Shadow Of The Hawk (1976)

A Native American shaman (Chief Dan George) leaves his village and makes a trek to the big city to contact his grandson (Jan Michael Vincent) for help. It seems evil spirits are threatening the tribe and his grandson is the only one who can help. Directed by George McCowan, this is ostensibly a horror film although there's not much horror in it. It's actually rather silly although the film takes itself very seriously. The movie makes very little logical sense but we are supposed to accept the Native American mythology of demonic spirits taking human and animal form at will. Still, it's hard to take seriously when Jan Michael Vincent wrestles a black bear when it's clearly a man in a bear suit. There's is one effective sequence with Vincent, George and Marilyn Hassett on a walking bridge high above a gorge falling apart as they are crossing it. Other than that, it just meanders along which does not make for an effective horror movie. The handsome and lush mountain locations (it was shot in Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada) make for an attractive setting.