Tags
Language
Tags
<<
April 2024
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
31 1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28 29 30 1 2 3 4
  1. Home
  2. Movies

The Night Stalker (1972) + The Night Strangler (1973)

Posted By: Someonelse
Date: 18 Mar 2015 19:42:00
The Night Stalker (1972) + The Night Strangler (1973)

Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1972) + The Night Strangler (1973)
2xDVD5 | VIDEO_TS | NTSC 4:3 | Cover | 01:14:30 + 01:29:55 | 4,25 Gb + 4,11 Gb
Audio: English AC3 2.0 @ 384 Kbps | Subs: None
Genre: Thriller, Crime, Horror

First came The Night Stalker - a TV movie penned by Richard Matheson (of Duel fame - and much more!). The character of Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin), a lovable but wisecracking reporter who is investigating a string of grizzly murders in Las Vegas. The victims are drained of blood - which as we all know - means a vampire! Constantly confounded by the authorities, who are more interested in hushing the incidents than in finding the perpetrator, Kolchak goes on the trail himself!

Then we have the pilot for the eventual TV series - The Night Strangler. Now in Seattle, Washington, Carl is attempting to solve the mystery of serial killer strangulations that recur like clockwork every few decades. And why are the female victims all drained of blood?

This is classic television and has a cult following around the block. The later stories in the series are wonderfully exciting and Kolchak's character immensely endearing.

The Night Stalker (1972) - IMDB
The Night Strangler (1973) - IMDB

The Night Stalker (1972) + The Night Strangler (1973)

There is such a thing as selective memory and the over romanticizing of the past. Events or people that seemed special or important 30 plus years ago can be revealed to be imperfect and ridiculous later on. The same could be argued for The Night Stalker and The Night Strangler. As years have flown by, they can be viewed as relics from a different universe, a place where the simplest of ideas, executed near flawlessly and with great skill can still seem tired and old fashioned. But maybe, it's that old fashioned approach that is so special about these films. They don't wow you with special effects, or realistic makeup. They move you with story. They drive you with acting. And they startle and shock you because the offer a chilling, disturbing question: could this really happen? The fashions may seem passé and the faces a little square. But the overall realistic, almost docudrama-esque tone these films create sells them as compelling, believable works of terror. They can be enjoyed as horror, as nostalgia, or exercises in intelligent writing, directing and acting. They may not provide visceral evils, or over the top gore stunts, but they speak to a notion rarely seen in the modern macabre: the intersection and action of the real and nether worlds. While they may not rank high on "best of" lists, there will always be a place in the history of horror for Carl Kolchak, bad suit and all.
DVD Verdict
The Night Stalker (1972) + The Night Strangler (1973)

Stalker and Strangler were early '70s TV movies that preceded the short lived TV series "Kolchak: The Night Stalker". Carl Kolchak is a newsman like none other. A throwback to the days when news was about the truth, he's a hard drinking, bad dressing reporter more concerned about getting the facts than making friends. He used to be a prominent reporter in all the major US cities, but for reasons left to the viewers imagination Kolchak has either been fired from or run out of said major cities.

The Night Stalker (1972) + The Night Strangler (1973)

In Stalker we find him in Las Vegas working for the only paper that will still hire him. When a serial killer emerges in downtown Las Vegas Kolchak sees it as his break back into the big leagues and starts tracking the case with the keen determination of a man on a mission. When it turns out the serial killer is really a vampire, even better yet! Unfortunately his Editor (Simon Oakland) and the Clark County Sheriff (Claude Akins) don't feel the same way. Kolchak eventually figures out the case long before the police do and instead of being rewarded he gets run out of another town.

The Night Stalker (1972) + The Night Strangler (1973)

In Strangler we see that Kolchak has wound up in Seattle, a drunken shell of the man we saw in Stalker. He's unhireable and ekes out a living as a freelance journalist. As it happens, his old Editor was also ran out of Las Vegas for the vampire story and also winds up in Seattle. Taking pity on Kolchak, his Editor hires him once again with the admonition of no more vampire stories. That works out great, because when another serial killer emerges in downtown Seattle, this time strangling Go-Go girls and draining something out of their head, it's definitely not a vampire! Kolchak cleans up and is once again trying to solve a case that will get him back into the big time. He find out the killer has been working Seattle and other areas for decades, seemingly immortal, and ends up on a chase that takes him all over Seattle and even under the streets to Old Seattle (or Underground Seattle as the tourists call it.)

The Night Stalker (1972) + The Night Strangler (1973)

Even though these movies are 30+ years old, they are not dated. The stories themselves are out of time and Kolchak's 'rube suits' with his straw hat are as out of style today as when the films were made. McGavin does a wonderful job as Kolchak, making him both a lovable yet irritating character. The movies are a bit more serious than the TV series that followed it, especially Strangler which is fairly dark. Like the series, the films are narrated by McGavin's voice over taken from his ever present tape recorder. I have to admit I'm a sucker for a good narration, and these are done very well.

The Night Stalker (1972) + The Night Strangler (1973)

The character of Kolchak is an interesting one. He could have walked out of a '30s noir (which these movies are very reminiscent of). McGavin wears the character like Kolchak wears his cheap suits, comfortably; like they're old friends. We see all sides to him, from soft to hard, from Schmoozer to Brute. He'll use his looks to appear befuddled and harmless one minute, then come on aggressively the next. I think one of McGavin's greatest achievements as an actor was to take a simple character from a simple script and make him more complex and believable at the same time.

The Night Stalker (1972) + The Night Strangler (1973)

I do recommend both of these movies, although Strangler is the weaker of the two. Strangler does hold a special place in my heart for two reasons, one is that it takes place in my home town; two is that it uses Old Seattle, an interesting place that has never been seen much in TV or movies outside of this film and an old episode of Scooby Doo.
Horror Talk
The Night Stalker (1972) + The Night Strangler (1973)

Special Features: None

All Credits goes to Original uploader.

No More Mirrors, Please.

Just My Blog!

53325256A5A0644E08CA7428EB4F59A2 *Kolch.Stalk.part01.rar
C4E99DD4D778510C708A960617F735DD *Kolch.Stalk.part02.rar
96332361F8849D364AF0062FB549A8C4 *Kolch.Stalk.part03.rar
D302B223CF1B10239685EDF4BA9CD692 *Kolch.Stalk.part04.rar
8ACA6C315E32D986DD42720F4EB708DB *Kolch.Stalk.part05.rar
11C166D32570D097B47F0F25CEA1F874 *Kolch.Stalk.part06.rar
5DD7A3C4034237971E1670EBA1BD34A3 *Kolch.Stalk.part07.rar
92CE17938A1393F19DD6565651342A3B *Kolch.Stalk.part08.rar

B428BAB10286BCFC655A48551CDC946C *Kolch.Strangl.part1.rar
CB1B5CECA407AEE3376BC39A046BF497 *Kolch.Strangl.part2.rar
D65D98E4B4932803549503A86CF7C065 *Kolch.Strangl.part3.rar
E732ED1A64CB1A488FFCFB2C64C2965C *Kolch.Strangl.part4.rar
48AFE1EB5F3D533DD8F81D79E1A5118A *Kolch.Strangl.part5.rar
BDFB26F7696FE36F72A41E01EC066160 *Kolch.Strangl.part6.rar
55B5F2B3C20A7173A5138CAB70FBF6E4 *Kolch.Strangl.part7.rar
Download:


password: www.AvaxHome.ru

Interchangable links.
Download full movie The Night Stalker (1972) + The Night Strangler (1973)
Subtitles (from opensubtitles.org)
UPWARDS