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28-466: The Manitou is a 1978 American supernatural body horror film produced and directed by William Girdler , and starring Tony Curtis , Michael Ansara , and Susan Strasberg . It follows a woman in San Francisco who begins developing a fast-growing tumor on the back of her neck which is discovered to be supernatural in origin. It is based on the 1976 novel of the same name by Graham Masterton , which

56-507: A seance to draw out the spirit attacking Karen. A violent thunderstorm hinders their efforts. Mrs. Karmann declares that the figure she saw resembled a wooden statue of an Indian . Harry, Amelia and MacArthur visit aging anthropologist Dr. Snow, who recounts tales of 400-year-old Indian medicine men wielding great powers. Upon hearing the strange phrase, Dr. Snow deduces it partially to be as " my death foretells my return ." Unable to help them directly, he advises them that they should seek

84-469: A circle of sand around Karen's bed in order to limit the spirit using her body. Through Karen, the spirit reveals himself to be an old Native American shaman , Misquamacus , who is reincarnating himself through the young woman to exact his revenge on the white men who invaded North America and exterminated its native peoples. He further warns John against helping white men such as Harry and Karen. John prepares to stop Misquamacus' growing power and calls upon

112-650: A ghost... psychological horror, on the other hand, does not involve violations of physical law, but features naturalistic (if often implausible) menaces and scenarios." Paul Meehan also distinguishes supernatural horror films from psychological horror, "The threat to societal order comes from something preternatural or anomalous: a haunted house, a curse, or a monster like a vampire or a werewolf." Charles Derry, writing in Dark Dreams 2.0 , contrasted supernatural horror and pseudoscientific horror as "two basic methods of explaining things away" in horror stories. Derry wrote, "Into

140-423: Is The Exorcist (1973). It has an unadjusted gross of over $ 441 million with the original release and 2000 re-release combined; the estimated adjusted gross in 2019 is over $ 1.04 billion . The highest-grossing supernatural horror film, unadjusted for inflation, is It (2017) with a worldwide gross of $ 701 million . In 2013, Variety ' s Andrew Stewart said supernatural horror films grossed more at

168-604: The Motion Picture Production Code (or the Hays Code). The Haunting featured a female protagonist interested in another woman, and she was a queer coded character. Such characters were commonplace in the history of supernatural horror films. Sue Matheson wrote of Rosemary's Baby , "[It] popularized depictions of witchcraft, demonic activity, and the Devil on screen and generated a wave of supernatural horror movies." By

196-434: The 1970s, the films The Exorcist (1973) and The Omen (1976) revived the supernatural horror genre. Literature was used as source material like with the earliest films, with the written works of Stephen King being adapted into Carrie (1976) and The Shining (1980). The film Poltergeist (1982) was also a genre highlight in the 1980s. In the 2000s, violent horror films called " torture porn " were popular. By

224-790: The Spanish Civil War, Colombian armed conflict, and Guatemalan genocide, respectively. Films like Host (2020) reflected contemporary fears, with The Others (2001) and Insidious (2010) revisiting haunted house narratives, and The Conjuring (2013) grounding its story in real-life paranormal investigations. The genre also blended horror with comedy, as in Housebound (2014) and Extra Ordinary (2019), to explore similar themes. The films employed various techniques, such as jump-scares, tension-building, and emotive performances, to examine deep-rooted fears and societal issues. The highest-grossing supernatural horror film, adjusted for inflation,

252-431: The altercation, Harry throws a typewriter towards Misquamacus, which temporarily weakens it, allowing he and John to escape. Harry comes up with the idea of using the manitou of electrical equipment surrounding them. John reluctantly agrees and proposes he will act as a medium for these manitou to manifest themselves. As they are discussing the plan, the entire room shakes with a violent earthquake, which John reveals as

280-1063: The box office than other horror sub-genres. He advised that filmmakers interested in tapping into the profitable market of low-budget horror should focus more on stories about ghosts and the supernatural, as movies about slashers and extreme horror tend to have less consistent commercial success. Joe Tompkins wrote that following the 1950s, many "Gothic and supernatural horror movies utilize dissonance, atonality, and unusual configurations of instruments to signify all sorts of anomalous, paranormal activity". He wrote that Black Sunday (1960) and The Haunting (1963) "make use of atonal clusters, which operate in sharp contrast to tonal music and thus provide antagonistic symbols for supernatural evil and good (respectively)". He also highlighted that The Amityville Horror (1979) and Poltergeist (1982) "employ various thematic materials ranging from soft-sounding lullabies to atonal outbursts". According to Janet K. Halfyard, supernatural horror-comedy films deploy various strategies to using music "to simultaneously locate

308-460: The coming of the Great Old One, a powerful demon, through a portal opened by Misquamacus. Harry instructs Dr. Hughes to switch on all the machines in the hospital while he and John travel towards Misquamacus. They find Karen inside a room filled with space illusion. John tries to channel the machine manitou but is unsuccessful. He accepts defeat, but Harry refuses to give in. He tries to distract

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336-400: The council of the vestigial Indian medicine men now surviving in the remote parts. Harry visits John Singing Rock, ( Michael Ansara ) a medicine man who tells him about manitou , spirits who exist in everything surrounding them. He refuses Harry's plea for help but later changes his mind, requesting $ 100,000 and tobacco in exchange for his services. Harry and John reach the hospital and draw

364-534: The dominant cinematic mode of the genre between the release of Dracula (1931) and House of Dracula (1945). In the early 1940s, supernatural horror films had more contemporary settings, but the genre was ultimately superseded by psychological horror films. By the end of World War II, the supernatural horror genre "met its demise", being overshadowed by the atrocities of the war. By the 1950s, science fiction horror films had replaced supernatural horror films, and psychological horror films also became more popular in

