.

1950s B-movie with the usual racist and sexist overtones

[Leofwine_draca · 4/10 · 27 November 2016]

An uninspired little B-movie, no different from a million others. The only thing which makes this one distinct is the use of a jungle setting, although this is obviously studio bound. The acting is all pretty much standard for a film of this type, the men being macho and the women being inferior. One women is kept in her house to stay out of the way, obviously the '50s values are far removed from today's world. Another woman kills somebody and turns out to be a villain, so I guess the entire female species get a rum deal in this film. Also, one guy comes across as an Indiana Jones-type hero who even gets to use a Molotov cocktail in one amusing scene.

In amongst some fairly boring action (typical fight scenes), there is a hilariously awful rubber suited monster running about on the rampage, in fact the monster suit is the same as the one used in THE SHE-CREATURE. Talk about cheap. This film is also pretty racist in the depiction of the jabbering natives who run around and perform their voodoo rituals by cutting the heads off chickens. It's pretty outrageous to watch this stereotypical view. With some low rent action scenes (mainly involving shooting), an absurd, rarely seen monster and lots of overheated dialogue, this is pretty much your typical kind of '50s exploitation; there are better and there are worse. It's definitely nothing to get excited about.

And you'd think with a title like this one it would be a great work of art!

[planktonrules · 2/10 · 26 March 2011]

"Voodoo Woman" is a super-cheap film from American-International Pictures. Now you know it's cheap as instead of giving the project to Roger Corman (who had a knack for making good films out of nothing), Edward Cahn directs this silly mess of a film.

The film is set in voodoo country--a land inhabited by obese people who inexplicably have allowed a totally loony white man (Tom Conway) to live among them with his wife. I say inexplicably because these natives hate outsiders and keep threatening to kill him--then minutes later they're teaching him their deepest secrets! At the same time, an incredibly violent and vicious woman (Marla English) and her male cohort are planning on an expedition to the tribe with whom Conway lives--as the place apparently is loaded with gold. They need a guide, so they convince tough-talking Mike Connors to join them.

By the time Connors and his new 'friends' meet up with Conway and his 'friends', it's obvious that bad things will happen. That's because Conway is truly crazy and plans on using his personal voodoo monster to kill (bummer)--all with very predictable results. All the viewer knows is that it's all pretty confusing and messy and you just want them all to die. Fortunately, most of them do! This film is just plain dumb. Often the plot just made little sense so someone would just kill someone of Marla would turn into a monster--the story itself made little difference. Bad acting, horrible writing and awkward direction--there really isn't anything to recommend this film unless you like bad movies. Pretty dumb...and made worse by the omnipresent soundtrack consisting of bongos--lots and lots of bongos! Yuck!

Perfection at Last!

[kapelusznik18 · 5/10 · 26 December 2013]

***SPOILERS*** Hearing that there's gold in them jungles Pittsburg gold digger Marilyn Blanchard, Marla English, and her boyfriend Rick Brady, Lance Fuller,are hot to get their hands on it but need help, a professional jungle guide, to get to it. That problem is solved for them when Marilyn after failing to get explorer Harry West, Norman Willis, have her go along with him in the unexplored African bush murders him and gets the guide he hired Ted Bronson, no relation to movie macho-man Charles Bronson, played by future TV and private detective he-man Mike Conners to lead both her and Rick to the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow or untamed jungle.

Back at the far off jungle village the crazed Dr.Roland Gerard, Tim Conway, has no interest in gold or his mentally abused, by him, wife the pretty Susan Gerard, Mary Ellen Kay, who's terrified of him and his insane experiments. He's only interested in creating a race of superhuman beings that will like in the words of the late Dr. Eric Vernoff, in "Bride of the Monster" dreamed of, conquer the world. It's the native girl Zuranda, Jean Davis, who's the first victim of Dr. Gerard's mad experiment which goes sour in her not having the killer instinct that his creation needs. Susan knowing that her husband is not only cracked but planning to use her in his future experiments tries to get her loyal native houseboy BoBo, Otis Greene, to get her out of harms way, the native village, before Dr. Gerard uses her for his next experiment to create a master race of superhuman beings. BoBo for his part got himself killed, with a native spear in his back, trying to get word back to civilization in what a nut case his boss Dr. Geared is and to send help, the local police in force, to the village before he ends up having everyone, man woman child & animal, there killed!

