User reviews

William Girdler is an odd case of a competent filmmaker who even showed a stylish visual sense from time to time. Yet most of his films are terrible. This isn't a case of a spectacularly untalented filmmaker accidentally making outsider art, like Andy Milligan or Ed Wood. Girdler was consistently, quite nearly a good director. Odds are, if he had lived longer, he would have actually developed talent. With "The Manitou" he graduated from the world of low-budget genre rip-offs to the world of slightly higher budget genre rip-offs. "Grizzly" was "Jaws" with a bear. "Abby" was "The Exorcist" with (offensively stereotypical) black people. "The Manitou" is also "The Exorcist" but with Indian mysticism and bits of "Star Wars" thrown in for phone.

Based off a novel by hack horror author and sex manual writer Graham Masterton, the movie begins when Susan Strasberg discovers she has a thing in her neck. At first, it appears to be a tumor. As the growth continues to, uh, grow, baffled scientist realizes a fetus is developing inside her neck. Attempts to remove the growth results in disaster. Strasberg's friend Tony Curtis, a phony medium, soon discovers that the tumor is actually the reborn spirit of an ancient, evil Indian shaman. Once the spirit reaches maturity and enters our world, things gets craaaaazy.

"The Manitou" escalates in ridiculousness as it goes on. This is impressive, considering the movie begins with an Indian shaman being reborn through a tumor on a lady's neck. First off, it cast an aging Tony Curtis as a romantic league, in a relationship with the noticeably younger Susan Strasberg. Wearing a succession of unflattering tight shirts, Curtis cons old ladies with chicanery so hackneyed and obvious only a delusional old lady would believe it. The first sign that "The Manitou" will be rife with unintentional hilarity is when one of Curtis' elderly clients begins to chant in ancient languages and float inches above the floor to her death. The second big laugh comes when Curtis' hippy-dippy friends make the top of the villain's head appear. Just the top. When a surgical laser goes ballistics, the audience is far more likely to laugh then scream. Everything in "The Manitou" is pitched at a hysterical level.

About an hour in, "The Manitou" leaps from campy to goofy. A greasy-haired, dark skinned dwarf crawls out of Strasberg's back. The character's attempts to fight him off prove unsuccessful. The reborn shaman summons an evil spirit, which is shown by having an actor in an unconvincing giant lizard costume slither around on the floor. He freezes the entire floor of the hospital, including the present staff. Tony tosses a typewriter at the little person, which melodramatically explodes. (Because everything, even man-made objects, has manitous, you see.) This prompts the Manitou to toss decapitated heads, snow, and wind at the heroes. In its last ten minutes, "The Manitou" completely looses its mind. Curtis and his ethnic Indian friend open a doorway to outer space. Electric energy shoots through the hospital and explodes a doctor while Misquamacus laughs uproariously. A giant eyeball floats behind them, shooting beams of light and asteroids at everyone. The naked Strasberg rises from her bed, shoots lasers out of her hands, and beats the evil back. This is the kind of wacked out, hilarious imagery only seen in seventies B-flicks. God bless 'em.

Despite its unforgettable moments, much of "The Manitou" drags. Really, up until the last half-hour, the film is massively boring. Curtis slums about, disinterested. Strasberg spends most of the story bed-ridden. The sleuthing and studying of American Indian spiritualism mostly amounts to people sitting around and talking. Only Burgess Meredith's amusingly kooky cameo enlivens this portion of the film. Even then, Meredith delivers dialogue about the Indian population that is fairly offensive. Also offensive: The film's resident stereotypical medicine man character who is played by Michael Ansara who was, of course, Syrian. Heck, even the evil Misquamacus is played by an Italian, short actor Felix Silla. Honestly, if you fast-forward until the latter section of the film, you wouldn't be missing much.

There's very little intentionally good about "The Manitou." Lalo Schifrin's score is decent, incorporating traditional tribal music in with his usual action style. Michel Hugo's cinematography is quite lovely. While the digital effects are laughable, the practical effects actually aren't bad. Though the images Girdler presents on screen are absurd, there's no denying the guy had a flare for the dramatic. You're unlikely to forget "The Manitou," or at least parts of it anyway. Bad movie lovers should check it out, for sure.

