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Theme: American Indian Mythology


American Indian (these days the preferred term Native American is used) mythology is occasionally used in genre cinema. What should be said is that there is no singular mythology common to all Native Americans – it consists of a variety of myths that greatly vary from tribe to tribe. These range from creation myths to stories of the afterlife for great warriors to legends about buffalo and trickster spirits.

All of that said, most screen depictions of Native American mythology is woefully uninformed. In 99% of the cases listed here, the writers and filmmakers have done little to no research on the mythology and instead used commonly held ideas. Thus genre works are filled with stories about haunted Indian burial grounds, Indian medicine men (which can be either good or evil), curses, wendigo spirits, or general all-purpose Indian artefacts that may serve as the fantasy equivalent of a McGuffin in a story.


Antlers (2021)

26 December 202120 April 2023

Rating: ★★

Wendigo Creature

Director: Scott Cooper
Actors: Keri Russell, Jesse Plemons, Jeremy T. Thomas, Scott Haze, …
Category: Horror

Atlantis: Milo’s Return (2003)

20 June 201022 January 2023

Rating: ★

Disney Animation Sequel

Director: Victor A. Cook, Toby Shelton, Tad Stones
Actors: James Taylor, Cree Summer, Corey Burton, Don Novello, …
Category: Science Fiction

Avalanche Sharks (2013)

2 March 201411 June 2024

Rating: ★★★

Sharks Attack a Mountainside Ski Resort

Director: Scott Wheeler
Actors: Alexander Mendeluk, Kate Naura, Eric Scott Woods, Gina Holden, …
Category: Horror

Blood Quantum (2019)

1 November 20211 November 2021

Rating: ★★★

American Indians vs Zombies

Director: Jeff Barnaby
Actors: Michael Greyeyes, Elle-Meija Tailfeathers, Forrest Goodluck, Kiowa Gordon, …
Category: Horror

The Capture of Bigfoot (1979)

27 October 199926 September 2024

Rating: 0­

Bigfoot

Director: Bill Rebane
Actors: Stafford Morgan, George Buck Flower, Richard Kennedy, Otis Young, …
Category: Horror

The Cellar (1989)

11 November 202024 February 2023

Rating: ★

Native American Demon

Director: Kevin S. Tenney
Actors: Patrick Kilpatrick, Lou Perry, Danny Mora, Ford Rainey
Category: Horror

Children of the Corn II: The Final Sacrifice (1992)

7 February 200118 July 2023

Rating: ★★

Pagan Child Cult

Director: David F. Price
Actors: Terence Knox, Ryan Bollman, Ned Romero, Rosalind Allen, …
Category: Horror

The Chosen One: The Legend of the Raven (1998)

13 December 20008 March 2020

Rating: ★★★

Superheroine/White Trash Melodrama

Director: Lawrence Lanoff
Actors: Carmen Electra, Debra Xavier
Category: Fantasy

Cowboys vs Vampires (2010)

3 December 20209 September 2024

Rating: ★★

Vampires Haunt a Western Recreation Town

Director: Douglas S. Myers
Actors: Jasen Wade, Angelica Celaya, Shannon Whirry
Category: Horror

The Darkness (2016)

5 June 201625 June 2020

Rating: ★½

Haunting/Native American Demons Awakened

Director: Greg McLean
Actors: Kevin Bacon, Radha Mitchell, David Mazouz, Lucy Fry, …
Category: Horror

Dreamkeeper (2003)

13 March 200618 December 2024

Rating: ★★★½

American Indian Myths and Legends

Director: Steve Barron
Actors: August Schellenberg, Gil Birmingham, Sheila Tousey, Chaske Spencer, …
Category: Fantasy

Fear Runs Silent (1999)

21 November 20144 June 2020

Rating: ★

Backwoods Horrors

Director: Serge Rodnunsky
Actors: Suzanne Davis, Dan Lauria, Stacy Keach, James O'Shea, …
Category: Horror

Forest Warrior (1996)

16 January 200516 December 2020

Rating: ★

Environmental Ghost Warrior

Director: Aaron Norris
Actors: Chuck Norris, Terry Kiser, John Dennis Johnston, Max Gail, …
Category: Fantasy

Ginger Snaps Back: The Begining (2004)

25 July 200718 December 2022

Rating: ★★★½

Teenage Girl Werewolves

Director: Grant Harvey
Actors: Katharine Isabelle, Emily Perkins, Nathaniel Arcand, J.R. Bourne, …
Category: Horror

Grim Prairie Tales (1990)

10 March 200120 January 2023

Rating: ★★★

Anthology of Wild West Horror Tales

Director: Wayne Coe
Actors: Brad Doruif, James Earl Jones, Marc McClure, Michelle Joyner, …
Category: Horror

Imagine That (2009)

3 March 20101 March 2020

Rating: ★★

Stock Predictions from a Child’s Invisible Companions

Director: Karey Kirkpatrick
Actors: Eddie Murphy, Thomas Haden Church, Ronny Cox, Nicole Ari Parker, …
Category: Fantasy

