Cauchemar vers l'inconnu

Shadow of the Hawk is a film that can be viewed on many levels. It is at once a parable about the use of power and a young man's conflicted response to his vocation. I am speaking of power as it is defined in various North American Indian traditions. Power in such traditions is neither good nor evil in itself. It is the person using it who is good or evil and uses it to those ends. It is in the portrayal of black vs. white magic that the film has serious flaws, introducing non-Native American elements for dramatic effect. Nevertheless, the essential understanding that power has the potential for personal enlightenment or self-destruction manages to come through. There is also the drama of the vision quest operating here. The vision quest, found in the traditions of many North American Indian tribes, is a experience through which one conquers one's fears in a journey which culminates in a crucial aspect of self-knowledge. All of these elements, aided by the entrancing scenery throughout, combine to make this film well worthwhile viewing.

We get Jan-Michael Vincent encountering some bad juju, nice. It doesn't surprise me to see something this audaciously unusual and spectral coming from the 1970s. In spite of some out-there moments (phantom car & at times an obvious bear costume in a one-on-one), you can still count on "SHADOW OF THE HAWK" to deliver the premise with such a slight, straight-face. And it pays dividends, as this helps achieve such an underlining eeriness to its atmospherics (accompanied by a spookily experimental natural sounding FX) of a young man accepting his Native American ancestral fate.

Old Man Hawk (Chief Dan George) is the native shaman of his tribe, but he finds himself at the mercy of a spirit of an ancient sorceress (Marianne Jones). The only way he can defeat her, is for his grandson Mike (a steadfast Jan-Michael Vincent) who lives and works in the city, to return back to the village to harness his power as the heir of the shaman. Hesitant at first, he has a change of heart and is persuaded by a freelance reporter (a sympathetic Marilyn Hassett) who tags along.

The superstitious framework is your typical black and white power struggle between two forces; good versus evil. It's literally a journey, both physical and spiritual, in what plays out like a mind over matter initiation of one's identity. Sometimes ponderous and Hassett's character felt like nothing more than a pawn, yet the mystical intrigue and stout performances help its momentum. Throughout danger is always felt, as the sorceress watches, animating objects and animals, causing strange, lethal accidents. The dangling rope bridge was a neat touch. Her disciples also get into the act too. I found the most effective scenes revolved around the sorceress' spirit donning a creepy white mask while terrorizing Jan-Michael Vincent's character. This is even before the trek hits the forlorn wilderness. George McCowan's low-key direction is competent without doing anything truly special.

Although somewhat forgotten over time, this is an entertaining film combining drama, suspense, supernatural horror, and American Indian mysticism. Jan-Michael Vincent plays Mike, the Westernized grandson of a veteran Indian medicine man, Old Man Hawk (Chief Dan George). The old man makes a very long trek to the city to enlist the grandsons' help in defeating an ancient, vengeful entity terrorizing the old mans' tribe. Marilyn Hassett plays Maureen, a freelance reporter looking for a story and who gave the old man some assistance.

There are some effective moments in this little picture, especially the harrowing one with Vincent, Hassett, and George on a rickety wooden bridge. It's also impressive when the old man erects an "invisible wall" into which a car crashes. It all takes place among some magnificent British Columbia (Canada) scenery, and is accompanied by majestic music composed by Robert McMullin. Mike will have to ultimately face the demonic Dsonoqua (played by the alluring Marianne Jones) on his own, as well as her minions and one persistent black bear. The presence of a mystery figure, who wears a creepy mask, is another solid touch, and this figure will repeatedly appear in Mikes' visions. Although, as I said earlier, Mike is very much a Westernized character, he *will* end up embracing his heritage and his heroic destiny.

Vincent is solid in one of the vehicles from the peak period of his career, when he hadn't fallen victim to his own demons. Hassett doesn't get much to do that's actually interesting, but she is likeable as well. Chief Dan George is excellent as the mystical elder who knows all the right things to do and say, and who knows that being laid up in a hospital being treated with ineffective Western medicine will do him no good.

Overall, this is a decent little picture, spooky when it needs to be and consistently atmospheric. It's worth a look.

Seven out of 10.

I saw this for the first time recently. Got pulled into seeing this after reading lots of glowing reviews on imdb. I didn't enjoy this film as ther is nothing eerie, spooky or horror bah it.

Generous with a 4 cos the film has some good locations n most of it is shot in broad daylight. It has a creepy snake, a creepy ghost (Jennifer from Masters of Horror lookalike).

The bridge scene cud have been tension filled but they filled it up with shaky cam.

The bear scene is badly done n the bear looked fake as if some human made to act in bear costume.

I really liked the first 45 minutes of this one. Usually, films made around this time come across to me anyway as pretty dated and they usually are trying so hard to be 'cool' that they come across as pretty lame. But, this director really sets a nice moody atmosphere which fits the Native American story really well. Very good use of visuals and I loved the soundtrack on this first half and felt that it was very effective.

BUT... from about the part with the guy in the bear suit... Well... that was pretty dang funny. And then they wandered around a lot during the 2nd act. The 3rd act got a bit more interesting where the Chief was preparing his grandson in order to pass his powers on to him. Again, in the cave and towards the end the effects with the faces of the Evil Ones, I thought it was fairly effective.

I'm not familiar with the woman who played the lead, but I was quite impressed with her very naturalistic and pleasant performance. Again, so many times films made during this time the characters were so artificial and irritating, but I think her character was truly one of the very best I've seen from around that time. The old Chief was pretty good too with a nice, natural, earthy style and just a shade of dry humour.

There was a scene where the Evil Witch Woman was doing this ritual to conjure the snake. It actually caught me a bit off guard with how sensual it was in a very naughty way. Many things could have come across as extremely CHEEEEZY in this film, and some do, but I honestly felt that the director particularly (although I don't think I am familiar with his work) had a good sense for what visuals, sound, and timing had the most effect.

The Blu-ray is unusually sharp and the picture quality is superb. The locations and cinematography are lovely. The sound is done very well. I really loved the soundtracks to Horror movies around that time and slightly earlier because they were more heavily used and if effectively done could really added to the mood of a film. A great example is the 1973 Telefilm 'A COLD NIGHT'S DEATH' There are only two actors, Robert Culp and Eli Wallach, and almost all the scenes take place in this one isolated research station in the Arctic. But, the use of sound is so effective that what could have been very static, boring, repetitive shots really came across as extremely dramatic and scary. The first half of this film is like that.

The 2nd half after the guy in the bear suit does start to come across more loosely and not as good. But, there are some good atmospheric moments here and there. If he had been able to sustain the same level of mood and tension in the 2nd half, then I think it would have been a really good film with nice Native American Spiritual overtones. As it is, I basically give it pretty much what the average rating most others gave it. But, overall, if you look past some of the goofier parts, there are some great, effective moments in it. Watch out for that rather sexy ritual part. It just might catch you off guard too : )