We get Jan-Michael Vincent encountering some bad juju, nice. It doesn't surprise me to see something this audaciously unusual and spectral coming from the 1970s. In spite of some out-there moments (phantom car & at times an obvious bear costume in a one-on-one), you can still count on "SHADOW OF THE HAWK" to deliver the premise with such a slight, straight-face. And it pays dividends, as this helps achieve such an underlining eeriness to its atmospherics (accompanied by a spookily experimental natural sounding FX) of a young man accepting his Native American ancestral fate.
Old Man Hawk (Chief Dan George) is the native shaman of his tribe, but he finds himself at the mercy of a spirit of an ancient sorceress (Marianne Jones). The only way he can defeat her, is for his grandson Mike (a steadfast Jan-Michael Vincent) who lives and works in the city, to return back to the village to harness his power as the heir of the shaman. Hesitant at first, he has a change of heart and is persuaded by a freelance reporter (a sympathetic Marilyn Hassett) who tags along.
The superstitious framework is your typical black and white power struggle between two forces; good versus evil. It's literally a journey, both physical and spiritual, in what plays out like a mind over matter initiation of one's identity. Sometimes ponderous and Hassett's character felt like nothing more than a pawn, yet the mystical intrigue and stout performances help its momentum. Throughout danger is always felt, as the sorceress watches, animating objects and animals, causing strange, lethal accidents. The dangling rope bridge was a neat touch. Her disciples also get into the act too. I found the most effective scenes revolved around the sorceress' spirit donning a creepy white mask while terrorizing Jan-Michael Vincent's character. This is even before the trek hits the forlorn wilderness. George McCowan's low-key direction is competent without doing anything truly special.
