Bad Medicine
Directed By: Alex Grasshoff
In the same night, two members of Chicago’s elite mysteriously commit suicide, and diamonds they own vanish from their homes. The next day, Kolchak accompanies the police in busting a robbery at a gem exchange, only to find the guards are dead, the police dog sent after the culprit (Richard Kiel) has been mauled to death by a coyote, and the culprit jumps off the roof of the building when pursued and vanishes before hitting the ground. Kolchak suspects that these events are connected, and investigates, finding that the culprit is a shape shifting evil spirit known as the Diablero, who can warp reality with his eyes.
Tropes:
- Bloodless Carnage: Played straight with most of the Diablero’s victims, but averted by the police dog he mauls to death.
- Hypnotic Eyes: Subverted. The Diablero doesn’t hypnotize his victims to get them to kill themselves, he uses his eyes to change reality to control them.
- Reduced to Dust: The Diablero/Diableros (the spirit of an evil Native American sorcerer) can only be defeated by tricking it into looking at its own reflection. When it does so, it is reduced to skeletal form, then turns to dust.