Cry for the Strangers (film)

Plot

In 1937, a young boy wakes in the night to see apparitions of Native Americans dancing on the beach, then discovers his grandparents' bodies buried up to their heads in sand. He later becomes the town's police chief, known as Chief Whalen. In 1982, Dr. Brad Russell, a Seattle psychiatrist, and his wife Elaine move to a Pacific coast fishing town. They hear a local legend that thunderstorms bring apparitions of Native Americans dancing on the beach. A fisherman named Riley claims these are ghosts of the "storm dancers," a tribal sect that executed victims by burying them up to their necks in sand to drown at high tide. Riley believes the visions connect to a series of mysterious deaths. Chief Whalen dismisses the stories, insisting that people, not legends, kill people. Dr. Russell previously treated a hyperactive child, Robby Palmer, who now lives in the town and appears normal. During a thunderstorm, Robby enters a trance on the beach while his mother Rebecca falls into a pit and screams for help; Robby does not move, and she is rescued by her husband. Robby later claims no memory of the event. The next night, Robby sneaks to the beach, followed by his sister Missy. Searching for them, Dr. Russell and others find Riley's corpse and see Chief Whalen in fake war paint attempting to kill Missy. Whalen is shot dead by his own deputy. Dr. Russell theorizes that storms triggered Whalen's traumatic childhood memories, causing him to re-enact the deaths. Elaine wonders who originally killed Whalen's grandparents. The film ends with a night shot of Robby watching the apparitions dance to another storm.