The Manitou

[Joshg]

So, what is up with this movie? AB released it this year, with pretty good cover art. It's about a Genie, I think, living off of a woman? Weird.

Is it worth buying?

[The Tall Man]

Not a genie. It's an Indian medicine man being reborn through a woman. Showtime and The Movie Channel show this every so often in its original 2.35 aspect ratio.

I liked this film alright. I'd say check it out. But you may want to wait for it to show up there again first.

T.M.

[Joshg]

Kay, thanks. It sounds uber-odd, but it's from '78, which means it can't be THAT strange...oh wait...:D

[driftingsun]

This film is pretty decent for 70's era horror (much better than Night of the Lepus). I found the concept of the evil spirit being "reborn" tumor-style on the woman's back suitably grotesque, definitely held my attention. The very end gets a little weird, as the little bad guy starts to open a portal or something to another dimension, to let in some supremely evil and powerful spirit, I believe that the good-guy shaman described it as being more powerful than all other cultures' deities combined, or something. So I kind of liked how they went from little bad-guy growing like a tumor on the lady's back, to cosmic-scale powers.

[The Tall Man]

This film is pretty decent for 70's era horror (much better than Night of the Lepus).
... Isn't that like saying "The Godfather" is much better than "Porky's"? :duh:

The Shaman identifies the evil spirit in the end as what we would call "Satan".

T.M.

[MaDMaNMaRz]

Not a genie. It's an Indian medicine man being reborn through a woman. Showtime and The Movie Channel show this every so often in its original 2.35 aspect ratio.

I liked this film alright. I'd say check it out. But you may want to wait for it to show up there again first.

T.M.

Yeah, they were showing it quite a bit a few months ago. I happened to catch it. I thought it was decent.

[driftingsun]

... Isn't that like saying "The Godfather" is much better than "Porky's"? :duh:



T.M.

Yeah, LOL, good analogy! I liked the scene at the end where the little evil guy is sitting cross-legged or something suspended in the middle of some kind of space with stars or nebulae other things swirling around in the background.

[Grizzlyman]

This is director William Girdler's final film before he was tragically killed in a helicopter crash in The Phillippnes in 1978. Girdler had earned a good reputation back in the 1970's as a successful director of many B-Movies. Among them included the "Exorcist" ripoff "Abby" released in 1974, the Pam Grier vehicle "Sheba Baby", the Leslie Nielsen political thriller "Project Kill", and tackling killer critters with an all-star cast in "The Day of the Animals". The Jaws clone, "Grizzly" however is the film Girdler is known for and was his most successful film as a director. The Manitou probably would have been the film he was known for, if it were not for his tragic death at such a young age. It was a phosthumous hit in theaters when it was released after his death.

The Manitou was picked up by Avco Embassy Pictures for release and is based on the Graham Masterton best selling novel, and I personally do enjoy this film. At times, the entire premise of the film seems maybe too ridiculous, maybe it is the acting, however screen veterans Tony Curtis, Susan Strasberg, Burgess Meredith, Stella Stevens, Ann Sothern and Michael Ansara try to provide more to their stereotyped characters, not to mention Lalo Schifrin's musical score is one at his best. This was also one of the first films (along with Star Wars) to include front-screen projected visual effects and Dolby Sound systems.

[Cody]

This movie's amazing. It gets better, crazier, and funnier as it goes along, building up to a climax of brilliance.

If I ever get to program a horror marathon, I want to put this movie in an early morning slot to be enjoyed by the slap happy and the stoned.

[Grizzlyman]

You got to admit that the Lalo Schifrin score is phenomonal!

[Cody]

I actually don't remember the score, it's been a while since I watched the movie. In general, I'm not a good one to talk scores with. They're often a subsconscious element for me rather than a stand-out.

I wasn't being sarcastic or mocking the movie, though. It is goof-nuts, and that's why I enjoyed it and want to share it with a marathon crowd.

[God of Thunder]

THis movie's another killer from the awesome William Girdler!! Love it. Not as good is Grizzly, but then again, barely anything is.