We first stumbled into rabid newspaper reporter Carl Kolchak in 1971’s “The Night Stalker”. Kolchak sniffed out a marauding vampire in fun town Las Vegas. His dogged pursuit of the truth and the dire implications it posed to the town’s populace were Kolchak’s undoing as the Powers That Be were decidedly opposed to his efforts. A coverup thus remains as such and Kolchak ends up ruined as a result. Kolchak is forced out of town but eventually blows into Seattle, Washington, trying to peddle his “bizarre” tale of vampirism existing in the modern age. He has no takers until he [More]
William Marshall is at his nocturnal pursuits again as Blacula, the vampire, in this sequel to “Blacula” (1972). The vampire this time out is at the end of his rope with his undead existence and seeks a way to eradicate himself from his vampiric tendencies. Blacula enlists the help of a voodoo practitioner, played by Pam Grier, to create a spell that can free him from his vampire curse. Marshall exudes a debonair yet deadly presence and he can be an interesting and menacing figure when shifting into his vampire mode. That being said, I can say that I found [More]
This is a moderately interesting tale of a city family happening upon an old country home for sale, deciding to buy it, and taking the plunge headlong into strange occurrences and demonic possession. This movie is of note because of an early directorial turn by Steven Spielberg. He followed up the classic “Duel” (1971), with this effort. “Duel” was definitely better but this movie is distinguished by impressive camera work and unorthodox shooting angles befitting the twisted nature of this tale of possession. Darren McGavin is also onboard, just recently removed from his performance as Kolchak from “The Night Stalker” [More]
I think “Horror In The Heights” was the best episode from the short lived “Kolchak: The Night Stalker” TV series. I have discussed Kolchak in prior posts but I watched this particular episode again recently. It was scripted by Hammer films vet, Jimmy Sangster, whose screenwriting credits included Hammer’s “Curse of Frankenstein” and “Horror of Dracula”. Very good credentials, indeed. A series of ghastly murders are occurring in a neighborhood primarily populated by the elderly. What worse is that the bodies show the signs of being partially devoured! Our fearless reporter, Kolchak, begins to sense that the killings are far [More]
“Burnt Offerings” brings to mind another haunted mansion flick, “The Shining”. BO features a family renting a stately manor and acting as caretakers to the property and the elderly lady supposedly inhabiting an upstairs room. It isn’t long before the heebee-jeebees set in and the wife and husband get unwillingly possessed by some dark forces lingering about the place. The husband has a bad spell and nearly drowns his son in the pool but then returns to some semblance of normality while his wife starts behaving rather oddly. As you can well imagine, no good can come from any of [More]
This may be my favorite episode of Kolchak – The Night Stalker TV series. Kolchak ends up on an ocean cruise to do a fluff piece on the singles scene. It ends up being anything but a pleasure cruise for the intrepid reporter. A series of brutal attacks on the paying customers ensue and Kolchak theorizes that a werewolf may be responsible. It turns out one of the guests is harboring a dreadful secret that has a nasty habit of getting completely out of control when the full moon rises. This is a very suspenseful show full of dark shadows, memorable acting [More]
This was an episode from Kolchak – The Night Stalker TV series. This series was spun off after the popularity of the Kolchak TV movies, “The Night Stalker” and “The Night Strangler”. Unfortunately, the series was only to last one season. Series star Darren McGavin was involved with the production of the show and after about 5 years of association with the Carl Kolchak role, I think he had had enough and “buried” the burden of Kolchak. Check out the excellent DVD release of all the TV episodes bundled together. “They Have Been, They Are, They Will Be…” deals with [More]
Classic tale of an otherworldly killing spree set in modern day Las Vegas. A down on his luck reporter, Carl Kolchak, stumbles upon a series of murders that lead him to the inevitable conclusion that an actual vampire is loose in a city that never sleeps. Scary upon first and subsequent viewings. Creepy, nightmarish performance by veteran actor Barry Atwater as the vampire. Darren McGavin as Carl Kolchak is superb. This is definitely one of those films that you don’t want to watch at night with the lights out. Very chilling and produced as a TV movie, to boot!