It is night, and a figure wearing a sheet and a pale mask is hovering outside the bedroom window of Jan-Michael Vincent. When this happened in 1976’s Shadow of the Hawk, my wife said to me, “I’d still be messed up if I saw this as a kid”. This made me recall a scene in the original mini-series of Salems’ Lot when that vampire kid with yellow eyes is hovering outside the window of one of the heroes. I’m still messed up today, thanks to that.
The mask looks distinctly Polynesian in style to me, as if I would know. It’s worn by the spirit of Dsonoqua (Marianne Jones), a witch who was executed by Vincent’s ancestors two hundred years earlier. He is informed of this by his grandfather (Chief Dan George).
The undead witch is trying to prevent George from passing on his magical powers to Vincent. Not sure why Gramps didn’t do that sooner. Never mind his entire tribe is in jeopardy if they fail.
Vincent had just been trying to have some sort of conventional life in Vancouver. He has a vague office job, possibly in an executive capacity. After work, he hangs out poolside with a blond woman. Not sure why he doesn’t just stay by her side instead of diving in, but he’ll be tormented by the masked undead witch once he’s under water.
In the meantime, Grampa is walking to Vancouver. The witch, or one of her minions, uses a voodoo doll to put him in the hospital. I doubt any North American tribes of indigenous people use voodoo dolls. Then again, this does take place in Canada, so I’m sure the rules are different there.
Once he comes to, he sneaks out of the hospital and convinces Marilyn Hassett to take him to his grandson’s apartment. Hassett is just a reporter looking for potential news stories at the hospital. But George has a mystical ancient power that he uses to bend anybody to his will, and that is the best long, hard stare since Paddington.
This is how he convinces Vincent to drive him back home. Unsurprisingly, Hassett goes along on this road trip. Even less surprising is she will eventually become Vincent’s love interest.
The trip has some interesting moments at first. I especially liked a creepy, old, black sedan (complete with darkened windows) that tries to stop them. It immediately appears behind them and just as quickly disappears. Then it is in front of them just as suddenly, only to disappear again. Then it is alongside, trying to run them off the road.
At one point, George takes a bag of dirt and distributes its contents in a line across the road and the car “hits” the invisible wall, destroying it. I really liked that moment, as the idea of a magical border formed by dust or dirt is used so often in horror movies about other cultures. This is the first time I have seen it used in film centered on Native Americans (or is that Native Canadians?).
Unfortunately, this is also the point where the movie starts to wobble. The trek this trio makes on foot through the forest tries to steer into action-adventure territory, but each scene is too long and could have used tighter editing.
That is especially true in the scene where Vincent wrestles a bear. The scene was just fine when there were quick cuts between an angry bear and an actor who obviously wouldn’t be up close to it in real-life. But then there’s some wider shots that go on for a bit too long, and it is laughably obvious he’s fighting with somebody in a tatty bear costume.
Another action scene that should been cut down is a perilous crossing of a rope bridge while high winds make it sway violently. That scene would have been far more effective if it had been reduced by half, or even a quarter, of its length. Also, through no fault of the filmmakers, it feels like it is ripping off a similar scene from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, despite that movie coming a decade after this one. Alas, nobody severs the ropes of the bridge here, though I kept hoping somebody would.
The last act has Vincent subjected to a test where is put in a protective circle he must not leave for the duration of the night. There are genuinely creepy moments in that test, as well as some elements that are goofy or expected. I am not spoiling anything by saying the love interest will be used to lure him out of safety.
Shadow of the Hawk is a decent film overall, though never as strong as it was in its pretty awesome first act. Curiously, it feels like a made-for-TV movie of that era; albeit, on a larger budget than most of those films had. It even ends on a note that seems to suggest Vincent would return regularly, which feels like a launch point for a series. Really, they probably only hoped for a sequel, but that wasn’t going to happen, either.
Dir: George McGowan and Daryl Duke
Starring Jan-Michael Vincent, Marilyn Hassett, Chief Dan George
Watched on Mill Creek blu-ray (two-fer with Nightwing)