Shadow of the Hawk

Jan Michael Vincent is very good in this role as "Hawk", the grandson of a Native American medicine man, played by the venerable Chief Dan George. The plot? He must return to his tribe to safeguard them from an evil spirit. Along the journey through absolutely beautiful Northwest woods, Hawk, his grandfather and girlfriend must face attacks from both spirit and flesh and blood foes. An exciting and sometimes rather spooky road-trip. I give it ***1/2 out of *****.

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.

A likable enough film that didn't really grab a hold of me. Chief Dan George, previously seen in Little Big Man, made earlier and Outlaw Josey Wales, made the same year was born in 1899 on a Canadian Indian reservation and here plays an old medicine man seeking to pass on his powers (and responsibilities) to his grandson as he makes his way back to his village for the last time. There are some amazing sequences, notably a hand to hand fight with a black bear and others involving a strange car and a rope and slat bridge high above the rapids. Indeed the Canadian location shooting is ever impressive and if the tale starts to drift towards the end there is enough here to engage those looking for something a little different.

SHADOW OF THE HAWK is a low budget rural US horror dating from 1976. Although long forgotten by modern audiences, it's a spooky little adventure that makes great use of its British Columbian locales. Certainly as a slice of rural horror it ticks the same boxes as the likes of RITUALS and THE LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK.

The story is a simple one in which a Native American finds himself subjected to a curse by a terrible female demon. His estranged grandson finds himself plagued by equally horrific visions and sets off on a journey to rescue his grandfather and beat the curse, but many supernatural enemies stand in their way.

For a low budget film, this is efficient stuff with some truly memorable moments, like the bear attack and the car accident which is achieved with some excellent in-camera trickery. Director George McCowan had previously handled horror with the cult B-movie FROGS so he knew his way around the genre. Jan-Michael Vincent (AIRWOLF) is the erstwhile protagonist, but the main actor of note is Chief Dan George, who achieved fame of sorts thanks to his role in Eastwood's THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES.

What the hell are you supposed to do when suddenly one night, during your birthday celebration moreover, your old and physically exhausted grandfather shows up on your doorstep and begs of you to disregard everything and drive 300 miles to bring him back home? You could refuse and put him on a bus, seeing that he also managed to find his way there alone perfectly fine, but – like the cute woman accompanying him already pointed out – he is your grandfather and you just don't do a thing like that. So what other option is there but to politely offer a ride to both gramps and the lady? During the road trip, however, granddaddy reveals he's entangled in a spiritual battle with a ancient witch called Dsonqua and you are involved through your bloodline. A-ha! That immediately explains the eerie hallucinations you're having about wicked witch masks inside the pool and outside your bedroom window! All this is what's happening to Jan-Michael Vincent in "Shadow of the Hawk"; an above average compelling and atmospheric 70's thriller with a good cast and astonishing Canadian filming locations. Especially the first half of the film is more than fascinating to observe, what with all the mysterious Indian mythology and the genuinely creepy images of the witch's frightening mask. Unfortunately the film loses quite a lot of its pace and interest halfway and ends up being a rather dull and unmemorable supernatural hocus-pocus thriller. The most exciting moments of "Shadow of the Hawk" occur during the road trip, like for example the crash into an invisible wall, whereas the long-anticipated climax battle against the witch and her disciples is tedious and disappointing. George McGowan, known from the nature-revolts classic "Frogs", directs with a noticeable disinterest, but luckily the cast is excellent. Chief Dan George and Jan-Michael Vincent (one of my personal heroes of the 70's) are terrific and very believable as the Indian saviors. "Shadow of the Hawk" is quite difficult to track down these days, so make sure you only take the effort in case you're really interested in the film.