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The Night Stalker

Play trailer Poster for The Night Stalker 1971 1h 15m Horror Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
88% Tomatometer 8 Reviews 78% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
After several high-profile newspapers fire him for his difficult attitude, investigative journalist Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin) finds a job following the police beat for a small Las Vegas publication. When Carl discovers a series of dead showgirls drained of blood with bite marks on their necks, the police hesitate to take the case any further, and his boss (Simon Oakland) wants nothing to do with the story, leading Carl to believe there may be a real vampire prowling the city streets.

Critics Reviews

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Dann Gire Chicago Daily Herald 11/02/2021
But John Llewellyn Moxey's razor-sharp direction of Richard "I Am Legend" Matheson's screenplay created such a documentarylike atmosphere of realism that the movie became a mini-classic... Go to Full Review
Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com 11/03/2005
2/5
Cole Smithey ColeSmithey.com 09/26/2005
3/5
Robin Clifford Reeling Reviews 11/19/2004
3/5
Emily Blunt Blunt Review 07/15/2004
3/5
Love this campy retro-stuff! Go to Full Review
Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews 02/18/2004
B-
Darren McGavin is delicious in bringing his character to life as the wisecracking reporter, who has a nose for trouble, truth and film legend. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Art W Mar 28 I remember watching this as a kid and loved it then. I purchased this movie and the entire series laster as an adult on DVD... which i cant find anymore. Located this movie to stream is hard... if you do find it, watch it.. the story, the acting, the jumps, and Darren McGavin's Kolchak are something not to be missed. See more John B @jbosc Feb 7 There are very few good vampire films. This is one of them. What separates this vampire film from the rest of them is McGavin as the reporter Kolchak and Barry Atwater as the scary vampire Janos Skorzeny. He's scary because he's animalistic with his pale, undead countenance and vampiric growl. But Kolchak's gravitas mixed with humor makes it all work. Love it. See more Glenn F 10/04/2024 This TV movie had the highest ratings of any TV Movie for many years ! It later led to the TV Show Kolchak The Night Stalker. This film is great from start to finish & the acting is superb ! This is still the best TV movie I have ever seen. Check it out for a fun time . See more Dallas H 09/22/2024 I am starting to think Dan Curtis has a fascination with vampires. See more CodyZamboni 10/23/2023 TV movie is fast paced with lots of horror action, with a formidable vampire foe. I enjoyed seeing the travelogue location photography of early 70s Vegas hotels, casinos, and fashion. Kolchak is alot more serious, and alot more pissed off than in the TV show. Overall tone is also less campier than the series. Bonus casting of Carol Lynley, as Kolchak's hot girlfriend. Also noteworthy, the movie ends on a sadder, more bittersweet, more sobering note. See more George A @gasimakos 12/06/2021 The movie that spun off one of the most influential horror series of all time. See more Read all reviews
The Night Stalker

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Movie Info

Synopsis After several high-profile newspapers fire him for his difficult attitude, investigative journalist Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin) finds a job following the police beat for a small Las Vegas publication. When Carl discovers a series of dead showgirls drained of blood with bite marks on their necks, the police hesitate to take the case any further, and his boss (Simon Oakland) wants nothing to do with the story, leading Carl to believe there may be a real vampire prowling the city streets.
Director
John Llewellyn Moxey
Producer
Dan Curtis
Production Co
ABC Circle Films, Dan Curtis Productions
Genre
Horror
Original Language
English
Release Date (TV)
Jan 11, 1972
Runtime
1h 15m