Rating: 
Summary: first rate horrror
Review: i seen the night stalker when it was 1st shown on tv
in the early, dan curtis was a name most knew
from his dark shadow work, this film was shot very good,
and the storey line was great...i think all of us would have liked to have seen a directors cut or even a expanded 2 hour version, if enough footage was shot.
darren mcgavin will always be remembered as carl kolchak
the nosey newsman..his series the night stalker
had several good episodes also.
noted guest star's: claude akins as sheriff warren butcher
would later claim sheriff lobo
guest star: ralph meeker, actor from the 50's and 60's
played a good supporting role.
yhis is a must have, must see for hard core coleectors
of vampire flix,...the evolution in storey and special effects.
Rating:
Summary: Stalked
Review: I was fortunate enough to rent the video version. Darren McGavin gives a powerful and artful performance as a news reporter turned monster hunter. I will not give away the ending but expect sadness and a new begining. They realy should release all episodes instead of a few. I heard there is a theatrical movie in the works. I hope so and that it pays homeage to this work of television art. The stories are brillant. Each plot is easy to follow. If you like classic monsters and shudder from Buffy, this is a wise alternative. Cauton: The Night Stalker does not have ranchy sex before and after each battle like a blond bimbo we all know and are sick of.
Rating:
Summary: My favorite television movie character
Review: In the decades of television, there have been many shows with many characters. Some memorable and most easily and properly forgotten. In terms of characters complete to the inclusion of distinct mannerisms, Darren McGavin as investigative reporter Carl Kolchak is one of the best. His jaunty walk, distinctive suit and hat placed sideways serve to make him visually obvious in the largest of crowds. A personality that is both obnoxious and appealing make you root for him while he once again takes on the political powers of a city.
In this sequel to "The Night Stalker", Kolchak surfaces in Seattle, where he is reunited with his old editor, the vocal Tony Vincenzo. Once again, Simon Oakland is masterful as the frustrated editor who screams at Kolchak while realizing that he is a superb reporter. In this case, Kolchak is investigating a series murders of young women. With the help of a research clerk played superbly by Wally Cox, they uncover a series of serial murders going back nearly a century and repeating every 21 years, tracking down the perpetrator.
Another point of casting genius is the aged female professor of mythology, well-done by the same woman who played the evil witch in "The Wizard of Oz." Kolchak's conversation with her cannot help but conjure up memories of her cackling over the apparently helpless Dorothy.
This is an excellent film, without a doubt one of the best acted television movies of all time. The characters have depth, distinctiveness and excellent dialog that make them interesting and entertaining. The quality of the performances help you forget some of the flaws in the story.
Rating:
Summary: They don't Make Programs Like This Anymore
Review: Nobody but Darren McGavin could have played Carl Kolchak - he was the perfect actor for the role. If you've never seen the Night Stalker or Night Strangler movies you don't know what you're missing. Made-for-TV movies, the former served as the pilot for the series which ran several years and pre-dated the X-Files by 25. It was one of those "don't miss" series in the early '70's....highly enjoyable with just enough touches of horror to keep you on the edge of your seat. You knew it wasn't real, but that didn't stop you from biting your nails if you were so inclined. It also proved you can have outstanding TV and considering what is on today, you have to wonder what happened and where the TV programmers went wrong. If you want a good scare and first-class entertainment - pick this one up now.
