Kolchak: The Night Stalker
Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi & Fantasy • 1974 • 51m
The Ripper
A serial killer who preys on women haunts Chicago, and Kolchak comes to believe that the killer is in fact the original Jack the Ripper, a seemingly immortal killer who has killed women in many cities over the last century. The reporter must track the killer to the old house where he has taken up residence and put an end to his existence once and for all.
The Zombie
A voodoo priestess animates her dead son to take revenge on the gangsters that killed him.
They Have Been, They Are, They Will Be...
A bizarre alien presence invisibly sweeps through Chicago, killing a petty thief and a UFO nut. The alien or aliens have the strength of a hurricane, generate a massive electromagnetic field, steal lead and electronic equipment, and suck the bone marrow out of humans and animals alike. Kolchak must track the alien(s) from an electronics warehouse to an observatory to Lincoln Park and drive them off before they kill again. His camera seems to hold the key to the creatures' weakness, although initially Carl is wrong in guessing what the weakness is. Carl follows the aliens and manages to keep them from feeding on him before they depart once and for all.
The Vampire
Catherine Rawlins, a female victim of Janos Skorzeny (the vampire from the original Night Stalker TV movie) is accidentally resurrected outside Las Vegas, and makes her way to Los Angeles. She takes up her old profession of call girl and Carl wrangles an assignment there to investigate.
The Werewolf
Bernhardt Stieglitz, a NATO soldier bitten by a wolf, leaves a string of murder victims behind him. When Vincenzo is forced to abort his long-awaited vacation and report on the last cruise of an ocean liner, the USS Hanover, Carl takes his place, only to find that Stieglitz is one of the passengers on board...and the full moon is rising. Trapped aboard the liner, Kolchak must use a shotgun and silver buckshot to kill the creature once and for all.
Firefall
A series of mysterious deaths plague the life of conductor Ryder Bond. In each case, the victim is incinerated by supernaturally hot flames. As Kolchak investigates, he finds out that an arsonist, Frankie Markoff, was a fan of Bond's, and was killed in a penny arcade. His funeral procession crossed Bond's car, allowing the spirit to become a ""doppelganger"" and try to take over Bond's life. Each victim was burned to death when they fell asleep, and if Bond goes to sleep the doppelganger will take him over for good. Fighting sleep himself, Kolchak must exhume Markoff's body and reunite it with his restless spirit before he too bursts into flame.
The Devil's Platform
Kolchak discovers a young rising politician, has made a deal with the Devil to murder off his competition through incidents made to look like accidents.
Bad Medicine
A series of suicides among high-society matrons coincides with a bizarre jewel theft by a towering Indian who mysteriously disappears when cornered. Kolchak investigates and finds that the Indian is a ""diablero,"" a cursed cliff-dwelling Indian medicine man condemned to walk the earth gathering an eternal horde of jewels. The diablero can change shape into the form of a coyote or crow, and hypnotize anyone with its eyes. Carl must seek the diablero in the highest place he can find, and turn the power of its eyes against it.
The Spanish Moss Murders
A series of apparently unrelated deaths involve each victim being crushed to death, and covered in wet, slimy Spanish Moss. Upon investigation, Kolchak discovers that each victim was related to Paul Langois, a hot-tempered Cajun. However, Langois has an iron-clad alibi: he's been the subject of a sleep experiment and been kept asleep for several weeks. Eventual, Carl realizes that somehow Langois' sleep state has caused him to manifest a subconscious ""boogey-man"" from the Cajun bayou: Peremalfait, a huge creature covered in Spanish Moss that crushes the life right out of you. Peremalfait ""kills"" Langois to prevent him from being woken up, and Kolchak must travel into the sewers of Chicago to kill Peremalfait with the only thing that can destroy it: a spear made out of bayou gum wood.
The Energy Eater
Several Indian construction workers are killed during high-rise work on a new hospital. They leave the job, and the hospital is completed. However, a series of strange electrocutions continue to plague the hospital after its grand opening. Kolchak investigates and finds that a ""bear-god"" spirit, Matchemonedo, was resurrected from its burial spot beneath Lake Michigan by the hospital construction. Now the creature, which feeds on energy, is beginning to awaken. Kolchak must convince the hospital officials to re-refrigerate the ""bear-god"" and drive it back into hibernation before it awakens once and for all.
Horror in the Heights
Kolchak’s investigation of a series of grisly deaths in a once-plush neighborhood, leads him to a creature who lures its victims by making itself appear to them as someone they know and trust.
Mr. R.I.N.G.
