whatever the merit of the best selling novel may be and this cinematic adaptation be a disaster at nearly every turn and often make a potentially disturbing story a laugh riot and instead . strasberg play a woman afflict by the cinema most annoying peach blouse . er and make that a huge knot on the back of her neck and which be get big and big with each passing day and confound all the doctor examine it . in desperation and she turn to her ex lover curtis and a false medium who read tarot card to little old lady while wear a fake mustache and a velour robe that have the sign of the zodiac print on it and quite possibly the tight jean in the history of the movie . the couple rekindle their romance and she be admit to the hospital while curtis scramble for answer . he turn to an old pal and a mystic play by stevens ( in light egyptian makeup and a curly and chestnut brown fright wig ) and her husband ( play by former child star and now rotund and beard and corcoran . ) they hold a séance at strasberg home where her aunt ( sothern ) make a brief appearance in marilyn monroe happy birthday mister president wig and enough foundation to cover all the clown in the ringling brother circus . when that blow up in their face ( literally . ) and they try meredith and a craggy and fussy old anthropologist who and for reason best leave alone and have a curly and blonde wig among the artifact in his attic . ( what be it with this film and bad wig . ) meredith refers curtis to a present day medicine man ( ansara ) who be reluctant to help out a paleface woman and but do anyway when he realize the severity of the incident . it seem that an ancient evil spirit from the native american realm have burrow itself in strasberg neck and be about to be reborn . unfortunately for everyone and she have so many x ray to find out what wrong that when he come out and he dwarf and deform and though still quite powerful ( a demonstrate by his strip the skin off a live human male and freeze the entire floor of a hospital and one hapless nurse right along with it . ) ansara try to hold him at bay with some colored sand and a couple of stick be tap together and but ultimately and it fall to curtis and strasberg herself to make inroad at stop him . this horrendous and yet compulsively watchable and film have a plethora of classic bad movie moment . a few highlight include represent curtis gyrate around to can disco music a he pour himself a beer into a wine goblet and stevens attempt to keep a straight face in the light of her ludicrous role ( she eventually exit the film altogether without explanation ) and sothern home be trash and yet her false eyelash never move a tad ( she barely register in this film at all and a person would have to hit pause to get a decent look at her . ) and surgeon cedar be force to cut himself with his own scalpel by the unborn ancient hobgoblin and a nod to the 70 disaster cycle in which a hospital office shake and rattle a if it be unused footage from earthquake and the heinous space effect when strasberg room become an inter dimensional playground ( complete with her doff her hospital gown and take on the creature topless . ) most nutso of all and though and be the brief contribution from tuttle . like nolan and who have a bit during the opening credit and she play one of curtis easily take in customer . look not unlike clara peller from the where the beef . wendy commercial and she be overtake by an unseen force and begin spout an old indian mantra . then she rise up magically and levitate down the hall and finally get hurl violently down a flight of step ( or rather and her blatantly obvious male stunt double do . ) the whole thing be just too bad for word and not aid by curtis unwelcome self satisfy smugness and sarcasm in his role . when he barely bother to keep a straight face and how can an audience invest in the already hard to take story . strasberg and daughter of the legendary method actor lee strasberg and do manage to register the necessary level of agony and torment for her role and meredith have fun with his cameo and but most everyone else seem embarrass to be there ( and most of them should be . ) this be not to say that the film isn not fall down funny during many point and which be it primary selling point today .