A reporter (Darren McGavin) hunts down a 144-year old alchemist (Richard Anderson) who is killing women for their blood."The Night Strangler" proved almost as popular as its predecessor garnering strong ratings and eventually prompting ABC to order a TV series (though neither writer Richard Matheson nor producer/director Dan Curtis was involved in the TV series).For me, this is actually the stronger of the two films, with a better mystery and a more interesting villain. The pacing is a bit off and seems a tad slow, due in part to its being pushed to 90 minutes from its original 74 minutes. It is not awful, and I shouldn't complain about more Kolchak. Rumor has it that still more footage exists somewhere... so maybe we'll see that in a Scream Factory release.

After the success the previous year of The Night Stalker, Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin) returns for another feature film. The intrepid reporter with a quip on the lips and a disdain for the unbelievers in the suit wearing echelons, is now in Seattle and quickly realises that the current spate of killings are more than just the work of a serial killer. But can he convince the authorities of this?The formula is exactly the same here, Kolchak simultaneously locks horns with his editor and all the law enforcement people in his arc. He does a voice over for us, proves to be clearly better than the law officers in charge of the case, drops sarcasm as pearls of wisdom, and of course has charisma in abundance. The difference here is that the villain, elegantly played by Richard Anderson, has a voice, a sort of Count Dracula for the modern setting, a Eugene Tooms in embryonic form, he's a great villain and this in turn gives Kolchack more to get his teeth into. Of course the ending is never in doubt, but there's a whole bunch of fun and 70s style scares to enjoy during the ride. Joining the ever enjoyable McGavin are Jo Ann Pflug, Simon Oakland (again great foil for McGavin), Scott Brady, Wally Cox, Margaret Hamilton and John Carradine. A TV series would follow, such was the popularity of the character and its monster of the week formula, and it would influence none other than The X-Files some years down the line. Kolchack, legacy earned and warranted. 7.5/10

The irrepressible, stubborn, trouble making investigative reporter Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin) is back in the thick of things. Now working in Seattle - where he is once again working alongside long suffering editor Tony Vincenzo (Simon Oakland) - he discovers another baffling case. Young women are being strangled, but that's not all. They're ALSO having small amounts of blood extracted from their bodies. Acquiring a kindred spirit in a quirky records keeper named Berry (Wally Cox), Kolchak realizes that similar murder sprees have occurred throughout the city's history - every 21 years.Producer & director Dan Curtis wasn't about to muck with a winning formula, having accomplished a solid blend of humour and horror with 'The Night Stalker', the original made for television movie about the Kolchak character. Once again, he crafts a tale with a fair number of hearty laughs as well as some pretty damn effective suspense. Richard Matheson wrote the script, which makes great use of this whole other "world" in Seattle, its underground domain. Naturally, our killer is drawn to this environment. Longer, and meatier, than 'The Night Stalker', 'The Night Strangler' gets some real sparks going out of every encounter that Kolchak initiates, with his bull-in-a-china-shop approach winning him very few friends. Our favourite reporter is already behaving as he would on the subsequent, sadly short lived series, having no problem accepting the most utterly fantastic of stories.'The Night Strangler' is impeccably cast from top to bottom. Some of these excellent actors really have no more than brief cameo roles, but they make the most of them. Jo Ann Pflug is lovely and appealing as a belly dancer and university student who becomes a willing participant in Kolchaks' schemes. Oakland is wonderful as always as he and McGavin butt heads and scream at each other. Scott Brady plays the obligatory lawman who quickly loses his patience with Kolchak. Cox is fun, as are Margaret Hamilton as a professor specializing in nutty subjects, and Al Lewis as an amiable tramp. Richard Anderson plays our antagonist, and he's subtly chilling. Thankfully, he's not really seen until the climactic confrontation, helping to keep the character somewhat mysterious.Must viewing for lovers of the made-for-TV horror films of the 1970s.Eight out of 10.

(I haven't looked, but somebody else surely must have done a similar play on my summary title. I apologize in advance for stealing his or her thunder.) What a tremendous movie! And how different in tone from the first made for TV movie. This is the true pilot for the series, incorporating a comedic undertone and the full blown banter between Kolchak and Vincenzo. Still, it creates chilling scenes, too, especially the finale, with the descent into old underground Seattle. BTW, another motif that will play often in the series is revealed in the scenes with Wilma Krankhamer (what a name!!!). While Carl will laugh at and ridicule people like Wilma throughout, at their moment of being most vulnerable (in this case, where Charisma Beauty is killed), he will often express sympathy and compassion. Thus Carl never appears "mean" or hard hearted. It lifts his character and makes him noble, I think. Meanwhile, the dialog is quite special, from the staccato delivery of Carl's hardboiled narrative, with its wit and humor, to the constant play on words and phrases. Good stuff. And the casting is simply overwhelming. Kolchak enters the creepy old environs of underground Seattle and the first person to pop out of the shadows is . . . Grandpa Munster! Need advice on ghouls, warlocks, alchemists and the like, what better expert than Oz' Wicked Witch of the West, Margaret Hamilton as the so aptly named Professor Crabwell! And, in a carryover effect from the first movie, John Carradine's Llewellyn Crossbinder operates as the most sinister and unsympathetic figure in the movie, just like Kent Smith's D.A. Tom Paine in The Night Stalker. In comparison, even Richard Anderson's Strangler emerges with a bit of sympathy at the end, a semi-tragic figure of sorts. And, yes, every time I run across Wally Cox, I realize how much I miss his performances.