Horrible, mysterious murders start occurring around town. The police are tight-lipped, keeping certain details of the murders from the public, and the more anyone tries to dig further into the details, the more it looks like the killer is no ordinary man. Sounds like another case for investigator reporter Carl Kolchak! The late, great Darren McGavin returns for another crack in the role of Kolchak in the 1973 sequel "The Night Strangler". Written by legend Richard Matheson once again, and this time directed by TV legend Dan Curtis, the film finds Kolchak, that disheveled, smart cracking, get-to-the-truth-no-matter-what reporter in the Seattle, WA. Still trying to get people to believe him about the vampire he battled in Las Vegas, he runs into his former, tortured editor, Mr. Vincenzo (the delightful Simon Oakland also reprising his role from the first film) at a bar. Feeling sorry for his former employee, Mr. Vincenzo gives Kolchak a job at the city newspaper, not realizing he's setting himself up for more headaches and heart ache on the part of Carl! It's not long before Kolchak discovers that murders of young women are occurring around town, strangulations to be exact. And that in all the cases, a single needle mark was made in the back of their necks where blood was drawn moments after the time of death. Soon, the reporter discovers this isn't the first time murders like these happened in Seattle. Every twenty-one years the same murders happen and then disappear, the police never catching the culprit. In typical Kolchak fashion, Carl continues to dig until he discovers it's all the work of an immortal 144 year old mad scientist living beneath the city and killing woman every twenty-one years for to the reverse the aging process that occurs every twenty-one years, when he must re-make his elixir of life. Can Carl destroy the immortal madman's reign of terror for good or is his neck next on the chopping block?"The Night Strangler" is one of those rare sequels that matches the magic and suspense of the original. Darren McGavin is a blast to watch as Kolchak once again, wise-cracking to cops, making a nuisance of himself to authorities, and giving poor Mr. Vincenzo an ulcer! McGavin and Oakland are an even more joy to watch, the two going at it even more than they did in the first one, making the movie all the more comedy driven than the first one. Plus, the film includes a few cameos from some legendary stars of classic film and TV, such as Margaret Hamilton - the wicked witch of the west herself! - Wally Cox, John Carradine, Al Lewis, and Scott Brady. The film also makes effective use of Seattle's underground for the setting of the killer's lair, played to the hilt by Richard Anderson. The whole thing is a joyous affair to watch, so much so it makes one wish TV still had as much story telling as it did then. Dan Curtis and co. really deserve praise for being able to make a sequel that is as compelling as the first one. So children, lock all the doors, gather around, and watch a spooky, TV classic! Also starring Jo Ann Pflug.

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

While I really didn't think there was enough of a formula for an entire series, producer/director Dan Curtis shopped around three different TV movies hoping to be able to eventually get the go ahead for a series. First, Darren McGavin starred in "The Night Stalker". Second, he returned with Kolchak and brought McGavin back for "The Night Strangler". Oddly, instead of giving a chance for the networks to accept or reject this series, Curtis also made "The Norliss Tapes" and it was shown on TV only a few weeks after the second Kolchak film--even though the basic story was pretty much the same. Regardless, ABC soon okayed the series "Kolchak: The Night Stalker". I loved it as a kid, but see why the show only lasted a season. After all, how many monsters could the reporter uncover until the idea got repetitious? My watching "The Night Strangler" was actually a wonderful coincidence. In a few weeks, I am traveling to Seattle and the film is set in Seattle. The reason this is so exciting is that a major part of the show is the mysterious abandoned underground city--which I assumed was fictitious. However, I did a bit of research and there really IS an underground city--and they do tours!! As I have a couple free days, you can guess what I'll be going to see. I'll try to update this review afterwords.In the first film, the reporter Carl Kolchak (McGavin) was working in Las Vegas when he discovered a vampire--yes, a vampire. Instead of being applauded for his efforts, he was fired from the paper. Now, he's in Seattle--and so is his incredibly grouchy old boss (played wonderfully by Simon Oakland). Against his better judgment, he hires Kolchak--who then begins investigating a weird string of murders. Thanks to some help from a researcher at the paper (Wally Cox), he soon learns that the same pattern occurs every 21 years since just after the Civil War--6 young women are murdered and the modus operandi is identical. Eventually, he comes to realize that it's the work of a fiend who has learned the secret to keeping himself alive for almost 150 years--by draining the blood from these women and using it to make some elixir! Despite an ending that is reminiscent to "Dr. No" (where there was a conveniently located self-destruct button for James Bond to push!), this is a very good film--better than the first one. The biggest reason is the spooky setting--particularly the underground. You really felt creeped out by this--which is great for such a film. Additionally, the sense of humor of the film is quite nice--with the repartee between Kolchak and his poor boss providing a lot of laughs--particularly just as the credits are about to roll. Fun and well worth seeing.

With 'The Night Stalker' proving the highest-rated T.V. movie of 1972, a sequel was inevitable. 'The Night Strangler' reunited Darren McGavin's untidy newsman 'Carl Kolchak' with writer Richard Matheson and producer Dan Curtis, this time also doubling as director. After being ordered to leave Las Vegas, our man is now in Seattle, out of work, and hanging round bars telling anyone who'll listen how he once destroyed a vampire. Tony Vincenzo ( Simon Oakland ), now the editor of 'The Daily Chronicle', takes pity on Carl, offering him a job. Carl's appointment coincides with a series of grisly murders, all involving young women, and in each case they have not only been strangled but had blood stolen via hypodermic syringe. Traces of rotting flesh can be found on them.Kolchak discovers that similar murders occurred in Seattle at regular intervals stretching back nearly a century. It would seem that the killer has discovered the secret of immortality...I did not get to see 'Strangler' until a decade or so after its original U.S. broadcast, when it crept unheralded into the late-night I.T.V. schedules. It is good for the most part; McGavin and Oakland give their usual excellent performances, augmented by Jo Ann Pflug as 'Louise Harper', Scott Brady as 'Captain Schubert', Wally Cox as 'Mr.Berry', Margaret Hamilton as the eccentric 'Professor Crabwell', Al Lewis ( 'Granpa' from 'The Munsters' ) as an old tramp, and John Carradine as the improbably named 'Llewellyn Crossbinder', owner of the Daily Chronicle. Once again, the script is full of witty one-liners and Curtis pulls off a few genuine scares, but it impossible to ignore the fact that it is essentially the same story as its predecessor - a series of murders, Kolchak berated by his editor for his interest in them, he investigates, deals with the supernatural threat, only for the authorities to then suppress the story. The killer is using the girls' blood to make an elixir to keep himself alive. Richard Anderson's 'Dr.Richard Malcolm' is alas nowhere near as frightening as Barry Atwater's 'Janos Skorzeny'. Very suspenseful climax in Seattle's underground city though.The final scene has Kolchak and Vincenzo, both out of work, heading for New York. A third T.V. movie would have seen the return of Skorzeny, but it was never made. Instead we got the weekly series 'Kolchak: The Night Stalker' which lasted only one season.