Oh how thankful I am to have stumbled upon your site! These two movies have been in the back of my mind for years! Yahoo Answers couldn't help me, so I'm really hoping you can.
Both of these I saw around 1977-79, but I'm not sure when they were made. It is possible they were made-for-T.V. movies/shows since I saw them via hiding behind my mom's lazy-boy when I wasn't supposed to be up.
The first movie featured an evil totem pole or carved Indian statue (not huge, probably 2-4' tall.) It was a round, wooden thing with a carved face and it seemed to glide around. I remember it sneaking down a hallway because it was going to kill someone. There was a good guy who was trying to save the lady and they had to make a protective circle to keep the evil totem out. I think at one point he had to protect someone in a hospital bed and was trying to beat the totem there.
The other movie was about witches – maybe Salem trials, since it was portraying 1600-1700s. I remember it showed a woman strapped to a big wheel or huge wooden spool and people rolling it to crush and kill her.
Any ideas are appreciated!!!
Not quite sure about the first one (but I want to see it!), but I think the second one might be the Devonsville Terror:
http://www.coverbrowser.com/image/vhs-videos/335-1.jpg
Part of it is told in modern times, but I'm sure this still comes from the "Witch Trial" Flashback…
It's ten years too late, but I know there's an evil totem-pole monster in the spectacularly awful Winterbeast.
Has to be Devonsville Terror. Nice little regional Horror film, and star Suzanna Love was hot!
The first one is almost certainly THE MANITOU. The 4 ft tall indian was not meant to be made of wood, but he certainly looked it. 🙂 And everything else fits too well for it not to be, I think.
You guys blow my mind!
I think DEVONSVILLE was more into the early 80's (but there's definatly a witch on a wheel in that one), so maybe if that's not the one, it could be MARK OF THE DEVIL or maybe CROWHAVEN FARM or THE SHUTTERED ROOM(?).
Craig, you got me thinking Mark of the Devil now. I don't remember wheel torture in either Crowhaven Farm or the Shuttered Room, but have only seen them once… I think MotDÂ might have some kind of wheel torture in it (although I have not seen it)… Hmmm…
I always remember the wheel in Devonsville because of that cover I posted a link to. It's burned into my brain!!!
Hmmm, yep, Devonsville is 83. My only problem with Mark of the Devil is that I wonder if it was ever shown on TV. Does anyone out there remember it being on TV? I imagine it would have to be heavily cut.
Ya, it seems like they wouldn't have played that thing on TV, but Elvira used to show a heavily chopped print of it (again, though, we're back to '83 here), but it may have existed in a TV-friendly cut prior to that. Maybe…?