Kolchak: The Night Stalker

An absolute TV Cult Gem! This movie literally scared the dickens out of me as a child, as well as literally millions of others who first viewed it back in the early 70's. Besides from setting Nielsen records for the most watched television show in history at that time, it created a new look to tv horror entertainment. This was no lame TV show, with minimal frights. This movie down right gave you the chills. It kind of placed the question in your head, did this really happen? Could it happen where I live? Am I truly safe with all the windows and doors locked? Darren McGavins voice over narration was another innovative touch and it gave the story line an even creepier feel to it. He was giving us a play by play to the terrible events that were ocurring. Ergo: There's a Vampire on the loose! The police can't even stop him! Would someone please listen to Kolchak! I was creeped out to say the least, hugging onto the covers and my dog. My only relief was when a commercial came on to breakup the downright fear I felt in my gut. As well as that touch of comedy with exchanges between McGavin and his loud mouth editor and chief Antonio Vinchenzo played by Simon Oakland. Their exchanges were both hilarious and exhilerating. Because of its well thought storyline this is a must watch, top notch thriller that still holds up solidly even by todays standards. And any child boomer of the 70's has to place this on their top notch movies to watch if they haven't already. And remember to ask yourself, did this happen, can this happen, and what if it does happen.moreless

Cheesy but fun for that time in the 70's,Chris Carter even gave homage to the actor that played Kolchak in season seven of The X-Files.Look for a revamp Kolchak:The Night Stalker to reappear on ABC from Frank Spotnitz who spent several season's writing on The X-Files with Chris Carter.Stay Tuned!

Kolchak: The Night Stalker gets a bad rap sometimes for its camp elements. This tends to make people overlook the show's strengths. Darren McGavin (Kolchak) and Simon Oakland (his boss, Vincenzo), the two leads, played well against each other. Vincenzo's strident skepticism served as an excellent sounding board against which Kolchak was forced to expound his various theories about the supernatural. The writing was good; drawing on legends to build decent stories, and incorporating interesting side characters and frequently witty dialog. Special effects, well, this was the seventies, and the show was made on a low budget. Let's just say that many other shows did a better job and leave it there. The show isn't Emmy quality, but it IS a good, enjoyable watch for horror fans.moreless

Kolchak was to his time what X-Files was to ours.

A stunning, mysterous, and some what funny dive into the world of the unknown.

It covered things like A Lizard Monster Underneth New York City, A Age sucking witch, a shape shifting monster, and even a few vampires and other comon monster.

The show was ahead of its time and a true classic.

Kolchak,(Darrin McGavin) is a reporter for a Chicago newspaper who always finds himself investigating supernatural occurences. His problem is that nobody including his editor will believe him about what he encounters. The police always try to cover up what he has discovered and he always loses any evidence that he has obtained. In the end Kolchak usually solves the problem by putting the monster of the week to its demise. Kolchaks stories and plots were much better the first season than the second and some of the monsters were downright silly looking but if you take the series for what it is I think it is a great show that led the way for other similiar shows such as X-Files.moreless