The Manitou falls far short of the book by Graham Masterton. Something got lost in the translation ... the pulse and emotions of the story.

Karen Tandy (Susan Strasberg) discovers a knot on the back of her neck. It feels like something is moving inside it. Her doctor refers her to a tumor specialist and they do X-rays. They agree that it looks like a developing fetus, but they also agree that it could not be. They schedule her for surgery.

Karen goes to her former boyfriend, Harry Ershine (Tony Curtis), who earns a living as a psychic, but he does not really believe in any of the paranormal stuff. He begins to change his mind when a client comes for a reading, has a seizure and yells a phrase in a foreign language that Karen was saying in her sleep. Then she floats out of the room, down the hallway and tumbles down the stairs.

Harry seeks help from Amelia (Stella Stevens) -- a strong psychic who taught him to do readings. Her husband, McArthur (Hugh Corcoran) does not want her messing with paranormal anything, but agrees to try to help Karen. It does not go well. Harry learns that the growth is a manitou, the immortal soul of a powerful Medicine Man. When it is time for him to return to the living world, he must be reborn. 

The "tumor" is growing at an accelerated rate. If Harry does not find help for Karen soon, she will die. He goes in search of a Medicine Man, with hilarious results. John Singing Rock (Michael Ansara) is the only one that will help him, but he does not know if he will be strong enough to deal with this particular manitou. He is the strongest of all Medicine Men, Misquamacus (Felix Silla and Joe Gieb).

I strongly believe that the biggest problem with this movie was the casting. Curtis, Strasberg, Silla and Gieb should never have been placed in their roles. They were wrong for this story.

The director should have checked pulses before starting to film. This was the most lifeless, empty cast of underplaying actors ever.

The devil is in the details and I am stuck on one critical detail. How the heck do you create a circle that loses its power if the line is broken ... by going along both sides and the bottom of a bed? I am really having a problem with my geometry on that kind of circle. Three sides of a rectangle are equal to an unbroken circle?

There were some good FX. It is a shame that they were wasted on this movie.

It is also a shame to see supporting actors put their hearts into a film when the leading actors are going to sleep on the set. I feel sorry for Michael Ansara, Jon Cedar, and Paul Mantee. They did fine jobs with their characters. Unfortunately, they could not salvage this film.

Do not waste your money or your time on Manitou. If you want to enjoy the story, get the book. If you want an enjoyable movie that is based upon Native American folklore, get Ravenous or Werewolf.