The Shadow of Chikara (also known as Demon Mountain, The Ballad of Virgil Cane, Thunder Mountain, Wishbone Cutter, and The Curse of Demon Mountain) is a 1977 American western horror film written and directed by Earl E. Smith. The film stars Joe Don Baker, Sondra Locke, Ted Neeley, Joy N. Houck Jr., and Slim Pickens.
Following the last battle of The American Civil War, disgruntled Confederate captain Wishbone Cutter (Baker) and his longtime companion Army Scout Half Moon O'Brian (Houck) recruit geologist Amos 'Teach' Richmond (Neely) and go in search of a fortune in diamonds their dying sergeant told them lay hidden in a cave in the mountains of Arkansas. On the way they rescue a young woman, Drusilla Wilcox (Locke), from an a mysterious band of Indians. As the four of them continue into the mountains, they find they are being followed by a mysterious hunter (or hunters) who may have a connection to a mythic eagle spirit.
Tropes:
- Annoying Arrows: Zigzagged. When they recue Drusilla, Teach gets an arrow through his upper arm that Cutter and Moon have to shove through and snap off in order to remove. Despite Teach occassionaly complaining of discomfort from his injured arm, it does not prevent him him hauling on ropes, climbing down pits,etc. However, this is the only instance of this, and the rest of the time arrows are shown as lethal: major character or not.
- Army Scout: Moon was an army scout for the Confederate Army, and served alongside Cutter for years.
- Brutal Bird of Prey: When Moon recovers the horses after they are let loose, one of the has scars on its flanks as if from the talons of a massive eagle. Later they meet Dancer who has similar scars on his face and, according ro Rafe, has been unable to speak ever since he was attacked by a giant eagle. This eagle might be Chikara, the guardian spirit of the mountain.
- Dangerous Deserter: Posey, Rafe and Dancer are a trio of deserters from the Confederate army living as mountain men and bushwhackers: robbing, raping and murdering travellers.
- Deadly Hug: Drusilla pulls Cutter into an intimate embrace and then fatally stabs him.
- Dumb Struck: Dancer has been unable to speak (and generally 'not right in the head') ever since he was attacked and scarred by a huge eagle.
- Impromptu Tracheotomy: Teach gets shot through the throat with one of the mysterious black arrows, which leaves him nailed to the tree behind him.
- Literal Cliffhanger: Drusilla winds clinging to a ledge after the horses are swept off the mountainside by a landslide.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: It is left ambiguous as to whether there really is a guardian spirit of the mountain or if Drusilla is insane believes she is Chikara.
- Mountain Man: The party encounters a trio of mountain men as they make they make their way into the mountain. However, these three are also Dangerous Deserters who plan to rob and murder them, and rape Drusilla.
- Pinned to the Wall: Teach gets nailed to a tree trunk by a black arrow through his throat.
- Scarily Competent Tracker: Moon is shown to be this throughout the movie, so when he cannot find any sign of the hunters who are pursuing them through the wilderness, it seriously freaks him out.
- Still Wearing the Old Colors: Wishbone Cutter spends the entire movie in his old Confederate uniform.
- Toplessness from the Back: Drusilla is shown topless from behind when she is mending her dress; having pulled the top of it down so she could sew it without having to take the dress off.
- *Twang* Hello: When Moon is on watch, one of the mysterious black arrows buries itself into a tree beside his head.
- War Is Hell: The opening scenes feature Captain Cutter being ordered to lead his men into a battle that his knows is futile and is going to be bloodbath. By the end of it, everyone except Cutter and Moon are dead.