***SPOILERS*** It turns out that when Marilyn together with her boyfriend Rick and jungle guide Ted Bronson finally get to the village she turns on Rick murdering him just for the fun of it but leaves a confused and befuddled Bronson alive so that he, knowing the area like the back of his hand, can lead her to the gold that's supposedly hidden there. With Dr. Gerard seeing that the murderous and unfeeling for human life Marilyn is the prefect candidate for his experiment he talked her into going along, by being transformed into a Frankenstein-like monster, with his insane experiment! The predictable ending, in having seen enough of these mad scientist or doctor movies, couldn't come soon enough with Marilyn becoming a 7 foot tall , with the strength of ten men, Voodoo Woman and tearing the entire village apart but getting screwed, figuratively not physically, by Dr. Gerard in that the gold that he promised her, in agreeing into being turned into a monster, was nothing but a pipe dream. Anyway with her horrendous looks and unquenchable thirst for blood Marilyn in the condition that she was to find herself in had no interest in spending it.

Decent entry with some minor flaws

[kannibalcorpsegrinder · 7/10 · 21 October 2016]

Looking for gold in a remote African village, a team of explorers stumble upon a mad doctor working with the natives to create a race of people using black magic to rule the world, and that the first test subject is stalking them in the jungle along their journey.

This one here wasn't all that bad of a low-budget voodoo effort. What really gives this one a lot of enjoyable elements here is the fact that it really generates a pretty intriguing atmosphere with the use of the voodoo angle to really help sell this one's connection to the jungle setting here. This one gets that element off to a great start here with the opening voodoo ceremony being performed where the gathered crowd gets whipped into a frenzy as the ritual items placed on her and the enhanced dancing before the transformation makes which for a great start to this, and with the ever-present tribal drumming throughout here as well as the jungle- dwelling atmosphere that really helps to solidify the voodoo-filled atmosphere of this part of the film. As well, this also makes use of one of the strongest and most vital aspects of voodoo about it not being able to force someone to do something they usually wouldn't do, and it really sells this aspect of the religion by forcing a critical plot-point to come from this and to be able to stick to conventions is to be commended. Other fun here comes from the scenes with the voodoo-raised creature as the different resurrections in the bunker are incredibly creepy and the action scenes of it charging into villages and destroying everything are quite fun, though it's the finale that really sells this one. Bringing into play the ceremonial altar deep in the fog-enshrouded jungle, the wild dancing and chanting being quite fun and there's the fine set- pieces of capturing the wife as well as the different battles to be found at the ceremony which is where this one really makes for a great time here. With the fantastic creature design and the low- budget charms on display, this one is enjoyable enough to overcome the few minor flaws here. The main issue against this one is obviously the cheap, low-budget nature of the film which doesn't really make any part of this one look like anything else here except for a cheap cash-in. The sets, the simplicity of the locations and the whole atmosphere is so obviously and easily seen as such it really takes a lot out of the film in that state. Likewise, that continues into the overall length of this as the film takes on barely enough to reach the hour mark and really only gets there with only a few minor set-pieces that stretch that length out with the rather lame scenes of her being kept hidden in her room, the time- wasting scene in the motel room where they get held up from going on their trip and the scenes of them in the jungle wrestling for control with each other are quite lame and really just seem stretched out variations just to get it to a proper running time. These issues, along with the rather cheap look, all lower this one somewhat.

Today's Rating/PG: Violence.

A movie so bad that it's bad!

[keith-moyes · 1/10 · 11 April 2006]

Let's not kid ourselves, this atrocity is not Plan Nine or Cat Women. It is bad, period! The performances vary from drama school theatrics (Marla English) to a 'couldn't care less' walk through (Tom Conway). The photography (even in a good print) is so murky it is occasionally hard to see what is happening. The real problem, however, is the aimless, pointless, nearly plot less story and the leaden, paceless direction. At a brisk 77 minutes it still feels endless.

