Wuchak RELEASED TO TV IN EARLY 1973 and directed by Dan Curtis, "The Night Strangler" chronicles events in Seattle when the strangled bodies of several young women are found. Intrepid reporter Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin) discovers that the same kinds of murders occur every 21 years dating back to the late 1800s. Simon Oakland plays Kolchak's bellowing boss while Jo Ann Pflug appears as a genial belly dancer who assists Carl. Scott Brady plays the police captain while Wally Cox is on hand as a helpful scribe. Richard Anderson has a key role."The Night Strangler" was the follow-up to the highly successful "The Night Stalker" (1972) and led to a series that ran for one season from 1974-1975 (20 episodes), not to mention numerous Kolchak books. The two pilot movies are the best of the batch and established the template (formula) for the series and books.Like the first film, there's a lot of intrigue, action, ravishing women, horror and suspense, plus a percussion-oriented jazzy score that's even better. "The Night Strangler" adds a little effective comedy and the antagonist is more complicated. The underground lair is mysterious and the mummified family is creepy, but the details of the alchemist's elixir and strategy seem contrived.It's good to have Kolchak team-up with someone (cutie Pflug), which rarely happens in the ensuing series, but it was welcome when it did ("The Energy Eater" and "Demon in Lace"). There are a few peripheral beauties (Regina Parton, Nina Wayne and Francoise Birnheim), which the rest of the series mostly lacked, except for the debut episode, "The Ripper," and "The Werewolf." Since this is a TV flick from the early 70s don't expect much gore. THE MOVIE RUNS 90 minutes (with the original TV release more streamlined at 74 minutes) and was shot in Seattle and the Bradbury Building in downtown, Los Angeles, with studio work done at 20th Century Fox Studios. WRITER: Richard Matheson (teleplay) & Jeffrey Grant Rice (characters & formula).GRADE: B+

Coventry As you can probably derive from the title, the movie poster and the brief plot synopsis, "The Night Strangler" is almost identical to its predecessor "The Night Stalker". Is that bothersome? Perhaps a little… But can you blame writer Richard Matheson and producer/director Dan Curtis for copying themselves? No, of course not, because the original was such an unexpected but prompt and tremendous success that a sequel had to come and it had to come fast! And besides, the plot and atmosphere of the first film were so terrific that watching a rehash of the same story isn't irritating at all. Quite the contrary, "The Night Strangler" is once again a very entertaining and reasonably fast-paced combo between horror and detective, with cool humor and delightful characters. One year after he was unjustly chased out of Las Vegas, sewer journalist Carl Kolchak is wandering around in Seattle. He bumps into his old editor Vincenzo in a sleazy bar and – out of pity – gets offered a job. His first assignment is to report the bizarre murder of a showgirl, but the obsessive Kolchak quickly discovers that several Seattle unsolved murders are related and that the same type of crimes plagues the city of Seattle every 21 years. Once again Kolchak digs up classified police information, once again he doesn't stick to reporting the facts and one again every authority figure in town aims to shut him up! The best (and only innovative) thing about Matheson's script here is the wonderful usage of its filming locations. The culprit – an alchemist that keeps himself alive through murdering young women – has his hideout underneath the ground, in the old Seattle that was destroyed by a tremendous fire. A few years ago, I visited Seattle as a tourist and also took the underground tour, so I can confirm that it forms a unique and authentically creepy filming location for a monster like this! If you're still not convinced yet, the sequel features the awesome John Carradine as a furious and loud-shouting newspaper owner! The end sequences pave the road for a third movie entry that never got made, although apparently Matheson had the script ready, and instead the legendary TV-series were unleashed.

AaronCapenBanner Effective sequel to "The Night Stalker" this time directed, as well as produced by Dan Curtis, this story again revolves around the mysterious murders of several women,this time in Seattle, where Kolchack happens to be. He first thinks it to be the work of another vampire, but all is not as it appears...Another fine guest cast includes Richard Anderson, John Carradine, Margaret Hamilton, Al Lewis, and Simon Oakland, returning as Carl's editor/best friend, who puts up with his antics to an amazing degree.Not quite as good as "The Night Stalker", this still memorably brings back the indelible Darren McGavin as fearless Carl Kolchack, a unique, one-of-a-kind TV character that sadly we have precious little of these days.The one-season TV series followed the next year.

JLRMovieReviews Darren McGavin gives an over-the-top performance as Kolchak, a journalist who has a habit of getting mixed up in murders of the offbeat kind. It seems there's somebody (or something) out there that's killing p.y.t.s and taking their blood. (For those not in the know, that's pretty young things.) Present day is 1973, but it seems that this occurs every 21 years and started back in 1889. Darren as Kolchak and Simon Oakland as his boss, the editor of "The Daily Chronicle," both seem to live at the top of their voices and hold nothing back in their aggravation of each other. With a great cast in support of Darren, including John Carradine, Margaret Hamilton, Richard Anderson, and Scott Brady as the law, this is one film not to be missed come Halloween time. There are laughs and spooks abound in this creepy tale of the dead stalking and killing in order to keep alive! Don't say you haven't been told! But, who'd believe it!