What a strange little film this is. Based on the book by Graham Masterton 'The Manitou' is a supernatural horror film which centres upon a woman named Karen, played by Susan Strasberg, who visits the hospital after finding a lump on her neck. Unsure if the lump is a malignant tumour she begins to go under a series of x-rays only to experience blinding pain throughout resulting in the surgeons believing that the lump could well harbour a living being - possibly as some type of foetus. Oddly, the tumour turns out to be the reincarnation of some Native American shaman seeking revenge on the white man. The idea of 'The Manitou' sounds pretty absurd, and you'd be correct in thinking so, but as a film it's typical of the late '70s, combining a dash of sci-fi effect with the outcome being that another Native American witchdoctor is called in to battle the now burgeoning long-haired midget that springs from the fleshy tumour. Bizarre to the extreme, and yet somehow part of my growing up, this lukewarm lump of flab is nowhere near as seedy or demented as
'Basket Case' but the fact that Burgess Meredith and Tony Curtis star may well give it some credibility...or not. I'm sure that horror purists may be questioning as to why I've included this film, and y'know what, I don't really know but give me this over 'Spiderman' and the likes any day. Very much a cult offering, it's one of those films that probably thought it could end up as popular as
'The Omen' etc, but fell flat on its face.
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