Jonah Hex (2010)

19 June 201018 October 2024

Rating: ★★

Western Comic-Book Adaptation/Supernatural Bounty Hunter

Director: Jimmy Hayward
Actors: Josh Brolin, John Malkovich, Megan Fox, Michael Fassbender, …
Category: Fantasy

Like Father, Like Son (1987)

19 April 200414 August 2020

Rating: ★★★

Father-Son Bodyswap Comedy

Director: Rod Daniel
Actors: Dudley Moore, Kirk Cameron, Sean Astin, Patrick O'Neal, …
Category: Fantasy

Magic in the Water (1995)

22 February 19994 January 2025

Rating: ★★

Children Discover Sea Monster

Director: Rick Stevenson
Actors: Mark Harmon, Joshua Jackson, Harley Jane Kozak
Category: Fantasy

Man-Thing (2005)

9 September 200717 September 2020

Rating: ★★

Marvel Comics Adaptation/Creature in the Swamps

Director: Brett Leonard
Actors: Matthew Le Nevez, Jack Thompson, Rachael Taylor, Alex O'Loughlin, …
Category: Horror

The Manitou (1978)

17 February 200324 January 2020

Rating: ★★★½

Reincarnated Indian Medicine Man

Director: William Girdler
Actors: Tony Curtis, Michael Ansara, Susan Strasberg, Jon Cedar, …
Category: Horror

The Minion (1998)

5 May 200310 February 2020

Rating: ★★

Body-Hopping Demon

Director: Jean-Marc Piché
Actors: Dolph Lundgren, Roc LaFortune, David Herman, Don Francks, …
Category: Horror

The Missing (2003)

10 March 20038 January 2025

Rating: ★★

Western/American Indian Sorcerer

Director: Ron Howard
Actors: Tommy Lee Jones, Cate Blanchett, Evan Rachel Wood, Eric Schweig, …
Category: Fantasy

New Moon (2009)

30 November 200924 September 2024

Rating: ★

Twilight Sequel/Vampire Romance

Director: Chris Weitz
Actors: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Ashley Greene, …
Category: Horror

The New Mutants (2020)

21 November 202010 October 2024

Rating: ★★

Comic-Book Superheroes

Director: Josh Boone
Actors: Maisie Williams, Anya Taylor-Joy, Alice Braga, Blu Hunt, …
Category: Science Fiction

Nightwing (1979)

11 January 200620 January 2025

Rating: ★★

Killer Vampire Bats

Director: Arthur Hiller
Actors: Nick Mancuso, David Warner, Kathryn Harrold, Steven Macht, …
Category: Horror

The Patriot (1998)

1 September 200726 November 2023

Rating: ★

Action Film/Biowarfare Outbreak

Director: Dean Semler
Actors: Steven Seagal, Camilla Belle, Gailard Sartain, L.Q. Jones, …
Category: Science Fiction

Pet Sematary (1989)

15 December 200518 October 2023

Rating: ★★½

Resurrection of the Dead/Stephen King Adaptation

Director: Mary Lambert
Actors: Dale Midkiff, Denise Crosby, Fred Gwynne, Brad Greenquist, …
Category: Horror

Pet Sematary (2019)

5 July 20198 November 2024

Rating: ★

Resurrection of the Dead/Stephen King Adaptation

Director: Kevin Kolsch, Dennis Widmyer
Actors: Jason Clarke, Amy Seimetz, John Lithgow, Jete Laurence, …
Category: Horror

Pet Sematary: Bloodlines (2023)

20 October 202320 October 2023

Rating: ★

Resurrection of the Dead

Director: Lindsey Anderson Beer
Actors: Jackson White, Henry Thomas, David Duchovny, Natalie Alyn Lind, …
Category: Horror

Pet Sematary II (1992)

2 February 200118 October 2023

Rating: ★★

Resurrection of the Dead

Director: Mary Lambert
Actors: Edward Furlong, Clancy Brown, Anthony Edwards, Jared Rushton, …
Category: Horror

Pocahontas (1995)

8 November 200118 March 2022

Rating: ★★

Disney Animation/Historical Meeting Between English & Native Americans

Director: Mike Gabriel, Eric Goldberg
Actors: Irene Bedard, Mel Gibson, David Ogden Stiers, Linda Hunt, …
Category: Fantasy

Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World (1998)

31 December 199821 September 2021

Rating: ★★★

Disney Animation/Pocahontas Goes to England

Director: Tom Ellery, Bradley Raymond
Actors: Irene Bedard, Billy Zane, David Ogden Stiers, Jim Cummings, …
Category: Fantasy

Poltergeist (1982)

5 September 200226 May 2020

Rating: ★★★★½

Haunting

Director: Tobe Hooper
Actors: JoBeth Williams, Craig T. Nelson, Zelda Rubinstein, Heather O'Rourke, …
Category: Horror

Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986)