The screenplay is especially inept. There are two story lines that only intersect at the very end of the picture. Tom Conway is trying to create a super race, using voodoo and modern science (although there is little science in evidence) which he can control telepathically. He is keeping his wife prisoner (for no discernible reason). Meanwhile a couple of petty crooks and a white hunter type guide are trying to find the village in which he is working, in the expectation of gold and jewels. When they finally arrive, Tom Conway decides that one of them, the woman, is the perfect subject for his experiments. She is turned into a monster, kills Conway (natch!) and then reverts to normal. She sees a gold statue half drowned in a boiling pool, tries to retrieve it and falls in the water and apparently drowns. The white hunter rescues the wife. In the final shot we see the supposedly drowned woman emerge as the monster again; threatening a sequel (now that really is a scary thought!).

The AIP producer, Samuel Z Arkoff, in a lecture included on the DVD, prides himself on spotting the teenage niche market and satisfying it with ingenious low budget movies. However, it is difficult to see how anyone could think this rancid concoction would satisfy any sort of audience. What appeal do they think it could possibly have? The monster appears so rarely that it could hardly be called a horror film. The jungle action is tepid and tedious. There are no teenagers in it and no characters that teenagers could be expected to identify with.

The producers exposed 77 minutes of film, but they didn't make a movie. This is a con trick and Arkoff should be ashamed of his association with it.

The Monster's the Motive...

[poe-48833 · 6/10 · 18 July 2016]

The Monster's definitely the "motive" for this kind of movie- which makes one wonder why the filmmakers always insist on keeping the critter off screen as much as possible. (In this case, Paul Blaisdell's She Creature is given a makeover- head only- and relegated to the surrounding foliage throughout the movie.) Tom Conway has that "far away" look in his eyes, as if he's fondly recalling something funny he heard once, and he more or less sleepwalks through his part- but with enough innate acting ability to carry it off; kind of like Basil Rathbone in SON OF FRANKENSTEIN... Marla English is center stage and this goes a LONG way toward making VOODOO WOMAN watchable.

"I like the sound of those drums."

[utgard14 · 3/10 · 20 October 2016]

Dismal cheapie from AIP that stars a rough-looking Tom Conway as a mad scientist in the jungle using voodoo to turn women into monsters. It's a mostly dull affair with a few campy moments that are worth some laughs. But these are sadly few and far between. Most of the time it's just boring. Conway has seen better days. He looks sickly here. But he still (over)acts his pants off, which is appreciated. Marla English makes for a fun bitch; she's easily the highlight of the movie. Mike Connors is the "hero" who exists just to give the mad scientist's put-upon wife (Mary Ellen Kay) a stud to walk into the sunset with. The monster suit for the 'voodoo woman' is the same as the suit from The She-Creature with some minor changes. She-Creature is a much more fun movie, though. Also the drum beat played throughout sounds a bit like the opening to Sympathy for the Devil.

Poor

[Michael_Elliott · 12 March 2008]

Voodoo Woman (1957)

* (out of 4)

Really bad film about a mad scientist in the African jungle turning a woman into a monster by using voodoo. I love these old "B" movies and AIP was always one of the best but this film here is just downright boring, slow and not interesting in anyway. The film is full of dialogue, which is poorly written and slows everything down. The performances are all equally bad but not bad enough to where we can laugh at them. The film is bad from start to finish but it never gets to the point to where you can laugh at it, which means the film is just hard to watch.

A Low-Budget, Grade-B Film from Days Gone By

[Uriah43 · 5/10 · 27 May 2015]

Believing that a tribe deep in the African jungle has gold a ruthless woman by the name of "Marilyn Blanchard" (Marla English) and her boyfriend "Rick Brady" (Lance Fuller) manage to manipulate a guide named "Ted Bronson" (Mike Connors) to take them to this village. What none of them realize is that there is a mad scientist named "Dr. Roland Gerard" (Tom Conway) who has been staying there and learning the black arts which he hopes to combine with western science in order to transform a female into a monster he can control with the power of his mind. Now rather than reveal any more of this movie and risk spoiling it for those who haven't seen it I will just say that this is clearly a low-budget, grade-B film from days gone by which most people probably won't like or appreciate. However, to suggest that this is one of the worst films ever made is probably a bit of a stretch too. In any case, having grown up with movies like this in my early years I personally didn't think it was that bad and for that reason I have rated it as about average.

