Nightstalker (2002)

Based on the true nightmare that left the city of Los Angeles paralyzed for months this is the chilling tale of Richard Ramirez the serial killer known only as The Nightstalker - a psychotic possessed by demons who spends his nights raging through the streets terrified with paranoia and looking for blood. As women and men are randomly butchered in their homes one rookie cop Gabriella Martinez vows to take him down. Hot on his trail Martinez puts her life directly in the line of fire and comes face-to-face with the menacing beast.System Requirements:Running Time: 97 Min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: MYSTERY/SUSPENSE Rating: R UPC: 043396014053 Manufacturer No: 01405 Product Description

Never sending my hubby to the video store again!!

Oh. This movie is beyond bad. I just kept watching, hoping it would have one redeeming quality. Nope, never did. Please stay away, for your own good! April 14, 2008

Worst Movie Ever!

I am not sure if the Director wanted to make a movie or a very long "Extreme!" Rock video. He also tried to cram as many police related clichés as he could into this very unentertaining waste of celluloid. If you are over 30, stay away from this movie, it will not hold your attention. If you're a "Teenage Waste-toid" who spends his time blazing up, then this is the movie for you. As for me, I'll never get those 97 minutes back again! November 27, 2007

Terrible !!!!!!!

Thank goodness that I didn't buy this DVD. I was able to take it out of the library for free! This was the worst film about a serial killer that I have ever seen. That is if you can actually see whats happening on screen with some of the worst lighting in movie history. It appears that the director liked the FX from the film " Jacobs Ladder" so much that he decided to use it in every single scene. DO NOT BUY THIS! March 9, 2007

Very Interesting treatment of the Night Stalker story

Has little to do with the real history of the case, but the actor looks a LOT like RR. Voice not deep enough. RR did not kill Hispanics. The creative editing is very good. Music too modern. Killings were in the 80's. I liked it as a fantasy spin off on the Night Stalker legend. Amazon was great in quickly sending the product in good condition. January 9, 2007

innovative, powerful, original -- true crime told as horror film/religious parable.

As other reviewers have noted, NIGHTSTALKER doesn't follow the Richard Ramirez serial killer facts too closely. But that's not what this film is about.

This is history told as a horror film. Indeed, as a religious parable.

We see Ramirez's killings through his own eyes. He stalks and kills his victims while an albino Satan with a blood-stained mouth flashes about him, head shaking quickly. Ramirez himself flashes about the scene. It's a series of killings seen through the eyes of an insane drug addict. It sets the mood of Evil. It works.

(Although the fast head shaking was first used in JACOB'S LADDER, it may be that this film's albino Satan later inspired THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST.)

Evil is the theme, to the point of religious parable. Ramirez not only sees Satan, he orders his victims, "Say you love Satan!" He tells Satan, "I did it for you!" Naturally, his apartment abounds in upturned pentagrams, written in blood.

Ramirez's nemesis is Rosalyn Sanchez, who plays an East L.A. cop--who's also a devout Catholic. She prays ferverently every night, the camera hovering in extreme closeup about her quivering lips, her tightly clutched rosary, focusing in and out at the aged crucifx she prays before.

Sanchez (Detective Martinez) is surrounded by encroaching evil. Her black police lieutanent boss sexually harrasses her. His head shakes quickly (as does Satan's head), thus linking him to Evil. Sanchez's Latino partner snorts coke in the squad car, his head shaking quickly. Sanchez's white partner turns vigilante, his head shaking quickly. The Evil is everywhere, in all races.

All three men behave in a mostly decent (if roughshod) manner throughout the film. None of their indescretions are followed up plotwise. Rather, the Evil just lurks there, surfacing on occassion, but always beneath the surface of those Sanchez might trust.

The Evil lurks in women too. Sanchez is betrayed by a gal reporter, who uses Sanchez as a source, then breaks confidence, exposing Sanchez as her source. Sanchez had given a police sketch of Ramirez to the reporter, hoping it would save lives. Sanchez's motives were pure, but the reporter didn't care about saving lives, only making a name for herself; exposing Sanchez saved no one, but made the story juicier. The reporter also snorts coke, her head shaking quickly.

Sanchez has other problems. Her aging mother is senile, a burden on Sanchez, who's turned down better job offers to stay in East L.A. and care for her mother. These problems are additional crosses for Sanchez to bear as she prays to Jesus.

The Evil is everywhere. The film is set in 1985, and TV sets throughout the film carry newscasts of crises in the mideast, the poison plant leakage in India, US support of Iraq, and the Ramirez killings.

No, this is not a "true crime" film. It's shot in the aesthetic style of a horror film, and it's about a devoutly Catholic woman seeking divine help in her fight against Evil. Sanchez is the moral core of this darkening universe as Evil encroches on her from all directions.

I can see that many true crime fans were disappointed. I don't think horror fans would be upset. The cinematography is beautiful. (And yes, so is Sanchez.) December 18, 2006

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