The Night Strangler

This was a second pilot for a television series that aired after this movie was shown. Another pilot, "The Night Stalker," a year earlier. This one actually kicked off the series, called "Kolchak: The Night Stalker," which ran only two years. It seemed to be popular so I don't know why it didn't last longer.

At 90 minutes, this was longer than the first pilot but very similar in plot. The only major change is in the cities. Here, our intrepid reporter-hero "Carl Kolchak" (Darren McGavin) is hunting down a serial-killer werewolf in Seattle instead of Las Vegas.

He has the same common opponents, meaning his newspaper boss "Tony Vincenzo (Simon Oakland) and a hostile police chief (played by Scott Brady). Along the way you get to see a bevy of beauties including Jo Ann Pflug and Nina Wayne. You also have brief appearances by somewhat-famous actors John Carradine, Margaret Hamilton, Al Lewis and Wally Cox.

The story will keep your interest and has good suspense at the end. The only annoying part - at least for me - is the overdone yelling between McGavin and Oakland, and McGavin and Brady. Every single time - every time - that pairing is on screen it is nothing but a shouting match. Can you say "abrasive?" It's just too much. Thankfully, on DVD, I can use the English subtitles and mute the sound button so I can turn off these screaming lunatics. Unfortunately, those shouting sessions take up a good chunk of the movie.

The intrepid reporter Carl Kolchak (McGavin) returns to familiar paranormal territory as he uncovers a case of an apparently 'undead' fiend, maniacally bumping off hot models for their blood. Typically, his agitator brand of journalism and puritanical pursuit of integrity, rubs his superiors the wrong way leading to another double edged sword. Not as good as the predecessor ("The Night Stalker"), but still entertaining fare with another capable cast and effective chills.

The characterisations are, essentially, the same as the aforementioned picture, with different actors in the respective parts; Scott Brady is in the Claude Akins role, John Carradine vice Kent Smith, Richard Anderson vs Barry Atwater, Jo Ann Pflug in for Carol Lynley etc etc. Despite the carbon copy, the set design is superior here, and the storyline involves a few more angles, even if the comedic tone is more pronounced. Dialogue remains taut and functional, and Simon Oakland is again borderline self-parody as Kolchak's long suffering editor, Tony Vincenzo. Overall, the key distinction here is that director Curtis (who served as producer on the first picture) treats the subject matter with much more humour.

In spite of its age and relative confinement (TV scale), brevity keeps things absorbing and the appearance of beauties Pflug, Nina Wayne and Anne Randall (in a prominent cameo as a feisty policewoman) is a welcome sight amid all the macabre.

Follow-up to the 1972 TV movie "The Night Stalker". Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin) is now in Seattle. It seems women are being killed and drained of their blood. It also seems this happens every 21 years. Kolchak investigates helped by a wacky woman (Jo Ann Pflug).

This is nowhere near as good as "The Night Stalker" despite having most of the same crew involved. The story is kind of vague and the comedy and scares don't really work. Still it looks fantastic, has great atmosphere and good acting. McGavin and Simon Oakland reprise their roles and are great. Pflug is too but her character is annoying. This lead to a TV show called "Kolchak the Night Stalker" which was not a hit but has a cult following now. So this is an OK movie elevated by good acting and atmosphere.

I love this movie! It's better, sexier, and even more scary than the original "The Night Stalker". I know sequels degrade the first films, but this is the best sequel besides "Scream 2" and "A Nightmare On Elm Street 3" that I have ever seen.

I love this movie and give it **** stars. SEE IT!

Relocated to Seattle, reporter Kolchak stumbles on yet another series of murders, a series which seems to be repeated every twenty-one years. Of the two movies, `The Night Strangler' has the slight edge. This is possibly down to its location, Seattle. Very unfamiliar to me, it adds certain freshness to the story, while the underground ‘old' Seattle is a fantastic location, macabre and memorable; it sticks in my mind long after watching the movie. The candle lit, cob-webbed corpses are perhaps one of the most vivid images in American genre television.

Also of note is Richard Anderson's villain, a crazed, immortality seeking Doctor, he is far more impressive than the original's vampire. A more assured script (which is genuinely funny in places), plus some enjoyable cameo's (Carradine, Hamilton), help make this a rare sequel which is better than the original.

Sadly, plans for a third movie were abandoned and instead a short-lived, inferior television series (without Matheson's involvement) resulted. A patchy effort, despite McGavin's best efforts it never attained the quality of the two movies.