Product Details

• Actors: Darren McGavin, Carol Lynley, Simon Oakland, Ralph Meeker, Claude Akins
• Directors: John Llewellyn Moxey
• Writers: Jeffrey Grant Rice, Max Hodge, Richard Matheson
• Producers: Dan Curtis
• Format: Color, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered, Widescreen, NTSC
• Rated: Unrated
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Starz / Anchor Bay
• VHS Release Date: July 11, 2000
• Run Time: 74 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00004TJFI
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #142,732 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Darren McGavin, Vampire Hunter., April 22, 2001

By 

Matt Hanke (Choctaw, Oklahoma United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Night Stalker [VHS] (VHS Tape)

The 1972 pilot that opened the door for one of the most popular horror-based television series of all time, "The Night Stalker" is a superb piece of story telling and film making that stands on its own right as one of the most suspenseful and terrifying films ever made.

It stars Darren McGavin as news reporter Carl Kolchak who is out to solve the mysterious string of murders plaguing the darkened streets and alleys of the Las Vegas night life. Curious thing is that all the victims' bodies have been left drained of blood with two small puncture wounds left on their necks.

Eventually, after doing a little research on the subject of the "undead", Kolchak comes to the conclusion that all the victims have fallen prey to a modern-day Vampire. Unfortunately, everybody else refuses to believe Kolchak's "impossible" conclusion and Carl is left to track down and kill the blood sucker alone.

I first saw this film on T.V. when I was about 10 years old (I was born in 1977, so I did not have the privilege of seeing it when it was originally aired), and I must tell you that up til that time (I had not seen the original "Night of the Living Dead" yet) it had been the only movie I'd seen that actually scared me. The last 10 or so minutes that has Kolchak snooping around the Vampire's house are quite chilling and are certainly the scariest few moments in Vampire film history.

If you're a fan of Darren McGavin, horror movies, or just a fan of the T.V. series, you have probably already seen this one. If not, you definitely need to check it out as soon as possible.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In many ways, the first "realistic" vampire story, March 17, 2001

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Night Stalker [VHS] (VHS Tape)

The credit for this one goes mainly to Richard Matheson who wrote the script for "The Night Stalker." Certainly casting Darrin McGavin as the cynical reporter Carl Kolchak who becomes the world's crotchety vampire slayer was a brilliant selection, but Matheson's script sets the tone. This is not surprising, since Matheson was the second best writer on the original "Twilight Zone." I still vividly remember watching this when it first came on, and became the highest rated made for television movie of all time (an honor that did not last long, to be sure). There was just a feel to this movie, that it took itself and its subject seriously. Of course we "knew" there were such things as vampires and waited for Kolchak to catch up to the truth. "The Night Stalker" also had the advantage that for most of the story we are dealing with the "idea" that Janos Skorzeny (Barry Atwater) is a vampire rather than dealing with the actual bloodsucker himself. The supporting cast is excellent, most notably Carol Lynley as Kolchak's plucky but endangered girl friend Gail Foster and Simon Oakland as his gruff boss at the newspaper Tony Vicenzo. Also, look for Larry Linville has a role as Medical Examiner Robert Makurji. Ultimately, "The Night Stalker" turns the traditional vampire story, as represented by countless take offs on Abraham Van Helsing going after Count Dracula, on its head. Just compare what happens to the heroic Kolchak at the hands of the grateful citizenry. Not until "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" made its way to television has the tube treated vampires with this much intelligence and creativity. For my money this is definitely the first "realistic" vampire story and a first class effort.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A vampire movie for all audiences, June 29, 2002

By 

Daniel Jolley "darkgenius" (Shelby, North Carolina USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Night Stalker [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I originally purchased this movie largely because X-Files creator Chris Carter cited it and the short-lived Night Stalker TV series as important influences on his own vision. I also love vampire movies. This does seem to be a rather unusual TV movie for its era (1971), but you can hardly go wrong when Richard Matheson is the scriptwriter. Darren McGavin is wonderful as Kolchak, the much-beleaguered, formerly big-name newspaper reporter determined to get to the bottom of a string of murders in Las Vegas. The cast is rather interesting, featured Larry Linville of M*A*S*H fame as the "boy coroner" and Claude Akins as Sheriff Butcher. This is a rather old TV movie, so there is virtually no blood to be seen outside of IV packs and bottles, but there is plenty of suspense. Kolchak is brought back from vacation by his editor to cover the string of murders, yet the editor won't publish anything Kolchak writes. The police are no fans of him, either. When Kolchak makes the logical conclusion that the killer is a real-life vampire, the authorities are less than open to such a possibility--at least, until a swarm of Las Vegas' finest cannot bring down the suspect with brawn and bullets. Don't expect to see Count Dracula in this one; Kolchak's vampire is not suave or mysteriously handsome at all; his appearance explains why he attacks women rather than seduces them. I must say that the ending was somewhat unusual and helps to distinguish this movie from the string of forgettable, darkly comical string of low-budget vampire movies of the 1970s and 1980s. History shows that it is not easy to make a decent vampire movie, but The Night Stalker succeeds rather impressively. Having been made for TV, it is rather short (clocking in at around 78 minutes), but The Night Stalker deserves a place among the better vampire movies ever made. Even the most squeamish of viewers should be able to sit through this movie without a problem. I myself prefer more blood and gore in my horror movies, but the kind of suspense this movie manufactures is the most critical factor in its success.