Well, for the most part, this movie stunk. It was so bad it was funny, although I must admit that the little manitou guy was kind of freaking me out with his mismatched eyes and evil smile. The ending is so cheesy that is makes the flick worthwhile.

The 70s churned out a lot of films like this one. There's The Manitou, The Sentinel, The Prophecy, etc. All bear a resemblance in that they could have been classics of the genre but instead fall a little too far into the realm of hokum. That's not to say that I didn't enjoy all of them. They just aren't really all that good is all.

Based on a novel by Graham Masterson, The Manitou is about a woman who believes that she has a tumor growing on her neck. When she goes into the hospital to have it removed, they discover that it is in fact a fetus and that it is growing. I really can't say how close any of this is to the source novel as I haven't read it.

Tony Curtis plays the ex of the young woman. He's a charlatan psychic who finds himself up against a real supernatural threat. Susan Strasberg is the woman with the growth and Burgess Meredith pops up as a professor who knows about the legend of the manitou.

The whole thing is rooted in native American legend. A manitou is a spirit that can be born on a man, woman or animal. A manitou can also be reborn many times until it reaches a level of rebirth and is accepted by the spirits as one of them. Don't quote me on that, I may have it wrong but it goes something like that.

The acting is passable, with no real standouts in the cast. The writing again is passable. The special makeup effects are impressive when they do show up. What really stands out for me in the film is the vertically challenged Indian who emerges from Strasberg's back. He is creepier than hell and used to good effect as the titular villain.

So here it is: The Manitou is a film that could have been really good and stood the test of time. As it is, it remains a solid flick, but completely forgettable.

While I must agree with many of the reveiewers of this film that say it is preposterous, silly, laughable, and the like, I must also add that watching the film is an entertaining experience. Yes, the story about a fetus growing on a woman's back and then becoming a four foot Indian ripping his way out of a tumor the size of basketball stretches the line of credibility. This pint-sized spirit has amazing powers as he can literally freeze an entire hospital ward, call forth the devil himself, and take the skin off of people's bodies through his mind. The most ridiculous aspects of the film, however, are the explanation and execution of how to fight the manitou. Apparently all things in life have their own manitou, so we see this incredibly powerful spirit temporarily beaten when Tony Curtis throws a typewriter at him. We are to believe the spirit of the machine harmed this powerful spirit. Yeah, okay. The special effects are very outdated and some of those will just make you burst out laughing. The scene where Tony Curtis(the former boyfriend of the girl with the shoulder-weilding fetus/pint-sized Indian spirit) and Michael Ansara(playing John Singing Rock or something like that who just happens to be an Indian medicine man ready, able, and willing to do battle with the most powerful Indian medicine man's spirit that ever lived...and this one apparently has ripped through the shoulders or bellies of five previous people) walk into the hospital room and see what I guess is suppose to be space will have you slapping your knee. But the very worst scene has to be the finale which I will not explain in great detail. Suffice it to say that Susan Strasberg(the poor woman aforementioned) is sitting up on a bed topless..., yes, you heard me, TOPLESS, throwing ele trical current from her fingers as she battles the manitou. It has to be seen to be believed. The acting in the film is not very good, but again very likable. Curtis plays a mystic and some of his scenes are good in the beginning. Ansara is ok, and Burgess Meredith gives the best performance in his five minute cameo. The little Indian who could was played much of the time by Felix Silla, the same fella that played Cousin It on The Addams Family and has appeared in countless horr/science fiction films.

The Manitou is one of the 'classic' b-grade 70's sci-fi horror movies and essentially what you would call a bad movie. But in its defense, it's not thoroughly atrocious like some. The movie starts off closer to a mystery style horror flick that isn't good but fairly entertaining. And then in the third act everything falls apart, when the hokeyness reaches and apotheosis and movie just loses control with a bonkers ending that seals its fate as junk.