19 October 200220 October 2020

Rating: ★

Haunting

Director: Brian Gibson
Actors: Craig T. Nelson, JoBeth Williams, Will Sampson, Heather O'Rourke, …
Category: Horror

Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead (2006)

13 July 201021 October 2024

Rating: ★★★

Zombie Chicken Mutations/Troma Film

Director: Lloyd Kaufman
Actors: Jason Yachanin, Kate Graham, Lloyd Kaufman, Ron Jeremy
Category: Horror

Primal Rage (2018)

1 April 201925 November 2020

Rating: ★★★

Bigfoot Film

Director: Patrick Magee
Actors: Casey Gagliardi, Andrew Joseph Montgomery, Eloy Casados, Marshall Hilton, …
Category: Horror

Ravenous (1999)

27 March 19996 May 2022

Rating: ★½

Cannibalism

Director: Antonia Bird
Actors: Guy Pearce, Robert Carlyle, Jeffrey Jones, Neil McDonough, …
Category: Horror

Scalps (1983)

5 December 201811 July 2024

Rating: ★

Cursed Indian Burial Ground

Director: Fred Olen Ray
Actors: Kirk Alyn, Forrest J. Ackerman, Carroll Borland
Category: Horror

Shadow Hunter (1993)

18 December 202418 December 2024

Rating: ★★★

Detective Tracks American Indian Sorcerer

Director: J.S. Cardone
Actors: Scott Glenn, Benjamin Bratt, Angela Alvarado, Robert Beltran, …
Category: Horror

Shadow of Chikara (1977)

9 March 200011 February 2020

Rating: ★★★

Western Quest/Cursed Mountain

Director: Earl E. Smith
Actors: Joe Don Baker, Sondra Locke, Ted Neeley, Grady Wyatt, …
Category: Horror

Shadow of the Hawk (1976)

12 May 201527 December 2023

Rating: ★½

War Between American Indian Sorcerers

Director: George McCowan
Actors: Jan-Michael Vincent, Chief Dan George
Category: Horror

Silent Tongue (1994)

27 February 200212 July 2024

Rating: ★★½

Western/American Indian Ghost

Director: Sam Shepard
Actors: Richard Harris, Alan Bates, River Phoenix, Dermot Mulroney, …
Category: Fantasy

Turok: Son of Stone (2008)

20 January 202520 January 2025

Rating: ★★★

Animation/Comic-Book Adaptation/Indian Warrior in a Prehistoric Lost Valley

Director: Curt Geda, Dan Riba, Frank Squillace
Actors: Adam Beach, Irene Bedard, Robert Knepper, Cree Summer, …
Category: Science Fiction

Twilight (2008)

1 January 200922 January 2025

Rating: ★★★

Vampire Romance

Director: Catherine Hardwicke
Actors: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Billy Burke, Ashley Greene, …
Category: Horror

Wendigo (2001)

9 April 200129 September 2019

Rating: ★★½

Backwoods Stalking/Native Indian Spirit

Director: Larry Fessenden
Actors: Patricia Clarkson, Jake Weber, Erik Per Sullivan, John Speredakos, …
Category: Horror

The White Buffalo (1977)

7 November 201826 June 2021

Rating: ★★★

Western/Hunt for a Mythic Buffalo

Director: J. Lee Thompson
Actors: Charles Bronson, Jack Warden, Will Sampson, Slim Pickens, …
Category: Fantasy

White of the Eye (1987)

18 February 20109 June 2025

Rating: ★★★★

Psycho-Thriller

Director: Donald Cammell
Actors: David Keith, Cathy Moriarty, Alan Rosenberg, Art Evans, …
Category: Horror

Wolfen (1981)

19 August 200112 June 2025

Rating: ★★

Intelligent Wolves

Director: Michael Wadleigh
Actors: Albert Finney, Gregory Hines, Diane Venora, Edward James Olmos, …
Category: Horror

You Might Be the Killer (2018)

20 July 20212 December 2021

Rating: ★★

Slasher Deconstruction/Possession by Indian Mask

Director: Brett Simmons
Actors: Fran Kranz, Alyson Hannigan, Brittany S. Hall, Jenna Harvey, …
Category: Horror

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Theme Essays

  • Films About Atlantis
  • Werewolf Films
  • Virtual Reality
  • Imprisonment Thrillers
  • Films Depicting NASA and the Space Program
  • Human Bloodsports and Death Games
  • Animals Attack Films
  • Films About Plague and Pandemic
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  • Steampunk Films
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  • Asylums
  • Possession Films
  • Films About Imaginary and Magical Lands
  • Religion in Fantastic Cinema
  • Romantic Comedies
  • Film Noir
  • Spy Films
  • Jekyll and Hyde Films
  • Films That Make Dubious Claims to Being True Stories
  • Coming of Age Stories in Fantastic Cinema
  • Films About Cryogenics and Suspended Animation
  • Alternate History Films
  • Disturbed Psychology as Portrayed on Film
  • Law Enforcement in Fantastic Cinema
  • Weird Westerns
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