Voodoo Woman

[Scarecrow-88 · 2/10 · 8 October 2016]

Not going to mince words: Eddie Cahn's "Voodoo Woman" is terrible. Tom Conway deserved better than this, but when the roles aren't there and you need work then these kinds of films are what you're stuck with. He's a mad doc in voodoo tribe trying to use their magic with his science in the hopes of creating a monster to be shown to those colleagues who might have found his theories balderdash. Mary Ellen Kay is the pretty, blond wife trapped in a home, with posted tribal guard wielding a mean spear. Marla English is greedy and bad, hoping to gain gold possibly found at the tribe of Martin Wilkins' priest, Chaka. Her fiancé, Norman Willis, is equally repellent. Following Marla, the two commission Mike Connors as knowledgeable guide to lead them to the tribe, but the triangle deteriorates as they get closer to their destination. Conway must manipulate the tribe and keep his standing among them respected so they won't turn on him. Dealing with the tribe gradually becomes more and more difficult. Conway's mad dream might see reality when he meets Marla. Willis strangles a tribal girl he seemingly was trying to sexually assault which gets him in deep trouble. Meanwhile Connors meets Kay, the two planning escape. Marla is to be turned into the monster (documented to be a costume held over from She Creature) by Conway but, of course, that goes awry. Conway didn't age well due to his alcoholism, and this film is so far distant from the classy pictures he made for Val Lewton a decade earlier. His suave and smooth vocally rich tenor remains his best asset, but the role he's stuck with, a rotten soul bound and determined to make himself a monster, is no great shakes. Marla kisses and peddles her sexual wares to secure a profit, broke and without any future prospects, owing even a bar tab, needing either Willis or Connors to get her near something valuable... she'll never be confused with a bona fide thespian. Neither will Kay who crashes to her bed and cries into the pillow, overwrought as Conway insists, with the occasional insult or slap to the kisser, she never leave...Conway does like to scare her with what he's doing with the tribe beauty in his basement. Connors is often held at gunpoint or spear, just wanting to leave, eventually joining forces with Kay. The voodoo tribe and their use in horror in the 40s and 50s wouldn't fly today. Predating the cannibal jungle horror of Italian vintage twenty years, films like Voodoo Woman could be seen as a precursor...the ways of a tribe in the jungle were viewed here as primitive, often easy to deceive and frighten by Conway's cunning scientist, capitalizing on their beliefs and worship practices to benefit his own diabolical agenda. Conway, though, puts himself in danger by having his monster attack the tribe, and places his own body in harm's way. Marla's fate at a pit because she didn't kneel to pick up a gold artifact is laughable. The plot regarding how the monster is manufactured is preposterous.

They didn't do the voodoo that other studios did so well.

[mark.waltz · 2/10 · 10 January 2021]

With the top of his head looking like Chico Marx if he had stuck his finger into an electric socket, Tom Conway ain't no saint in this. When you get past the feathered hat that is more twisted than macaroni, you realize that all this is going to be remembered for is its PRC look a decade after PRC was gone with the wind.

The best way to get through this early American International horror films is to find things to make fun of. It's about a bunch of gold hunters who encounter Conway who's involved in using native voodoo spells to turn a cursed woman into an unbeatable creature to do his bidding. Lance Fuller, Paul Dubov and a very over the top Marla English are among the gold hunters, and English obviously has cash registers ringing in her ears, yet it's obvious that she's going to end up in Conway's power upon encountering him.

This is filled with hysterically bad stereotypes, the script focusing on the "ooga booga" school of thought of how African natives communicate. Tribal leader Martin Wilkins is wearing every cliched piece of ceremonial wear that Hollywood has tossed together in every African adventure film, or in this case, cheesy horror. This is one of those films that you can watch with embarrassed amusement and be grateful for the fact that this could never be remade today.

Fairly dull horror opus, with almost no action.

[scsu1975 · 2/10 · 14 November 2022]

Talent-challenged Marla English and Lance Fuller play a couple of crumbs who hire Joe Mannix - er, Touch (Mike) Connors, to lead them into the jungle in search of gold. Meanwhile, mad doctor Tom Conway performs experiments on a native babe, turning her into a 6-foot Estelle Getty on steroids. Unfortunately, the native girl does not have the killer instinct that Conway desires, but English does. So guess who is Conway's next patient? Connors saves his own skin, and manages to snag Conway's wife in the process.