The post-EXORCIST 70s produced a variety of quirky, old-fashioned horror films with big name stars whose careers were winding down but who were happy to still be working and who added a touch of class to the proceedings. PSYCHIC KILLER with Jim Hutton, TOURIST TRAP with Chuck Connors and SHOCK WAVES with John Carradine and Peter Cushing immediately come to mind. And then there's THE MANITOU. I saw this movie when it first came out in 1978 and thoroughly enjoyed it. There's something for everyone here... black magic, Native American lore, cool 1970s furnishings (check out Tony Curtis' pad -er- apartment), possession, a séance, demonic birth and a STAR TREK like finish. It's like a summing up of the themes of 1970s horror films with a few well placed shocks and one truly memorable sequence. Curtis takes the Bob Hope approach (complete with quips) to his role as a fake mystic who is suddenly confronted with the real thing. Susan Strasberg makes a suitably vulnerable heroine and Syrian born Michael Ansara is quite believable as an Indian medicine man (no Native Americans in 1978) brought in to fight the evil. Stella Stevens, Ann Sothern, and Burgess Meredith add fun to the proceedings and director William Girdler (ABBY, GRIZZLY) doesn't give you time to think long enough on how preposterous it all is. Sadly this film was to have been his ticket to the big time and would have been (it was a box office hit) had he not been killed in a helicopter crash while scouting locations for his next film. Avco Embassy for whom the film was made was sold to Norman Lear in 1982 and this and other Avco Embassy films disappeared into ownership limbo. Thanks to Anchor Bay THE MANITOU and other 70s A/E films like MURDER BY DECREE and WINTER KILLS have made it to DVD in beautiful widescreen transfers. THE MANITOU may be trash but it's really great trash and I'd rather be watching it than any number of present day horror films. Its well crafted approach to its material (no matter how ridiculous) rather than explicit effects from suffering victims makes it a guilty pleasure that I'll be happy to return to.

Dreadful! I remember seeing this film like it was yesterday, not 20 years ago. It was 1978, John Carpenter's "Halloween" had just come out and my friends and I were feeling that horror films were entering a new, fresh beginning, a renaissance. We were awaiting each new horror film with giddy anticipation. Then "The Manitou" came out!

This has got to be Tony Curtis's worst performance ever. I remember the whole audience laughing at certain scenes. Not that it is all Tony's fault, the writing induces most of the laughs all on its own. There is a scene late in the movie where Curtis talks about the "Manitou" or Indian spirit in a typewriter(!!!) that sent the theater into hysterics.

If you want to know just how bad a horror film can be, rent "The Manitou" and you'll find out!

Cast of giants appears in this ridiculous mixture of the Exorcist, Godzilla, Little Big Man, and Leprechaun. There is nothing good in the movie at all, except that it is so stinking bad. The greasy little monster that crawls out of Susan Strasberg's back is a powerful shrimp (shrunken and disfigured because of the multiple X-Rays done when trying to figure out what was going on with this goiter gone bad). This evil manitou means to destroy the world. It is a native American Monster, and therefore, only a Native American medicine man can stop it. Chief Bromden from "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" is willing to take on the challenge.

I saw this movie with a friend of mine about 20 years ago and we still laugh about it. I also saw "Ordinary People" about the same time. It won the academy award for best picture and is a good movie. I can hardly remember the movie now.

There is a place for bad movies. I give this a ranking of 2 out of ten because of the fact that it offers a lot of unintentional laughs. Otherwise it would definitely be a zero. It's not "Plan Nine From Outer Space," or "Robot Monster," but it isn't bad for a horrible, but memorable poor flick.

