The Night Stalker (1972)

Wise-cracking Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin) is a rumpled news hound plucked from the fast-talking newspaper flicks of the 1940s and dropped into the swinging '70s. What makes the eccentric Kolchak even more unique, however, is his nose for the supernatural, a trait that leaves his editor (Simon Oakland) exasperated and the police less than amused. When he insists that a late-night Las Vegas serial killer (who leaves his victims drained of blood and sporting twin holes in the neck) is a modern-day vampire, he's practically run out of town by the local authorities. Naturally, he stalks the vampire himself, an unlikely Van Helsing armed with a silver cross, a wooden stake, and his ever-present tape recorder and flashbulb camera. Carol Lynley is his understanding girlfriend, and Ralph Meeker, Claude Akins, Kent Smith, and Charles McGraw costar as the Vegas cops and politicians Kolchak systematically alienates with his abrasive charm and smart mouth. Directed by Dan Curtis from a witty script by Richard Matheson, the quirky mix of horror and humor turned The Night Stalker into a ratings sensation that inspired a sequel (The Night Strangler) and a short-lived TV series (Kolchak: The Night Stalker). The X-Files creator Chris Carter acknowledges the show as a major inspiration and has cast McGavin in a recurring role as a retired X-Files veteran with an acerbic personality and a familiar rumpled wardrobe. Kolchak lives! --Sean Axmaker Amazon.com

Kolchak-the ultimate vampire killer!

I loved this movie! I just got it in the mail today. It arrived sooner than I expected and was in great condition. They just don't make movies like this anymore. I remember as a kid I would stay up late on saturday night just to watch telemovies like this. Great memories! The story, the characters and the acting are just so damn good. Television needs to go into the vault and dig up these older movies and play them instead of all those dumbass reality shows. Who wants to see who's sleeping with who or what the queers are going to do with the straight loser to impress his lady. I watch movies, t.v. to be entertained and to forget about reality for an hour or two, not to watch it on t.v!Anyway this is a great flick for people who like character driven movies, or who just want to remember when television was entertaining!Five stars! January 31, 2007

The Night Stalker (1972)

Scary but often humorous vampire flick set in Las Vegas, 1972 about an investigator who believes the recent killings of many women around Vegas weren't committed by any old serial killer - they were done by a vampire who is hiding out somewhere and olding comes out during the night according to traditional vampire tales and legends. Darren McGavin is excellent as the investigator, and the other cast members are equally memorable. The chase scene near the end is quite suspenseful. It does show its age quite a bit (note the music score and background while McGavin is driving). Nonetheless, it's no surprise that this was chosen to be the subject for the following television series. January 16, 2004

Great all around TV Movie

Clever writing, suspenseful direction and a fantastic performance by McGavin make this a timeless thriller with plenty of shocks, goosebumps and chuckles. It spawned a TV series and, ultimately, inspired others. Barry Atwater is a terrifying vampire and Carol Lynley continues to be the pretties leading lady on celluloid. July 19, 2003

one of the best(warning spoilers.....)

Karl Kolchak is a veteren reporter who tends to get himself fired.He gets too close to certain types of stories,stories that prosecutors,law enforcement people,politicians,and others would just as soon see suppressed.A backstory is assumed along that line as Kolchak(played by Darren McGavin)investigates a series of grisly murders.These murders were apparently committed by a madman who bites women in the throat.It is further revealed that the murderer has the strength of a full-grown tiger,is impervious to bullets,and cannot be harmed by blunt force.Kolchak slowly begins to operate under the assumption that the killer is a real vampire.The police,the DA office,and Kolchak's boss Tony Vincenzo cannot live a world populated by undead vampires. Kolchak ends up dispatching Count Dracula's second cousin by himself,and then is railroaded out of Las Vegas by the threat of a trumped-up murder rap.
Overall ,this is an excellent vampire movie,and great as a black comedy as well.Claude Akins plays Sherriff Warren Butcher, a surly cop with little tolerance for reporters.The vampire Janos Skorzeny is played with feral intensity and great relish by Barry Atwater.This movie is a delight for fans of old-fashioned good vampire flicks.It is based on an unpublished story by "Jeff Rice" and I wonder if that was really Anne Rice. January 26, 2003

Bram Stoker meets the Front Page

This has to be the best made for TV movie ever made. Filmed in 1972 with strict TV censorship, this movie is still filled with suspense and is scary. Very few movies from the late 1960's or early 1970's hold up today. The ""Night Stalker" has hardly aged at all. There is this hook that emerges from the very beginning of the movie that grabs our interest and never lets go! And this hook is reality.

When Kolchak tell us to "Judge for yourself the believability, and then try to tell yourself, wherever you may be, it couldn't happen here", he is giving us the street reporters version of Dr. Van Helsing version from Lugosi's Dracula: "The superstition of yesterday can become the scientific reality of today...The strength of the Vampire is that people will not believe in him." Yet, with Kolchak, he tells us with facts and figures. Makes you believe. After watching this movie you will check your doors and windows at night.
October 21, 2002

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