Summary
Overview
A lively discussion of the 1978 horror film The Manitou, where a woman develops a tumor on her neck that turns out to be a reincarnating 400-year-old Native American medicine man. The hosts dissect the film's bizarre choices, slow pacing, inexplicable plot holes, and Tony Curtis's peculiar performance, while appreciating its commitment to absurdity and memorable final act featuring topless laser battles in outer space.
Opening and Film Setup
The hosts introduce The Manitou, a 1978 film about a woman who discovers a lump on her neck that's actually a demonic Native American spirit. They note that most of the film's runtime could be discarded, as it constantly introduces and abandons characters. The premise involves a phony psychic boyfriend and a Native American helper battling this evil spirit.
- The film is about a woman with a neck lump that's revealed to be a 400-year-old demonic Native American spirit
- The first hour and 16 minutes could be cut, with just the last 30 minutes being essential
- The movie constantly introduces and discards characters throughout
" An hour and 16 minutes of the movie really could just go out the window, and you could just watch the last 30. "
Mrs. Herz's Violent Stair Fall
The hosts discuss one of their favorite sequences involving an elderly patient named Mrs. Herz who gets possessed and violently thrown down stairs. Despite being portrayed as a tiny, elderly woman with "bird bones," she's played by a burly stuntman in a gray wig who destroys an entire banister. Her levitation scene reminded them of family-friendly films like Bed Knobs and Broomsticks.
- Mrs. Herz is thrown down stairs with such force she destroys an entire banister despite being elderly
- The stunt was clearly performed by a burly man in a gray wig
- Her levitation scene was compared to Bed Knobs and Broomsticks
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