I saw this when it first came out in the theatres, with my sister---we loved it and were blown away!! I've since owned it on VHS, and now have the wonderful DVD that was just released. Honestly, given the year it was made and such, it's not a bad film at all, and is one I regularly watch!! Sure, it's a preposterous story, and the effects come off a little dated, but I thought the ensemble acting was great---loved seeing Ann Southern, Stella Stevens, Susan Strasburg, Tony Curtis Et Al tackling this unique idea for a horror film. I thought many, many scenes were intense (the séance scene is a highlight!), and loved how William Girdler interpreted the story. I actually rate this very high, and only ding it because of the slightly dated effects. "Hamlet", it ain't , but it's a very enjoyable horror-romp for the evening, perfect popcorn fodder!

I found The Manitou to be quite an interesting, if not cheesy film. It starts off quite well and the pace moves along nicely as the story draws you in. The first half is dedicated to the story and what happens before the demon is born. The second half deals with what occurs after he is born and climaxes with a cheesy sci-fi ending. The acting is very solid throughout and the characters believable. The highlight of the film is supposedly when the demon is born, as he breaks out of the "fetus" attached to the woman's back. I didn't find it particularly impressive though. I did however enjoy the story about the Indian spirit and how this would be his fourth or fifth incarnation. I've always had a soft spot for mythology and "demon births", probably from watching too many Xena: Warrior Princess episodes.

The film is spoilt mainly by the ultra cheesy ending, that looks like something out of an old Star Trek episode. Up until that point I thought the story worked well as a serious film, but the ending brought it into cheese territory and ruined it for me. It's not that I don't like cheese, but you can't just introduce it in the last 10 minutes of a film and get away with it!

I first saw this movie visiting my uncle in Florida for the summer when I was 10 years old. I'm sure I watched a fair number of TV shows and movies that summer. I remember none of the shows or movies - save this one. Unfortunately, I saw this and have remembered it these nearly 30 years - but only because it was so God awful.

It started out weird enough and got my attention. A lady develops a tumor like bulge on her neck, a shrink's patients start freaking out, surgeons and doctors can't treat the woman but it just got weirder and weirder while the actors tried to keep a straight face. Over the top acting, bad special affects and a bizarre plot that just not translate to the screen make this watchable only if you also enjoy seeing car wrecks.

The finale was pure 1970's cheesy special effects that make the old Star Trek sets look high brow in comparison. I have been haunted by this horrible piece of film making for most of my life and fear that the memories will remain with me forever. If you have not yet experienced the crappiness that is the Manitou - save yourself - and rent anything else.

This is a fabulously camp and funny film, watching Tony Curtis camping it up was hilarious, but it is still one of my most favourite films. Last year I managed to get a copy and excitedly I sat and watched it, remembering each part from the first time I had seen it, there were my children around me laughing hysterically at this "Frightening" film. I don't care what they think, "they don't make em like this anymore"

It was impossible for me to turn this off and leave it off. I kept going back to see if it could possibly get any worse. It did not disappoint me. Now, I have to admit to everyone right here that I have not seen every movie ever made, so I cannot definitively say that "The Manitou" is the worst movie of all time. I can however, say that it is without question the worst "big budget" type movie that I've ever seen. And yet I had to watch it to it's finish. It was truly mesmerizing in it's badness.

A short outline of the plot would make no sense here, and now that I think of it, a long outline would make even less sense so I won't attempt it. There were so many wonderfully absurd lines of script that it was hard to keep track of them. Keeping in mind that this was made in the technologically challenged late 70's, one of my favorite lines was when Tony Curtis' character asks the hospital administrator about how much computer equipment is available that might be used to kill the evil spirit. When he asks, "That stuff has a lot of electricity in it, right??", I burst out laughing for at least the 20th time.

As the credits rolled, I wondered exactly how much money did it take for Curtis to sign on to this project. To go from one of the greatest comedic performances of all time in "Some Like it Hot", to, well...this, is difficult to justify. I guess the sunset years of an actor need to be financed too, as is evident by a cast that also contains Susan Strasberg, Ann Southern, and Burgess Meredith. I certainly don't think any of them should feel embarrassed by making a film like this, I just hope they all got paid enough.