Tom Conway gives a bore-de-force performance. You've never seen him like this. His trademark pencil-thin moustache is missing. He literally speaks without moving his lips (this time, through mind control). His eyebrows are knit together in an almost simian appearance. He wears the most ridiculous headpiece in the history of hatdom. And he manages to get off a lengthy diatribe with only two glances as his cue cards:

You were interfering with my work, Susan. Nobody's going to stand in my way, not even you. If we had it do over again, we'd know better, wouldn't we, Susan? You wouldn't have married a man of my age and I wouldn't have undertaken to play nursemaid to a whimpering shallow woman who's been crying homesick for the past seven years."

Remade by director Larry Buchanan as "Curse of the Swamp Creature"

[kevinolzak · 3/10 · 4 April 2019]

1956's "Voodoo Woman," shooting title "Black Voodoo" (no relation to Bela Lugosi's 1944 "Voodoo Man"), promised a Paul Blaisdell monster which turned out to be a slightly modified version of "The She-Creature," from the same producer Alex Gordon, the only horror film scripted by AIP regular Russ Bender (the possessed general in Roger Corman's "It Conquered the World"). Retained from "She-Creature" are top billed Marla English (in her final role), Tom Conway, Lance Fuller, and of course Blaisdell playing the monster again, Conway's Dr. Roland Gerard the white scientist tucked away deep in the African jungle near Bantalaya where the native witch doctor provides voodoo to his serum in trying to transform a beautiful priestess into a 'perfect being,' neither man nor beast but featuring the 'best characteristics' of both, a murderous slave to Gerard's evil will. Once he learns that the girl's innate kindness will not allow her to kill even under a spell he must find a more suitable subject for domination. As it happens she's already on her way, Marla English as Marilyn Blanchard, a tough cookie who escaped the slums of Pittsburgh for a life of luxury searching for gold and riches in Africa (it could happen). She guns down geologist Harry West (Norman Willis) so she and slimy boyfriend Rick (Lance Fuller) can accompany his expedition into voodoo country, rugged guide Ted Bronson (Mike Connors) unconcerned about anything but getting paid. We go back and forth between the marching troops and the doctor's long suffering wife Susan (Mary Ellen Kaye), virtually a prisoner of her husband for seven long years, until their inevitable meeting, Marilyn eagerly killing Rick to show Dr. Gerard how serious she is. The doctor convinces her that all the tribal riches can be hers if she accedes to his request to use her in his final experiment, which frightens off the superstitious natives but does at least guarantee the wealth she has craved all her miserable life. The same Blaisdell costume is used both times, a sarong covering the bulky She-Creature, topped with skull mask, blonde wig and huge bulging eyes, as unbelievable as the tired old studio jungle, easily Alex Gordon's worst effort. Incredibly, this AIP black and white item later underwent the uncredited Larry Buchanan/Azalea color remake treatment as "Curse of the Swamp Creature," so few changes made that it would be obvious to those familiar with each. The locale is changed from deep in the heart of Africa to deep in the heart of Texas, bayou country in the isolated locale of Uncertain, the name West still in use, a tired John Agar in place of Mike Connors as the guide, now searching for oil rather than gold. Mad scientist Jeff Alexander's intent here is to create a 'beautiful, indestructible fish-man' (having tired of surgically adding gills to gators) to the constant pounding of voodoo drums, his crowning achievement again a greedy, avaricious woman clearly asking for what's coming to her, Francine York as the captive wife.

Retitle This: Creature With The Blonde Wig

[Rainey-Dawn · 2/10 · 9 May 2016]

Watch this film if you want to make fun of a movie. There is a lot to make fun of here because it's a real eye-roller. Dumb looking creature with a blonde wig. WOW that's scary! Let's not forget the bad acting - in particular the dark haired female lead. This female lead is just hateful and not tough. There's more to poke fun at but that give you and idea already. It's also very boring so it will help to pass the time to make fun of the film.

Why isn't this another "Voodoo Man" titled film instead of being called "Voodoo Woman"? It's a man that is using voodoo to hoodoo the islanders among others. He's a "mad scientist" trying to create a perfect indestructible race that will do his bidding. Whatever.

OK this film is going in my "garbage films" list.