392-824: The end of the decade, supernatural horror reclaimed their popularity. The found footage film The Blair Witch Project had achieved fame in 1999, and in the late 2000s, Paranormal Activity succeeded with the same film technique, which led to a film series that lasted until the mid-2010s. In the first two decades of 21st century, supernatural horror films explored a variety of themes and styles. Movies like Martyrs Lane (2021) focused on grief and loss, while Oculus (2013), Personal Shopper (2016), and Hereditary (2018) explored unfinished family business and personal trauma. The genre also incorporated real historical events, as seen in The Devil's Backbone (2001), Los Silencios (2018), and La Llorona (2019), which draw on

420-512: The film's special effects and called the film "a successful excursion, spoiled only by the director's habit of plopping in postcard views of the Golden Gate Bridge instead of exteriors". Donald Guarisco of AllMovie criticized the film's script and direction but complimented the acting, special effects and ending. Author John Kenneth Muir wrote the film has "an infectious feeling of fun" despite being "patently absurd". Masterton, who wrote

448-458: The lower levels to treat his wounds, he returns to find the entire floor covered in ice; the receptionist is frozen solid. Harry finds John sitting alone in the room. John explains that Misquamacus inflicted wounds on his face with surgical instruments. As they are about to leave, they are faced with Misquamacus caught amidst a snowstorm caused by summoning of another demon called the Star Beast. In

476-402: The original negative is lost, and the film had to be restored from alternate elements. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , The Manitou has a 40% approval rating based on 10 reviews, with an average rating of 5.1/10. The staff of Variety wrote, "This bout between good and Satan includes some scares, camp and better than average credits". Time Out ' s Derek Adams praised

504-490: The same decade, ultimately eclipsing supernatural horror. The few supernatural horror films that were produced in the 1950s were often set in haunted houses , a continuation of haunted-house films prevalent in the 1940s. In the 1960s, horror films like The Innocents (1961), The Haunting (1963), and Rosemary's Baby (1968) used supernatural elements but were not directly about the paranormal. Other horror films used supernatural themes to code elements being censored by

532-465: The source novel, said he "liked it a lot". Supernatural horror film For such films and other media, critics distinguish supernatural horror from psychological horror . Mathias Clasen writes in Why Horror Seduces , "Supernatural horror involves some kind of suspension or breach of physical law, usually embodied in or caused by some kind of supernatural agency such as an uncanny monster or

560-444: The spirit while calling on Karen. Karen gains consciousness and channels the machine manitou to finally defeat Misquamacus and the Great Old One behind the portal. As the ordeal is over, Harry and Karen are reunited. Harry accompanies John to a cab for the airport, thanking him for his help. John thanks him back and warns that they might meet Misquamacus once again for though its body may be destroyed, its ethereal form lives. The film

588-518: The strength of other manitou , to no avail. Misquamacus kills a male nurse and claws its way out from Karen's neck, appearing as a dwarf-sized man. It also reanimates the dead nurse to harm others, but John manages to stop it. In another encounter, Misquamacus summons an ancient Indian demon by the name of the Lizard of the Tree while managing to erase the sand circle to harm Dr. Hughes. After Harry takes Hughes to

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616-428: The supernatural group one could fit all the monsters and horrors that are somehow involved with religions and ritual," highlighting witchcraft, Egyptology and reincarnation, and zombies. Aaron Smuts considers horror "to be a genre with two main sub-types, supernatural horror and realist horror" and that they "have different charms". While fictional horror-themed literature, theatre, and other visual culture had existed,

644-459: The supernatural such as The Gray Ghost (1917) with no actual narratives involving supernatural events. The supernatural horror film had what author Paul Meehan described as "its genesis" in early German expressionism in the 1920s and early 1930s with films like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and Nosferatu . During the Universal Studios first horror film cycle, supernatural horror was

672-450: The surgeon's hands shake, causing him to slice his own hand with a scalpel . Meanwhile, one of Harry's clients suffers a seizure and utters the same phrase spoken by Karen; she levitates out of the room and falls down the staircase. Convinced that Karen is being afflicted by black magic , Harry consults a former psychic named Amelia Caruso and her partner, MacArthur. They and Amelia's aunt, Mrs. Karmann, visit Karen's home, where they hold

700-473: The terms "horror film" and "horror movie" as known in a contemporary term did not become common place until 1931 and 1932. Film serials became popular in the United States in 1913. Supernatural events and characters in 1910s film serials were rare. Only two serials explored the supernatural at length, with The Mysteries of Myra (1916) and The Screaming Shadow (1920) while most serials which suggested

728-461: The tumor is a growing fetus . Karen agrees to undergo surgery to remove the tumor. She seeks the comfort of an old friend and ex-employer named Harry Erskine, a fortune teller who preys on the gullible to make a living. While spending the night at Harry's place, Karen utters a phrase that sounds like "pana witchy salatoo" in her sleep. When Harry mentions the phrase the next day, Karen claims she never heard it before. Karen's operation goes awry when

756-604: Was inspired by the concept of manitou in Native American theology , believed to be a spiritual and fundamental life force by members of the Algonquian peoples . The film was Girdler's final feature, as he died in a helicopter accident prior to its release. Karen Tandy suffers from a growing tumor on her neck and seeks treatment at a hospital in San Francisco . After a series of x-rays , Dr. Jack Hughes finds evidence that

784-570: Was released theatrically by AVCO Embassy Pictures on April 28, 1978, in New York, and May 17, 1978, in Los Angeles. The film was released on DVD by Momentum Pictures on October 24, 2005. It was re-released on DVD by Anchor Bay Entertainment in 2007. On April 16, 2019, Scream Factory released the film for the first time on Blu-ray . According to the Scream Factory Blu-ray release,

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