Headhunter (1989) Reviews

Set in Florida but actually filmed in South Africa, this supernatural horror film involves the efforts of two detectives (Wayne Crawford and Kay Lenz) to track down an elusive psychopath responsible for a series of grisly decapitation murders. Thanks to the assistance of a local African spiritualist (John Fatooh), they discover that the sword-wielding killer is not human at all, but the incarnation of a vengeful African spirit named "Chitatikumo," summoned by a voodoo curse. The demon can only be destroyed by total dismemberment, which allows for the predictably blood-drenched (and fairly amusing) chainsaw climax. Good performances and some excellent camerawork can't disguise the weak script and dodgy pacing, but there are some interesting and surreal moments to break the monotony -- namely some eerie dream sequences. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi