The Night Stalker & Night Strangler review (Kolchak 1972 & 1973)

[@tennkenobi]

You had another video about ‘comfort horror’… Kolchak is mine. I go through the two movies and series once a year around August just before autumn sets in. In October there has to be The Fog, The Thing, IT, the original Fright Nights and of course Halloween 1,2 and 3 on the night of the 31st. And come December there’s the wonderful 1970s BBC Ghost stories for Christmas and Mark Gatiss’ recent additions. But Christmas Eve night has to be Alastair Sim’s Scrooge, a perfect way to see in Christmas!

[@GrumpyAndrewsHorrorHouse]

What a fantastic schedule!

[@emsleywyatt3400]

Part of what makes it work is that, at the beginning, Kolchak is just as skeptical as anybody else would be. As he starts to believe he takes us on the journey with him.

[@GrumpyAndrewsHorrorHouse]

Well said.

[@ApothecaryGrant]

I am happy to see people remembering this show fondly . I have hope that a true fan of Kolchak will someday get the chance to bring it back better than 2005s ABC show did .

[@hank964]

Darren McGavin also played the father in "The Christmas Story" (1983) that starred Peter Billingsley

[@eduardo_corrochio]

Loved his nonsense cuss-word ramblings in that movie.

[@hank964]

He's from the old school of acting

[@juggernautomnimedia1038]

Love the review and revisit. I was a kid when this was on. I remember watching The X Files premiere and thinking it was a direct line back to this. They even had Darren McGavin as a guest star in The X Files. Thanks so much.

[@debscherer9902]

They are all the very best of television., #1.

[@rogerwright9096]

I AGREE WITH YOU 110% SIR ! WHO DOESN'T LOVE DARREN MCGAVIN ! WISH HE WAS STILL WITH US .😢

[@ApothecaryGrant]

Bryan Cranston would make a great Kolchak .

[@LannieLord]

Movie 1 VS. Movie 2. Stalker has the lovely Carol Linley as a girl friend / girl Friday / moral support . The Vampire is possibly the scariest vampire in Hollywood history . Strangler has a WEAKER villain , but a HOST of classic cameos (Wally Cox in his final role, John Carradine , Margaret Hamilton , Elisha Cook Jr. , Al Lewis and "her husband Wilma" ). Lousy Un-sexy girl Friday Jo Ann Pflugg . Great creepy underground city. FUN ending in the car ride out of town. I was in 4th grade when the movie debuted. Next day in school - everyone was talking about it (naturally). I'm glad I lived in the USA as television was best in the WORLD in the 1970s (and we even got Monty Python in 1976!) . The Series: in hindsight CHEAP Universal backlots kinda ruin the "horror". Cheap production values, bad monster costumes. Great acting , so so scripts: Best eps: Spanish Moss, The Ripper, The Vampire, The Zombie. I even like The Reptile . The werewolf ep features the WORST werewolf make up ever. TRIVIA : Here in the USA in 1978 / 1979 they showed reruns on CBS Late Night 11:30 PM on Fridays . The show repeats got GREAT ratings! And it showed the series to a "new generation" of viewers as well ! They were ALMOST gonna ask Darrin McGavin to re-start the series for CBS ; but mcGavin is a pain in the ass, cranky and "difficult". Not the nicest person in real life. KOLCHAK was my HERO back in 1972-1975 ! TRIVIA : There was going to be a THIRD movie before the series started . PERSONAL TRIVA: When TV GUIDE reported "The Night Stalker will be made into a weekly series for the fall" I was SO EXCITED. But for some reason: I did not think it was going to be about Carl chasing a different monster every week. I had the weirdest feeling that Carl was going to be chasing Janos Skorzny the Vampire ...from town to town (like The Fugitive, or The Hulk) . Like every week the vampire will kill and leave more vampires for Carl to hunt down. Glad I was wrong .

[@ardentemagination5462]

So glad you discovered this. I grew up with it in the 70s and it was Television at its finest. Have you seen the Norliss Tapes 1973?

[@GrumpyAndrewsHorrorHouse]

I haven't, what are the Norliss Tapes?

[@ardentemagination5462]

@@GrumpyAndrewsHorrorHouse another Dan Curtis production made for television movie as a pilot. Similar to the far superior Kolchak movies. Publisher finds the tapes of his missing writer detailing his experience with supernatural cases.

[@ardentemagination5462]

@@GrumpyAndrewsHorrorHouse the other two networks at the time wanted their lightning in a bottle, their "Night Stalker" each network had Dan Curtis create pilot movies they hoped would be as successful. The Norliss Tapes and Moon of the Wolf. Both movies are nowhere near as good but are fun movies and feel very much like a Dan Curtis project. Have you seen the movie The Dark 1979

[@GrumpyAndrewsHorrorHouse]

@@ardentemagination5462 I have not

[@ardentemagination5462]

@@GrumpyAndrewsHorrorHouse I highly recommend The Dark. It's unique in many ways. Dan Curtis replaced Tobe Hooper as the director. It has the basic framework as the Night Stalker, the difference is it takes itself much more seriously. It is a genuinely creepy movie, interesting killer/creature, effective and notable music, and a odd choice for a protagonist. Plus a rare appearance for Casey Kasem (a popular American DJ and personality of the time. If you do see it, pay attention to the blind man who makes subtle appearances throughout.

[@cuddywifter8386]

I live in the UK I remember watching Kolchak as a kid and later as a teenager on repeat. I loved it, I always felt Q the Winged Serpent could have been in the same universe, I like to imagine Karl turned up too late on this story as its in New York. Same with Manitou 1978 and others I can't recall right now.

[@Tchernobog]

thank you for tackling my favorite childhood franchise!

[@GrumpyAndrewsHorrorHouse]

I'm sorry it took me so long to watch it. I'd have adored this as a kid!

[@michaelbarlow6610]

This is a pretty good review of the two Kolchak films, and I agree with the reviewer that the second film is a more polished film than the first one, primarily because McGavin and Oakland are more comfortable in their respective roles as Kolchak and Vincenzo, respectively, than in the first film. The reviewer does make one slight factual error when he erroneously states that Kolchak discovers that 5 women have been strangled every 21 years, when it was actually 6 women strangled by Dr. Richard Malcolm/Malcolm Richards every 21 years since 1868.

[@richardmurphy9006]

Watched both recently having seen them as a kid I enjoyed enormously the seediness of the streets shined through and it was super popular and lead to Salem's lot 👍

[@thequietearthgardens]

Loved Kolchak as a kid Love Kolchak now.

[@itsgleneaton4883]

When it came out on the movie of the week I loved it because it was as if a real vampire existed where before it was always done like a monster movie and how he played Kojack was superb. Down to earth,funny,lively wit( a mind that’s awake.

[@Phillip_jeffries71]

Hi just wondered if you had watched the series yet and if you'll do a review? Also wanted to recommended another Dan Curtis TV movie "the Norliss Tapes". Sort of of similar to Kolckak but without the humour but does have some creepy moments

[@GrumpyAndrewsHorrorHouse]

Hi Stephen - I always seem to do this, but I started watching the series and then put it down for a bit and haven't gone back to it yet. Then what happens is I think that if I want to talk about it I'd better re-watch the ones I've already seen and that seems like a bit of a drag. I have done that with SO many things.

[@ReginasHauntedLibrary]

One of my favorite TV shows when I was a kid. I should rewatch it.

[@GrumpyAndrewsHorrorHouse]

We're watching the TV series right now :) Man, Kolchak is a great character.

[@ApothecaryGrant]

The NBC streaming app has the entire series for free

[@partaydiyprojectionscreens1452]

You've always impressed me Andrew, but a personal thank you for this. I saw the zombie episode of the series on a late night re-run as a kid and was hooked. A few years ago I started chasing down the best available copies all the single series episodes and these two TV movies. I have watched them all so many times, I would be embarrassed to expound 😁.

[@GrumpyAndrewsHorrorHouse]

Thanks for watching - we're just about to watch the zombie episode right now!

[@brianartillery]

@@GrumpyAndrewsHorrorHouse - A 'Proper' zombie, too. None of this overdone brain eating nonsense. I love that episode.

[@weretacotm207]

I've never seen these movies or the show although I've heard of them. They seem interesting & your review has peaked my curiosity.

[@GrumpyAndrewsHorrorHouse]

They are very much of their time, but if you're in the mood they're great fun.

[@weretacotm207]

@@GrumpyAndrewsHorrorHouse cool, I like taking a look back @ some of the older movies. A lot of them are huge influences on what we have today.

[@FrightfullyForgotten]

Ah good timing, as we are diving into made for TV horror for some of our upcoming episodes, and these came up as possible films to check out!

[@GrumpyAndrewsHorrorHouse]

Excellent idea for a series of episodes. I look forward to it.

[@TheWickerBoy]

Awesome dude really cool video and the review was excellent been while since I've checked these out.

[@shihanUKS]

I took a 2012 tour of the Seattle Underground city with a group of about 20 people with a guide. Its real but not as vast as the movie's portrayal. Both movies were landmark achievements for ABC's "Movie of the week" , a platform introduced by Barry Diller in 1969. The Night Stalker had an amalgam of Twilight Zone alumni. Darren, Barry Atwater, Claude Akins, Simon Oakland, etc. The movie hit like a storm. It wasn't Dracula with the cape you imitate in the playground. It wasn't romantic. No charmer. This vampire , dressed like a C I A operative, had no dialogue. Just demonically driven. Could outrun police cars. three story leaps and surviving bullet barrages. He had a name...and a house. In 72, it was the most watched movie of all time. Its a fun irony that Kolchak and the strangler both built the bionics for Steve Austin in "The Six Million Dollar Man."

[@GrumpyAndrewsHorrorHouse]

I'd love to visit the Seattle underground city, which has just recently featured in Malignant as well. Thanks for watching and sharing your comments.

[@stevemartin239]

Very topical Andrew, the movie "Night Strangler" is on tonight on Cannel 81 Talking Movies. A great TV movie! Glad you are feeling better!

[@GrumpyAndrewsHorrorHouse]

Talking Movies is such a great channel :)

[@cwdkidman2266]

There was no way the world was ready for The Night Stalker. I saw it at 14 and it was the last movie except for the exorcist to actually scare me. No previous vampire movie took place in modern times - except for a couple of Hammer Dracula's, and they had Dracula in a remote location and he didn't interact with the world of the 1970s. Janos Skorzeny bought cars, walked the streets, rented houses, and brawled with LVPD cops. And I loved the efforts of the police chiefs to try and keep things halfway sane and normal ("That's premeditated murder!"). And I even respected the final treatment of Kolchak; the world will never be ready to hear that vampires are real. For the Kolchak character, though, the tv series was an abomination. The effects are terrible, the writing terrible, and it looks like it was made for five bucks per episode. A couple of episodes were okay and Nita Talbot was great in the werewolf episode. But the writing, holy fuck it was bad. And remember that RodSerling, Star Trek, and the (English) Avengers cranked out one good to great episode each week for YEARS. of courseThe Twilight Zone and Star Trek were the visions of one man and Kolchak looked like a production by committee, with only dollar signs the standard for quality.

[@markcook3570]

The only believable vampire movie ever made.....CLASS DISMISSED

[@donaldclay9535]

In the 1950s He was P.I. Mike Hammer T.V. Series.

[@eduardo_corrochio]

Love me some Kolchak! That is a sentimental favorite TV show of mine, from watching reruns in the 1980's with my sister. Its biggest appeal for me, aside from the hunting of monsters and other paranormal evils, was the amazing and funny rapport/dynamic that Carl Kolchak shared with his boss (Simon Oakland as hot-headed Tony Vincenzo) ... I mean, the bickering, the shout fests, the aggravation they shared: simply great. It added such a good flavor to the series. Good comic relief for a show that could be quite creepy at times. Another thing that worked very well was the background music score. It was so 70's and so effective. Favorite episodes: Horror in the Heights, The Spanish Moss Murders, The Zombie, The Ripper. Kudos to Darren McGavin in this role. Such a likable, shifty, relatable, sharp, fun person who wasn't above anything in getting his story and the truth. Re: the two TV movies-- I prefer the second one, simply for the guest stars, LOL. We have superb character actors there, including The Wicked Witch of the West, Grandpa Munster, and the voice of Underdog.

[@michaelbarlow6610]

@ Eduardo Corrochio. The "Kolchak: The Night Stalker" TV episode about voodoo is titled, " The Zombie" not "Voodoo".

[@eduardo_corrochio]

@@michaelbarlow6610 Of course! What a brain fart I had. I'll change it. Thanks.

[@michaelbarlow6610]

@@eduardo_corrochio . Robert Cobert who wrote the fantastic music for the 1966-1971 TV horror soap opera, "Dark Shadows" did a superb job creating the eerie music for both of the Kolchak movies and the Karen Black movie, "Trilogy of Terror"(1975). There is a video interview of Dan Curtis on KZbin in which he talks about that music composer Robert Cobert chose to make a piece of music that Colbert composed for the movie, "The Questor Tapes"(1974) the theme music for the movie, "The Night Stalker"(1972). I have to make a correction here - I just rechecked the Wikipedia article on the movie "The Questor Tapes"(1974) and it was Gil Melle who composed the music for that movie, so I'll have to rewatch the Dan Curtis interview to see if he mistakenly thought that Robert Cobert wrote the music for that movie, when it was actually Gil Melle who wrote the music for that movie. It was Melle who chose to make a piece of music from "The Questor Tapes" movie the theme music for the Kolchak TV series. So Dan Curtis may have understandably years later simply confused the movie, " The Norliss Tapes" (which Cobert composed the music for) with the movie, " The Questor Tapes". Interestingly, the Wikipedia article on Robert Cobert inaccurately states that he wrote the music for the TV series "Kolchak: The Night Stalker"(1974-1975) when he did not.

[@eduardo_corrochio]

@@michaelbarlow6610 Cobert's compositions for "Burnt Offerings" from 1976 were super; very ominous stuff-- plus that pretty music box tune.

[@michaelbarlow6610]

@@eduardo_corrochio . I've never seen the movie, "Burnt Offerings"(1976). The magnificent piece of music box music that I love to listen to is the one at the end of the Dan Curtis made-for-TV movie, "Dracula"(1974) starting Jack Palance. Is that the same piece of music box music that's in "Burnt Offerings"(1976) or are they two different pieces of music?

[@shamblepants1450]

I'm so glad you're now a fan of Kolchak! The movies and series had a profound effect on my later tastes for horror fiction (I was maybe eight years old when the first movie came out). As for the 2000's reboot...run away...run very far away. Dreadful stuff. If they tried again now, I'd be more optimistic with all the talent out there ripping up the rules for television.

[@GrumpyAndrewsHorrorHouse]

I wish I'd seen this at around 8, but better late than never I guess :)

[@shamblepants1450]

@@GrumpyAndrewsHorrorHouse I think Darren McGavin was one of my first crushes. I thought he was the coolest thing I'd ever seen on television!

[@GrumpyAndrewsHorrorHouse]

He's the man! So, so great in these, an absolute joy to watch.

[@GrumpyAndrewsHorrorHouse]

I'm now trying to think who I'd cast today if I were in charge of a new 'Kolchak' show. I'm thinking maybe Bryan Cranston. What do you think?

[@shamblepants1450]

@@GrumpyAndrewsHorrorHouse Excellent choice! He'd also add a darker version of Kolchak - an easygoing guy on the outside, but fighting his own demons on the inside (plus the actual demons he's tracking down).

[@Pat4HUMANITY]

Yeah, great character and Darren Mcgavin was terrific 👍 in the role, but the TV series was a big mistake--except for the direct sequel episode (see it) to the excellent first movie.

[@TheHorrorMiserMontyG]

I remember watching both movies when it was first broadcast on ABC back in 1972. I simply loved the movies and the TV show as well. They tried to bring back the series in 2005 but it didn't have the charm of the original.

[@theTemplar08]

Saw this in early 80’s. The one set in Seattle Washington state. The city has windows where people below the street can look up at people on the streets above. I’d see steam coming out of the street and I’d worry about this show

[@theTemplar08]

Night strangler the original IT.

[@ApothecaryGrant]

The show was ridiculous . It really was . But I was a fan anyway because of the way Darren McGavin played Carl , the far from perfect hero .

[@brianartillery]

A great fun show. The BBC showed all the episodes in the late 1990's, on a Saturday night, and I tried to ensure that I saw all of them. Darren McGavin is excellent in the role - but here's the thing - I always wanted Kolchak to be believed just once. Just once could his equipment not let him down. Just once, so that people could see that he wasn't a bullshitter wasting their time. We, the viewers knew, of course, and some of the things he encountered were lethal, and almost killed him several times. Oddly, the show carried with it that odd 'chilliness' of feel that a lot of UK TV science fiction and horror has, and which is rarely found anywhere else. I also love Kolchak as he reminds me of the scruffy but dogged Columbo, a show I always loved, and is one of the very few near perfect shows ever made. The similarities are obvious - both are scruffy, dishevelled men who nobody takes seriously on first encountering them. Beware! They both have minds like steel traps. A bit like Patrick Troughton's portrayal of The Doctor's Second Incarnation. But Kolchak - the show is a lot of fun, and often genuinely scary, with a lot of nice big ideas thrown in.

[@theTemplar08]

Seattle’s underground is not that interesting.

[@jimmyjambhere]

The 2000’s reboot was SHIT!!! Horrible Garbage

[@GrumpyAndrewsHorrorHouse]

I didn't even know it got rebooted. Sounds like a hard pass.