 Anchor Bay Entertainment // Buy from Amazon.comWhat surgeons thought to be a tumor growing on the neck of patient Karen Tandy (Susan Strasberg of PSYCH-OUT) is actually a fetus growing at an abnormally accelerated rate. But when Karen reaches out to former lover and phony psychic Harry Erskine (Academy Award nominee Tony Curtis), he discovers that she is possessed by the reincarnation of a 400-year old Native American demon. Now with the help of a modern-day medicine man (Michael Ansara), Erskine must survive this ancient evil's rampage of shocking violence, and forever destroy the enraged beast known as THE MANITOU. Stella Stevens, Ann Southern and Burgess Meredith co-star in this infamous horror shocker produced and directed by William Girdler (GRIZZLY, DAY OF THE ANIMALS) from the best-selling novel by Graham Masterton. Holy smokes... my brain is melting and it's all because I sat through easily one of the strangest, most bizarre & truly outlandish b-movies I've ever seen... the sheer oddness of it reduced my brain to a molten pile of sludge, leaving me drooling on the couch, wondering if I will ever be able to feed myself ever again... and you know something? I LOVED IT! "The Manitou" is an epic-ly strange film - the synopsis above accurately describes the "plot" but doesn't even come close to hitting the strangeness on the head. Wow - I am reeling, but am doing so with a huge, gigantic smile on my face. All in all, it's a well-done movie, with interesting special effects, a surprisingly creepy style to it, and some name actors in the form of Tony Curtis and good ol' Burgess Meredith. Given that the director of this film also helmed another one of my favorite b-movies, "Grizzly," I think he'll know rank up there alongside such luminaries as Lloyd Kaufman, J.R. Bookwalter, Don Coscarelli and other notable b-moviemakers. Do yourself a favor: support the release of the wild, the wacky & the bizarre on DVD and pick this movie up - I promise you will not be disappointed. Even if you end up not liking it, I can guarantee that this will be unlike any other movie you have ever seen before, or ever will. Yes, to be sure. Video The 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer is very easy on the eyes, with good coloring, nice detail and overall a very sharp picture. Audio The film is presented in its original Dolby mono mix, and while that's typically nothing to celebrate, the fact that it's clean, clear and devoid of any audio uglies is a sign of loving care by the fine folks at Anchor Bay. Extras Closing Thoughts Very, very strange and very, very entertaining flick + minimal extras = must-see wacko movie that will imprint itself upon your brain forever |
