“Do you know anything about herbs, Mr. Erskine?”

“Well, only the oregano I use in my salad.”

It does no good to call the police. Everything has a spirit, a Manitou. Trees, wind, manmade things as well. The police will come with guns. Their guns have manitous. Misquamacus will turn their guns against the police and kill them with their own weapons!”

“Normally I wait three risings of the sun before I take on a job.”

“Just assume for a moment, sir, that this woman -- she's a young woman?”
“Yeah, a young woman.”
“Just assume that she has a problem, now assume also this problem has to do with Indian magic. Well, my God, son, you do have one hell of a problem!”

You and your fellow cinephiles will find it hard not to get through the next day without shouting this or some of the other howlers of dialogue (which needed three writers, but only took three days to pen) contained in THE MANITOU, the late William (Grizzly!) Girdler’s infamous 1978 sci-fi/horror adaptation of Graham Masterton’s bestselling novel finally unearthed by genre mainstays Anchor Bay.

Hospital patient Susan Strasberg has the local San Francisco hospital’s staff bewildered, as a strange lump on her neck increases in size by the hour, defying all rational science. Far from a tumor, it more resembles a fetus..and as amiable con man psychic Harry Eskine( Tony Curtis!) discovers, it’s the manifestation of a 400 year old medicine man preparing his reentry into our world. Enlisting the help of John Singing Rock (Michael Ansara), it’s only a matter of time before the world faces the awesome might of…THE MANITOU.

I dare you to find me another movie where Tony Curtis attacks and temporarily defeats a naked midget Indian demon with a typewriter, in the middle of a snowstorm INSIDE A HOSPITAL! Each scene tops the one before it in sheer oddity, leading up to the psychedelic finale, where a topless Strasberg channels the spiritual energy of the hospital’s computer(!) to attempt to defeat the evil Medicine Man..in an illusory outer space!

Nevertheless, if you’re a fan of bizarre 70’s genre, or like to have friends over to watch a one of the most “what the hell?”unique films you can find, this is it. Anchor Bay remains the standard for meticulous transfers- the well-produced picture looks far better than it has a right to. A 2:35 1 stable transfer shows off the cult oddity in all its glory. It looks terrific, not a scratch on the print.

Sound is clear and adequate, a mono track transferred to stereo. The only drawback is a significant lack of extras; I’m sure enough time has passed that its participants have a sense of humor about and some interesting stories regarding about the project to discuss, but no retrospective featurette has surfaced. All we’re given is an intriguing trailer and a TV spot consisting of the same trailer but edited for a brief television airing. Fans of cult cinema need to pick this one up; there simply is no way to do it justice with basic descriptions. - Adam Barnick