A pair of Miami cops, Kat (Kay Lenz) and Pete (Wayne Crawford), investigate a series of grisly murders in the city's Nigerian community, in which the victims have been decapitated, their heads stolen. The pair's enquiries lead them to believe that a shape-shifting African demon is behind the slayings, which puts them both in danger of losing their own heads to the supernatural being.There's potential for a lot of over-the-top fun with the notion of a Nigerian demon lopping off people's heads in Florida, but Headhunter fails to do the idea justice, the meandering script focusing way too much on Pete's boring relationship issues with his wife, and on routine police work.Director Francis Schaeffer handles his visuals well enough - the film looks stylish throughout - and the decapitations, when they happen, are entertaining, but for much of the time the drama makes the film feel like a made-for-TV movie, at least until the rousing finale which makes up somewhat for all of the dull stuff. After discovering his wife and her girlfriend dead (some decent gore in this scene), Pete purchases a chainsaw and rushes to rescue Kat from the demon (which we finally get to see in its true form). Pete and Kay battle the monster, successfully dismembering it, but a final scene sees the demon brought back to life by its Nigerian worshippers, ready for the sequel that never happened.

Detectives Katherine Hall (Kay Lenz) and Pete Giullani (Wayne Crawford) are investigating a bizarre series of beheadings in Miami. With Christopher Lambert nowhere to be seen, they focus on a small community of Nigerian immigrants who believe they are being haunted by a vengeful spirit from their homeland. Before you can say THE BELIEVERS, our heroes find themselves targets and their personal lives attacked. This is a pretty average 80s horror flick that loses points for being boring. It is too bad because director Francis Schaeffer stages some effective scenes (all of the kill scenes are well done), but then bungles the human drama. The end has Crawford chasing the main beast - that looks kind of like Rawhead Rex - around a tiny backyard with a chainsaw. The movie needed more crazy stuff like this, and less stuff like Crawford arguing with his wife. The film ends with Headhunter being resurrected back in Africa, but no sequel arrived.

The constant bad swipes this low-rent South American horror film receives might be justified, but I didn't think it was entirely terrible. Mostly wooden, and more often vapid you could say, with the occult idea being push aside for lame (and oddly placed) soapy domestic quibbles of the two police detectives (likeably played by Wayne Crawford and Kay Lenz) who are chasing a killer that unusually decapitates its victims, and might be something supernatural of African origins. Cool! No not cool. This offbeat angle is left high and dry, and just frustrates with its sloppy pace and bland script. Quite a drag! Well up until the frenetic climax. Having the two leads being fully developed is fine, but still it leaves us with too many questions about our ugly looking demon. The underwritten premise is randomly disjointed and terribly unclear and inconsistent in its motives. Never does it become much fun, as its light on suspense, action and gratuitous splatter. Nor does it have any sort of camp value. It needed to go out on a limb to achieve excitement, because it sadly underplays itself and goes about things seriously. The convincing location choices however, seemed to invoke an effective atmospheric tenor, and Hans Kuhle's free-flowing camera-work is well done. Julian Laxton's howling music score has a thumping, menacing tone that won't let up. The rubber demon looks tacky and bulky, but decent for such a budget. Watchable fluff, but not one to lose your head over.

Headhunter is set in Miami where homicide detective Pete Giullani (Wayne Crawford) is having personal problems, his wife Denise (June Chadwick) has left him for a woman. Add that to the fact that a sicko serial killer is running around the city decapitating Nigerian people & he's not having a good time of it, is he? He, & his partner Katherine Hall (Kay Lenz), investigates the brutal & seemingly motiveless murders when some crazy dude named Professor Samuel Juru (Sam Williams) claims that an ancient Nigerian tribal demon (or some crap like that) is stalking those who have escaped from it's homeland to America &, well it wants to kill them & anyone that gets in it's way basically. Pete & Katherine are determined to find this monster or lose their heads trying...This South African production was directed Francis Schaeffer & is a rather bland, forgettable & tedious experience to sit through. The script by Len Spinell tries to mix a Friday the 13th (1980) style slasher with a police thriller & ends up as neither particularly. The character's are dull, the dialogue is stiff & boring & as a whole the film just doesn't gel together that well. It's slow & not that much actually happens in it. The murders are few & far between, this creature is also able to possess other people's bodies which would give it so much power it's untrue but what does it decide to do with this ability? It sets out to kill one cop who's after it, it could take over anyone's body & do literally anything it wants & all it does is try to kill one single bloke. It doesn't have much imagination does it? Or should that be the guy who wrote this doesn't have much imagination? Even though the end features chainsaws, magical swords, dismemberment & a demon it finishes off with an awful sequel driven final shot. There are much better films out there.Director Schaeffer pulls off a few nice camera moves here & there but generally speaking the look of Headhunter is as bland & forgettable as the rest of it. There are a few decapitated heads & dead sacrificial animals but apart from that there isn't much blood or gore, when the demon makes an appearance at the end it looks rather rubbery & is obviously just a man in a badly fitting rubber suit.Technically Headhunter is OK & is even quite impressive on occasion but these moments are few & far between. The acting is as dull & lifeless as the script.I suppose I would sum things up by saying that Headhunter is one of those films that hasn't got anything major wrong with it but it's just that it's so forgettable & bland that I doubt I'll remember any of it by the end of the week. One to watch only if your desperate.