Main Cast: Tony Curtis, Michael Ansara, Susan Strasberg, Stella Stevens, Jon Cedar
Release Year: 1978
Country: US
Run Time: 104 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
Low-budget horror director William Girdler's last film stars Susan Strasberg as Karen Tandy, a San Francisco woman who develops a strange growth on her neck. After an operation fails because the doctor is forced to cut his own hand, Karen seeks out an Indian shaman (Michael Ansara), who tells her that the thing on her neck is the fetus of a reincarnated witch doctor. Eventually, Karen goes to the hospital and gives "birth" to a silly-looking creature played by Cousin Itt himself, Felix Silla. It runs amok in the building until boyfriend Tony Curtis figures out that his love for Karen can boost the hospital's electrical supply to zap the pesky beast. Generally acknowledged as one of the silliest horror films ever made, The Manitou should please camp buffs more than serious fans. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
Review
This 1978 adaptation of a popular Graham Masterson novel is one of the most genuinely bizarre films to emerge from the late-'70s horror boom. Sadly, it is also one of the most unintentionally humorous and dull films from that era. The Manitou's out-there plot line boasts plenty of set pieces yet the film never manages to gel into a memorable thrill ride. The main reason for this is the script, which wastes a lot of time on talky dialogue about metaphysics and the occult at the expense of the film's pacing. The film also suffers from William Girdler's weak direction, which lacks the style and inventiveness to create the surreal atmosphere that such an unusual story requires. As a result, The Manitou comes off as laughable when it should be creepy. Despite these major flaws, the film benefits from a professional cast that wisely plays the unusual material with straight faces and some impressive special effects (a scene where the spirit of a medicine man emerges from a table is particularly effective). The Manitou also features an unforgettably strange ending where Indian spirits duel with laser beams in a scene that can only be described as The Exorcist meets Star Wars. Unfortunately, inspired moments like these are the exception to the norm in The Manitou and it can only be recommended to fans of low-budget weirdness. ~ Donald Guarisco, All Movie Guide
Jon Cedar - Associate Producer, Gilles A. de Turenne - Associate Producer, Nikita Knatz - Conception, Aggie Lyon - Costume Designer, Michael R. Faeth - Costume Designer, Bob Bender - First Assistant Director, William Girdler - Director, Nikita Knatz - Second Unit Director, Bub Asman - Editor, Lalo Schifrin - Composer (Music Score), Walter Scott Herndon - Production Designer, Michel Hugo - Cinematographer, William Girdler - Producer, Melvin Simon - Producer, Cheryal Kearney - Set Designer, Glenn Anderson - Sound/Sound Designer, Jesse Wayne - Stunts, Jon Cedar - Screenwriter, William Girdler - Screenwriter, Thomas Pope - Screenwriter, Graham Masterson - Book Author
A woman named Karen enters a hospital in San Francisco suffering from a growing tumor on her neck. The doctors think it's a living creature, a fetus being born inside the tumor.
Eerie and grisly occurrences begin when the tumorous growth percieves himself to be under attack as a result of the X-rays used to ascertain its nature start to stunt and malform its development.
The growth is actually an old indian shaman reincarnating himself through the young woman, to exact his revenge on white men who invaded North America and exterminated its native peoples.
A native american shaman is contacted and hired to help fight the reincarnating medicine man, but the kind of spirits he can summon and control appear to be simply no match for the raw, unbridled energies his opponent can tap into.
The movie is based on an old legend about the Native American spirit-concept Manitou.
Tagline from the movie: "Evil does not die... it waits... to be reborn"
