The Manitou

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 ...more

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 ...more