2/10

Voodoo Hoodoo

[Hitchcoc · 3/10 · 31 March 2018]

We don't worry about motivations when it comes to guys who want to create new women. Unfortunately, the products aren't very good. Tom Conway, one of Hollywood's least memorable actors, is the jungle man with the cool hat who discovers something rather unsavory is going on among the trees. Well, of course it's an evil scientist. If you want to giggle, just listen to the dialogue. It is overly dramatic and stiff. This one doesn't even have the recommendation of being sort of funny. Unless we have a unique sense of humor.

This movie hasn't aged well

[JoeB131 · 2/10 · 23 February 2021]

So you have this movie where a mad scientist sets up shop in an African Jungle where the local tribe practices Voodoo (apparently not aware that Voodoo is a practice in the Caribbean, but never mind.) He combines White Man's Science with black voodoo to turn women into monsters for, um... reasons. (Seriously, 1950's mad scientists never actually had reasons for doing things... they just did.) Meanwhile, a gold digger is trying to find this tribe to steal it's gold.

This all moves on to the predictable climax where the gold digger is turned into a monster, the rugged hero escapes with the Mad Scientist's long suffering wife, and the monster predictably falls into a pit.

Of course, the portrayal of African tribesmen would never play like this today. The movie is truly a relic of it's time.

CONFINED BUT BUSY...SET-BOUND HOCUS-POCUS...CHEAP FUN & FROLIC

[LeonLouisRicci · 5/10 · 13 August 2021]

An Anemic Looking Tom Conway Along with a Native Voodoo Priest Experiment on Women.

And Create a Mesmerized Monster.

The Unimpressive Creation is None Other than Paul Blaidsdale.

Wearing His Modified Left-Over Costume (with some shelf wear) from "The She Creature" (1956).

So Lackluster it is Carefully Hidden from the Camera.

Marla English is a Balls-to-the-Wall Killer and Gold Hunter who Orders the Men Around like Slaves and Dominates All Her Scenes.

Hidden Away in a Room Guarded by a Gargantuan Native with an Ever-Present Spear,

is a Platinum Blonde (there's one in every B-Movie of the 50's), Conway's Wife (Susan Gerard).

She Falls for "Touch" Conners in a Millisecond.

The Sets are Dark and Filled with Many Potted Plants with an Ominous, Swirling Smoke Filled Pit.

The Movie is in Motion Most of the Time and can be Fun if You Let It.

Pretty Awful even by Grade "Z" Standards.

Clocking in at a Whopping 87 Min. Its an Epic by Director Ed Cahn Measures.

For Fans of Schlock, 50's Horror, and All things Psychotronic...

Worth a Watch

For Others Feel No Guilt to Ignore.

"From This Point On, We'll Be In Voodoo Country!"...

[azathothpwiggins · 30 December 2019]

VOODOO WOMAN stars Marla English as the greedy, homicidal Marilyn Blanchard. Along with her snappy-dressing boyfriend, Rick (Lance Fuller), Marilyn decides to commit murder in hopes of profiting thereby. Then, with guide, Ted Bronson (Mike "Touch" Connors) in tow, they set off through the jungle in search of further riches.

Their lengthy trek takes them toward a village full of voodoo practitioners, presided over by Chaka, the witch doctor (Martin Wilkins) and Dr. Gerard (Tom Conway). There's also a monster (aka: someone in the leftover costume from THE SHE CREATURE and a blonde wig!), moaning villagers, and a lackadaisical bongo drum player.

This movie is excruciatingly boring, consisting mostly of scenes of people wandering through the jungle, or fighting among themselves. The only real "excitement" is saved for the less-than enthralling finale when the monster meanders about, looking sort of like a Morlock with a skin condition. Thankfully, it's barely ever shown!

A movie for the true voodoo completist only...

Not Val Lewton style for sure

[searchanddestroy-1 · 29 April 2023]

You must not watch this Edawrd Cahn's film as a vodoo topic, as was I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE for instance. Nothing in common. This little B horror adventure movie is interesting because most of the characters are not sympathetic at all, ecxcept maybe Mike Connor's and the Susan role. It is cheap, lousy, sometimes laughable, fun to watch. Typical from Eddy Cahn when he had no budget at all and no intention to pull something exceptional. If you are a fan of this kind of fifties horror stuff, and I know there are thousands of them, this film is absolutely unavoidable. I hardly recognized Tom Conway, only his very voice "betrayed" him.