Rating:
Summary: A Diabolical Duo You Can Really Sink Your Teeth Into
Review: Obnoxious seasoned middle-aged newshound Carl Kolchak is his own worst enemy. He always gets his story, all right, but he steps on so many powerful toes in the process that he rarely gets to report what he's sleuthed-out. Hooking up with his old boss Tony Vincenzo in Las Vegas, Kolchak latches onto the biggest story of his life: a series of serial murders of young showgirls is not just being committed by some psychopath - it's being committed by "a real live vampire." The police are reluctant to accept the evidence of their own eyes - the killer survives a fusillade of bullets from the city's finest - and it becomes incumbent on Kolchak to take matters into his own hands.Such is the plot of The Night Stalker, the highest-rated T.V. movie of its time. By today's standards, it is tamer than most horror movies or even straight police procedurals - which is essentially what The Night Stalker is - though it holds up well still, thirty years later. The sequel, also the highest-rated movie of its time, finds Kolchak and Vincenzo relocated to Seattle, where another series of showgirl murders are occurring. Blood was being drained from the Vegas victims, but this killer - whose description varies from "corpse-like" to "quite handsome" - is arguably grislier: he's taking the girls' spinal fluid, for reasons unknown. Kolchak and an industrious bookworm at the newspaper's morgue trace a similar series of murders committed at regular intervals every twenty-eight years for over a century, and Kolchak ends up cornering (or being cornered by) a most unusual quarry, in a sunken city hideout beneath Seattle. Both these films are very good. Producer/director Dan Curtis shows admirable restraint crafting both pieces as superior crime melodrama - the latter with a fair amount of humor, to boot. Veteran horror author/screenwriter Richard Matheson adapted the first movie from Jeff Rice's novel, and wrote the sequel as his own original script. The films play very well together, and subsequently gave birth to a pretty good one-year T.V. series that largely inspired Chris Carter to create The X-Files, by Carter's own admission. Robert Cobert's jazzy score works for some viewers and not for others, but even if it puts you off, the movies are sufficiently good on their other many merits to distract you from it. The casts are excellent in both movies, especially Darren McGavin and Simon Oakland as Kolchak and Vincenzo. Just as Jaws is much more than merely a story about a killer shark, The Night Stalker and The Night Strangler are more about government coverups than anything else, utilizing supernatural serial killers as the vehicle for the theme. They're well worth watching, still, after all these years. And if you can catch any of the T.V. series episodes, they're entertaining too, though generally much more comedic.
Rating:
Summary: this dvd rates a 10.
Review: one of darren mcgavin's best performances.Horror,humor and good detective work show just how great the old movies were!!Great entertainment.
Rating: 
Summary: Modern Character, Ancient Evil
Review: One of my favorite shows when I was a kid was "Kolchak: The Night Stalker" and I was always bummed that the show only lasted one season. I loved the character of Carl Kolchak and the way Darren McGavin played him.
And I've always thought it was very cool that Chris Carter, creator of "The X-Files," always acknowledges that NIGHT STALKER was a big influence on him.
The original TV movie, THE NIGHT STALKER, was a ratings monster back when it aired in the early 70's.
One of the reasons I think the story works so well is that you had the vampire legend told in modern-day Las Vegas where everyone--meaning every 20th Century human--refuses to believe no matter what the evidence shows. Except for Kolchak.
THE NIGHT STRANGLER is included, as well as interviews with Dan Curtis.
Definitely worth having.
(I've heard that plans are in the works to bring Carl Kolchak back to the screen. Something to look forward to!)
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Poor sequal to the much superior and scarier "Night Stalker". As usual, the plot is rehashed with Kolchak (Darren McGavin) chasing some supernatural villian, while the cops do their Keystone imitation and Vincienzo (Simon Oakland)screams at the top of his lungs. Apparently "Night Strangler" was made with a low budget; the production was mostly filmed on a set and shows it. (In contrast, "Night Stalker" was filmed on location in Las Vegas and looks great.) The fight sequence between the cops and the villian looks so bad; I've seen more realistic fights at a WWF event. The villian is less frightening than in the first movie, probably because you never see him in anything but a trenchcoat and hat, and never get the impression that there's something supernatural about him. If you want to be scared, get the first Kolchak movie (five stars) instead and avoid this one.
Rating:
Summary: Without it, there never would have been an X-files.
Review: The Night Stalker is the story of a reporter who investigates a Las Vegas serial killer who turns out to be a vampire. Doesn't sound like much, does it? What is fascinating about this film, however, is the style in which it is done. The story is told as excerpts from a diary. Crimes are individually detailed and analyzed. Government is portrayed alternately as either incompetant or sinister in its attempts to cover everything up.The "Oh My God, THEY know more than they want US to know" plotline has been done nearly to death over the past quarter century, but it started here first. And for that, the film deserves a little respect. Before there were X-files, before Erin Brokovitch, before Silkwood, and almost before All The Presidents Men, there was Kolchak: The Night Stalker.As for the Night Strangler, the inclusion of this wretched sequel is the only reason I give the DVD 4 stars instead of 5. A Mystery Science 3000 candidate if ever there was one.
Rating:
Summary: Decent, but could have been better
Review: The Night Stalker is, in my view, a strong outing. It's a well written piece that addresses a horrific character in a modern age. And the character of Kolchak is well-drawn, and nicely captured by Darren McGavin. The Night Strangler is a weaker offering. Essentially, it's The Night Stalker with a fresh coat of paint. Not bad, but not particularly new, either. I'll keep this in my collection, and I recommend it for anyone interested in the genre.
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