This week, fellow Chicago film critic Jacob Oller joins us to unpack the pure-strain craziness of 1978’s The Manitou! When a woman finds a rapidly growing fetus-tumor on her back, her tarot card-reading boyfriend (Tony Curtis) and the Native American guy who hates it when you litter (Michael Ansara) join forces to exorcise an evil 400-year-old demon. Space lasers, noble savage stereotypes and earnestly goofy special effects abound, and we talk about it all with our custom cocktail and drinking rules!
(Thanks to our sponsor Know Your Company as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!)
LISTEN HERE OR DOWNLOAD:
THIS EPISODE’S DRINK: The MixMaster
We decided to give you something slightly crazy and wheat-y to fit the kooky mix of Native American spiritualism and other bits of mysticism in The Manitou. Not only that, we made it all kinds of red with amaro and hibiscus liqueur to match the buckets of blood splattered all over the movie’s hospital setting.
2 parts rye whiskey
1 part Averna amaro
1 part Hum hibiscus liqueur
dash, orange bitters
Combine in a rocks glass with large ice cubes, and stir to chill. Serve with a can of Schlitz and a wine glass.
DRINKING RULES FOR THE MANITOU:
- Whenever a character brings up either science or magic
- Any time the film asserts its San Francisco setting (gratuitous shots of trolleys, the Golden Gate Bridge)
- Every time the characters remember Karen for once, or we see Karen again after a long absence
FINISH YOUR DRINK WHEN:
Henry says, “Oh, yeah, well he’s going to get a person to person call from me… collect!”
Join us next week as we hit the rink with the Jean-Claude Van Damme “Die Hard in a hockey stadium” flick Sudden Death!
