Description (IMDB)
The Westernized grandson of a shaman returns to the wilderness to learn more about his Native American heritage. When he encounters powerful evil spirits, he enlists the aid of his lover and a local chief to stop the spirits.
Commentary
I recall watching Shadow of the Hawk in the early to mid 1980's when it aired on TBS very late at night. While it is considered a supernatural horror movie, there really is nothing here that is going to make you jump out of your skin or fill your dreams with nightmares. This is a movie that you can easily watch with your kids.
I recently re-watched Shadow of the Hawk when I was going through a brief episode of depression and needed a little escapism and so I sought solace in some nostalgia. I really liked seeing the world of the Pacific Northwest in the 1970's. We get to see some beautiful views of the big city and the wide-open spaces of the Canadian mountains.
After treating a child for an un-named sickness, Old Man Hawk takes up his suitcase and tribal staff and sets out for the big city to find his grandson, Mike. I want to pause here to point out (if you watch the movie) that Hawk never uses the staff as a walking-stick but rather carries it in the crest of his elbow. This indicates that it is a ritual tool rather than a practical one.
Old Man Hawk appears at Mike's condo asking him to immediately take him back home. Mike is resistant at first but eventually agrees to take his grandfather home. A news reporter that Old Man Hawk met at the hospital after he collapses on the street (as a result of one of D'Sonoqua's spells) comes along thinking it will make a good human-interest story.
Along the way we learn that Old Man Hawk is his tribe's Shaman, and he believes that his village is under attack by D'Sonoqua who is described as a cannibal woman. Within the context of the movie, D'Sonoqua was killed by the tribe 300 years prior (supposedly for the crime of cannibalism) and has returned to enact her revenge upon the descendants of the tribe. We are left to assume that the sickness Hawk was treating at the beginning of the movie is another product of D'Sonoqua's black magic.
While movie D'Sonoqua is depicted as a centuries old witch (human) or practitioner of black magic back from the dead, the real-world D'Sonoqua is more akin to our own legend of Big Foot or the Wendigo who is known to kidnap and eat small children. Both movie version and real-life versions are able to bring themselves back from the dead. However, in the real-world myths, she is also considered a spirit of wealth and prosperity which she only bestows upon those who can gain control of her children. She is also believed to be rather dimwitted and to have poor vision which allows clever heroes to outwit her at times.
Over the course of the journey back home, D'Sonoqua attempts to prevent Old Man Hawk's return by sending her emissary out to stop him. She also performs various spells astrally attacking Mike while he is swimming in an attempt to drown him, performing sympathetic magic with a doll on Old Man Hawk to sap his strength and power, and sending a venomous snake to attack Old Man Hawk, among other things.
In the climax of the film, Old Man Hawk explains that his power is waning in his twilight years. It is his wish that he passes his power down to Mike who will take over the role of village Shaman and protector so that Old Man Hawk can spend the remainder of his days relaxing and fishing. Having gone through an initiation ceremony to receive the power, Mike's final test is to defeat D'Sonoqua and save the village.
While Shadow of the Hawk can easily be dismissed as a cheesy horror flick, it creates an interesting fictional mythology, and I would have loved to have seen a sequel(s) as Mike learns more about his people, their beliefs, and rituals - or maybe a series of books! The movie certainly has some interesting and beautiful visuals, specifically the scene where D'Sonoqua cast an evil spell on Old Man Hawk. The scene cuts back and forth between D'Sonoqua and Old Man Hawk rather quickly and includes chanting and dancing as a prelude to to D'Sonoqua passing the doll of Old Man Hawk through the flame of a fire and then stabbing it with a knife. Similarly, the scene where D'Sonoque sends the snake to attack Old Man Hawk is also quite beautiful (visually speaking)
I really liked this move, and I think you will too!
-Carolina Dean
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