That's a reverse scale to mean that it is so awful that it is actually fantastic. So my score of 1 means it is super entertaining. Get this: Tony Curtis's girlfriend finds a little lump on her back that ends up being a psychotic Oompa Loompa American Indian Shaman. Totally inept and unintentionally funny Exorcist rip-off, but sooooooooo dang funny. The Vista in Hollywood is actually showing this thing as part of a "So Bad It's Good" film festival on March 30th at midnight and apparently Stella Stevens is going to show up to say hello and impart some anecdotes. I think I will be checking that out...on the big screen where it belongs, baby....

The girlfriend of a mystic (Tony Curtis) finds out that a lump on her back is a growing reincarnation of a 400 year-old demonic Native American spirit.

I do have to say there is an unnecessary white man and Indian bit (where the Indian says he should not help the white man because of what his people did). But I will let it slide because I suppose when this movie came out there was still the pushback to get respect for Indians (which may or may not have worked).

I thought for the most part the film had amazing effects, interesting characters and a really good premise. This was apparently based on an incident that happened in Japan in 1969 where a boy had a tumor in his chest that was later believed to be a fetus. While it certainly was not a fetus, I can see how that would inspire such an impressive story.

Brilliant book. Poor movie with bad casting. Whoever cast Tony Curtis as Harry needs their head looking at! He's just terrible and is hamming it up all the time. Very very so-so. Buy the book to read and just don't bother watching this.

A young woman named Karen develops a nasty lump on her neck which,growing at an astonishing rate,turns out to be the foetus of a 400-year-old medicine man.A bumbling tarot card mystic Harry Erskine tries to save her with the help of Indian shaman Singing Rock.The film is thoroughly entertaining as it seems to fluctuate between the possession hijinx and suspense of "The Exorcist" and what would happen if you set "Star Wars" in a hospital.The special effects are quite stunning,the acting is decent and Misquamacus looks truly ugly.It's worth noting that after "The Manitou" was completed,it instantly became a hit at the box office,making the top ten highest grossing films of 1978.Give this film a look.7 out of 10.

The Manitou

For a White woman, the best part of being possessed by a Native American is that she can wear Mukluks guilt-free.

However, the vessel in this horror movie is more concerned with her survival.

When his ex-assistant, Karen (Susan Strasberg), comes to him with a protuberance, psychic charlatan Harry (Tony Curtis) finds his skepticism challenged.

When an attempt to remove the growth from Karen's neck is made, Harry discovers that he is facing the fetus of a hundred-year old Native American Shaman hell-bent on being reborn.

With help from a medicine man (Michael Ansara), Harry must prevent the Manitou from gaining strength and amalgamating with The Devil.

Graphic for its time, and eerie at any age, The Manitou not only tackles Native Rights but also embraces their belief that everything has a spirit.

In fact, according to Native legend, the only earthbound entity without a soul is the White man. (Yellow Light)

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How can I begin to describe this amazing film? Random images pop into my head from memory... Tony Curtis as a dashing fortune-teller and huckster, prancing around his San Francisco bachelor pad wearing a sorcerer's outfit... one of his elderly female clients being possessed by an Indian spirit and being tossed down a flight of stairs... (you don't even need the pause button to see that the stunt "double" going down the stairs is a big dude in a dress and wig!!)... Burgess Meredith muddling through one of his last film roles, playing a senile old coot with amazing realism, to no one's surprise... an Indian shaman with a Yiddish-sounding New York City accent and a penchant for stale one-liners... a naked midget dressed up like an evil reincarnated Indian fetus covered with goo... a topless Susan Strassberg hovering in the fourth dimension and firing lightning bolts at the evil spirit using electrical energy from a huge 70's-model computer... YOU MUST SEE THIS FILM!!

I used to stay up late and watch tv. Not many channels, not many good movies. Two movies really stood out, the Manitou and the Exorcist. I have watched the exorcist about 10 times growing up and I have watched the manitou once haha. It was good and scary when it came out for a 10 year old to watch in the dark with the volume low so not to wake mom. I would watch it again but I really don't need to, I read the top review here and the memories played the movie in my mind. Thanks!