Kolchak writes an obituary for a deceased scientist, but soon becomes involved in further investigation when no one can give him a straight answer on how the scientist died. Meanwhile, a mysterious figure goes on a rampage throughout Chicago, stealing morticians' wax and Halloween masks. Kolchak eventually finds out that the scientist was working on Project R.I.N.G.: the development of an artificially intelligent robot. R.I.N.G. killed his creator rather than be shut down, and now the government is hunting it. Kolchak must find where the robot is hiding and reveal the story before the government catch up to R.I.N.G.
Cast
Reviews
The influential Kolchak TV series from 1974-1975 The TV series Kolchak: The Night Stalker ran for one season in 1974-1975, consisting of 20 episodes. Two additional episodes were scheduled to be filmed, but star Darren McGavin was becoming disillusioned with due to an exhausting schedule and the fact that he was rewriting scripts plus doing much of the production work without compensation. The ratings were mediocre so he asked to be released from his contract with two episodes yet to be shot. The network granted his request in light of the ratings. I wish Darren would’ve persevered and finished out the season because then we’d have two more episodes to enjoy. He was too fatigued at the time to see that this unique and groundbreaking series would be his most well-known role, along with “A Christmas Story” (1983). If you haven’t seen the two pilot movies, “The Night Stalker” (1972) and “The Night Strangler” (1973), I encourage you to view them before checking out the series. The debut movie was the best of the batch with “The Night Strangler” almost as good and even better in some ways (see my reviews for details). Both movies established the template (formula) for the TV series and myriad books that followed. The 20 episodes are more of the same, but condensed into 51 minutes and all-around inferior. They’re all of about the same quality with favorites emerging depending on how interesting the Monster-of-the-Week is, as well as the guest stars, both of which are a matter of taste. The first episode, “The Ripper,” is a quality beginning for the series but it’s too much like the two pilot movies for its own good, particularly the first film. It’s basically a compressed version with a slightly different ‘monster.’ “Horror in the Heights” is usually cited as the best segment because of the intriguing monster, which can mimic a person its victim trusts. It’s actually pretty chilling for mid-70’s television. “The Trevi Collection” is one of my personal favorites because it deviates from formula and contains a twist. The story tackles witchcraft but doesn’t make the mistake of doing it in a one-dimensional manner (e.g. the mannequins). “The Energy Eater” is another fave due to guest stars William Smith, who beams with charisma, and professional-but-sultry Elaine Giftos, both of whom sorta team-up with Kolchak, particularly the former. “The Vampire” is distinguished for its ties to the pilot movie and taking place in Los Angeles rather than Chicago, not to mention its vicious no-talking (and sharp) antagonist. “Demon in Lace” is one of the better episodes due to the intriguing succubus and the campus locale. “The Zombie” is notable for its formidable foe and one of the creepiest sequences in the last act at a junkyard. The monster make-up in “The Werewolf” is lame, but I favor the episode because it takes place completely on a cruise ship and features voluptuous & perky Jackie Russell as Wendy (in a black bikini); and Nita Talbot as Paula, who becomes Kolchak's gal pal. The low points, for me, are the clunky “The Knightly Murders” (no pun intended), and “The Chopper,” which devolves into camp. Yet even those episodes have their points of charm. The final segment, “The Sentry,” is often reviled due to the reptilian creature costume, but it would’ve worked if the creators kept its cartoonish face & teeth obscured. The story rips-off Star Trek’s “Devil in the Dark,” but isn’t anywhere near as absorbing. Yet this is partially made up for by the beaming & lovely Kathie Browne as Lt. Irene Lamont. Kathie was McGavin’s wife for 34 years until her death in 2003. You might recall her as hottie Deela in Star Trek’s “Wink of an Eye” from seven years earlier. Unsurprisingly, she & Darren have great chemistry. The concept of the show, and its star (and some of the co/guest stars), are better than the actual execution of most of the episodes. The show needed someone of the caliber of Gene Roddenberry at the helm. As it turned out, the bulk of the pressure & work fell on McGavin’s shoulders and thus he couldn’t even finish out the season. Nevertheless, the show was seminal and acquired a cult-following, influencing more popular future series like The X-Files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Supernatural and The Walking Dead. GRADE: B-
This could have been a witty show instead of a depressing one that borders too much on Hitler worship. Kolchak is an obnoxious reporter and terrible role model. He does anything for a story. Trouble is, the writing for the series seems to always degenerate into some Nazi ideology where all the murder victims are women with dark hair and dark eyes. It's impossible not to notice this worship of Hitler's genocide program. You feel like you're watching the reels of Nazis taking beautiful brunettes out to be executed. That's the weakest part of the series, and it's impossible not to notice. It appears either the writer or director was jilted by too many brunettes in his life and couldn't get over it. Simon Oakland almost salvages this series with his matter of fact character who has the sanity that Darren McGavin's Kolchak totally lacks. But it isn't enough to save the poor writing.
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