robespierre9 Review of Shadow of the Hawk

Shadow of the Hawk (1976)

Effective, spooky 70's thriller - amazing Canadian scenery!

[10/10 · 16 August 2008]

I would classify this as a horror/suspense movie. It deals with Native American black magic in the beautiful Canadian forests of British Columbia. Jan Michael Vincent plays Mike, or young "Hawk" (which is funny since in Airwolf he's HAWKE too!) who has to come to terms with an old Indian curse which is troubling his grandfather. Arriving in Vancouver(?), his grandfather persuades him and a journalist, Maureen, to drive him back to his Indian village. Meanwhile, Jan has been haunted by a really spooky, white-faced, grotesque mask that freaks him out at night and in the pool with his girlfriend. Apparently an ancient Indian witch is trying to destroy his grandfather, and now him! There are some really creepy moments in this movie. There's a Stephen King like 50's car with blackened windows that appears and reappears eerily. Weird things happen to Jan's 70's style SUV while driving - the breaks go out, a tire almost falls off. In the forest, a bear tries to kill JMV. Just a a lot of black magic evil abounds!! Anyway, Jan eventually comes to terms and confronts the evil in the Indian village after going through a 'ritual' of sorts. I think the scenery is the best part about this film. It has that 'X Files' look of spooky Canadian forests - just stunning mountain vistas. The movie is effective enough to keep you creep-ed out. This is a great Jan Michael Vincent role for his early career. I wouldn't call is great acting, but he does maintain his 'cool' while still showing skepticism and caution at all the strange happenings around him. Plus, he looks great! That's probably the best reason to see this movie - for JMV fans especially!