Precious gems disappear as bodies accumulate among Chicago's wealthiest citizens.
Kolchak rushes to the scene of a burglary at a diamond exchange. Upon arrival, he and police discover a guard dog has been mauled to death, and in another room, two security guards lie dead after being shot with their own guns. As they proceed upstairs they encounter a startlingly large Native American Indian standing before them. Oddly, though he easily repels all attempts to subdue him, the Indian only retreats when Carl shoots a picture of him using a flash attachment. Then, as they all watch in astonishment, the Indian leaps off the side of the building and vanishes. Unbeknownst to them all however, high up on a nearby tenement building a black raven sits on a ledge. Next to it lies a precious stone from the diamond exchange.
Kolchak suspects an exclusive private gem auction may be the next target, and sure enough he discovers the Indian among a roomful of murdered bidders. When Carl again uses his flash attachment, the Indian turns into a raven and flaps off through a broken window.
Later, Carl meets with an Indian tribal elder who advises him that the murders are the work of an evil sorcerer known as a Diablero, a cursed figured doomed to amass an eternal treasure that will allow him to pass from this world into the next. He adds that the source of the Diablero's power is his eyes, but that his eyes are also where he is most vulnerable.
Figuring that the Diablero will be found at the highest point in the city, Carl makes his way to the top of a large, half-empty high rise. As he searches the top floor, he discovers the Diablero engaged in a ritual involving the stolen gems. When Carl clumsily drops a mirror he'd brought with him, the Diablero goes after him, alternating between human form and that of a coyote. Backed into a corner, Carl smashes a large mirrored panel and holds a fragment of it up to the Diablero's eyes. As it gazes into it's own reflection, the towering entity sinks to the floor and disintegrates into a smoking pile of dust.
"Bad Medicine" works surprisingly well considering it's particularly wild plot, and provides Kolchak with one of his most unusual foes: an Indian sorcerer with the ability to change itself into animal form. Something else that makes this villain particularly memorable is the casting of Richard Kiel in the role. Known the world over as the metal-toothed killer, "Jaws" from the James Bond movies, Kiel's impressive height of over 7 feet provides the character of the Diablero with an appropriately awesome physical presence. The vague smile on his face as he dispatches his victims is also an effectively sinister touch.
Character actor Victor Jory plays the Indian authority on native legends, and the feeling of authenticity he brings to the role makes the rather "out there" aspects of the story that he explains much easier to accept.
Nicely directed by Alexander Grasshoff, the scene where Kolchak enters the auction room is quite startling. As Carl slides the doors open we see that every single person in the room is now dead at the hands of the Diablero. In another scene, the sorcerer (now in the form of a raven) attacks a woman's chauffeur. When the woman rolls up her window we suddenly see the Diablero's face reflected in the glass. When he Appears to another wealthy woman as a coyote, she prepares to defend herself with a mean-looking hat pin. Next we see the coyote's face dissolve into a tight shot of the Diablero's eyes, and using his hypnotic stare, the evil shaman then makes the woman stab herself with her own hat pin.
Kolchak's hunt for the entity at the top of the high rise builds with a good deal of tension, and particularly creepy is the sound of the Diablero's distant chanting mixed with an eerie wind that grows increasingly louder the further along Carl gets. The sound department's amplification of the raven's shrill cries and the coyote's weird, unnatural growling sounds are also effective touches.
The makeup effects at the end are satisfyingly repellent as the Diablero appears at first to melt, then disintegrates into a skull atop a pile of ashes.
As stated, the plot for "Bad Medicine" is certainly out there, but with it's particularly strong guest-cast (especially Kiel as the villain), a nerve-jangling climax and Grasshoff's over all fine direction, this medicine ends up tasting pretty good.
Kolchak rushes to the scene of a burglary at a diamond exchange. Upon arrival, he and police discover a guard dog has been mauled to death, and in another room, two security guards lie dead after being shot with their own guns. As they proceed upstairs they encounter a startlingly large Native American Indian standing before them. Oddly, though he easily repels all attempts to subdue him, the Indian only retreats when Carl shoots a picture of him using a flash attachment. Then, as they all watch in astonishment, the Indian leaps off the side of the building and vanishes. Unbeknownst to them all however, high up on a nearby tenement building a black raven sits on a ledge. Next to it lies a precious stone from the diamond exchange.
Kolchak suspects an exclusive private gem auction may be the next target, and sure enough he discovers the Indian among a roomful of murdered bidders. When Carl again uses his flash attachment, the Indian turns into a raven and flaps off through a broken window.
Later, Carl meets with an Indian tribal elder who advises him that the murders are the work of an evil sorcerer known as a Diablero, a cursed figured doomed to amass an eternal treasure that will allow him to pass from this world into the next. He adds that the source of the Diablero's power is his eyes, but that his eyes are also where he is most vulnerable.
Figuring that the Diablero will be found at the highest point in the city, Carl makes his way to the top of a large, half-empty high rise. As he searches the top floor, he discovers the Diablero engaged in a ritual involving the stolen gems. When Carl clumsily drops a mirror he'd brought with him, the Diablero goes after him, alternating between human form and that of a coyote. Backed into a corner, Carl smashes a large mirrored panel and holds a fragment of it up to the Diablero's eyes. As it gazes into it's own reflection, the towering entity sinks to the floor and disintegrates into a smoking pile of dust.
"Bad Medicine" works surprisingly well considering it's particularly wild plot, and provides Kolchak with one of his most unusual foes: an Indian sorcerer with the ability to change itself into animal form. Something else that makes this villain particularly memorable is the casting of Richard Kiel in the role. Known the world over as the metal-toothed killer, "Jaws" from the James Bond movies, Kiel's impressive height of over 7 feet provides the character of the Diablero with an appropriately awesome physical presence. The vague smile on his face as he dispatches his victims is also an effectively sinister touch.
Character actor Victor Jory plays the Indian authority on native legends, and the feeling of authenticity he brings to the role makes the rather "out there" aspects of the story that he explains much easier to accept.
Nicely directed by Alexander Grasshoff, the scene where Kolchak enters the auction room is quite startling. As Carl slides the doors open we see that every single person in the room is now dead at the hands of the Diablero. In another scene, the sorcerer (now in the form of a raven) attacks a woman's chauffeur. When the woman rolls up her window we suddenly see the Diablero's face reflected in the glass. When he Appears to another wealthy woman as a coyote, she prepares to defend herself with a mean-looking hat pin. Next we see the coyote's face dissolve into a tight shot of the Diablero's eyes, and using his hypnotic stare, the evil shaman then makes the woman stab herself with her own hat pin.
Kolchak's hunt for the entity at the top of the high rise builds with a good deal of tension, and particularly creepy is the sound of the Diablero's distant chanting mixed with an eerie wind that grows increasingly louder the further along Carl gets. The sound department's amplification of the raven's shrill cries and the coyote's weird, unnatural growling sounds are also effective touches.
The makeup effects at the end are satisfyingly repellent as the Diablero appears at first to melt, then disintegrates into a skull atop a pile of ashes.
As stated, the plot for "Bad Medicine" is certainly out there, but with it's particularly strong guest-cast (especially Kiel as the villain), a nerve-jangling climax and Grasshoff's over all fine direction, this medicine ends up tasting pretty good.