I think the most refreshing thing about The Night Stalker is the feral version of the vampire. He's not seducing anybody and seems to run utterly apathetic of the machinations of daily life. McGavin is a very likable lead although his love interest being twenty years his junior is a little unnecessary. He's a lot like Scary Mason. cause he solves mysteries just like Perry but...they're of a scary variety. it's, it's pretty good. alright I mean. Okay, it's terrible. Scary Mason!

I really enjoy McGavin in this. It's a shame the rest of the series is so inconsistent. Still it was ahead of its time and should be watched and appreciated.

Really nice work from screenwriter Matheson here (no surprise) & its easy to see why it influenced the creator of the X-Files. Writing as someone who just saw this in 2017, it still mostly holds up as a way of fleshing out the inherently compelling idea of what it would look like if a vampire really existed. It wisely doesn't lean entirely on its concept & offers a relatable shlub of a hero who has a plausible reason to be in the middle of all this & equally plausible bureaucratic antagonists.

Although I'm a big Richard Matheson fan he didn't write this, just the screenplay. Credit goes to Jeff Rice who wrote the novel. Either way it's Darren McGavin that makes this a standout. The comedy/terror motif has never been done better and definitely laid the groundwork for X-Files and all the subsequent clones.

McGavin plays this like a noir Jack Lemmon. It's pretty cool. It takes a while to get going and some of the supporting cast isn't so great, but McGavin and the general tone that mixes mystery, horror and a dash of comedy more than make up for that.

A really fun entertaining TV movie! I just wish the series was as good. Darren McGavin is always fun to watch.

Darren Mc Gavin was the best fit for this role. Great TV Show...forget the re imaging they did a few years ago watch this series from the 70 s

The only debit here is (of course) Lynley. Also Meeker plays it a bit forced throughout; it's as though he suffered through the whole business with a major hangover.

Pretty fun, and really easy to see how this inspired X-files. It's not as endearing, but probably is better.

McGavin is fun as Kolchak.

Kolchak is the perfect mix of cheesy and intriguing.

The amount of times they say this dude's name is insane. Forcing a franchise with a name instead of a compelling character or good actor.

wowie i just love darren mcgavin

While its premise and execution are flawless there's not much for surprises in here in terms of thrills or chills. The vampire is just a by the book kind of undead and quickly revealed as such so there's not much for a reporter like Kolchak to uncover for the audience. Darren McGavin is still fantastic though and the assembled cast work brilliantly together. Still it left me wanting more.

Pure genius. When combined with the spin-off series, this is the single greatest contribution to mankind since the invention of penicillin.

Matheson's ingenious script puts a new spin on traditional horror motifs. This begat the cult teleseries "Kolchak".

The lighting's too bright, but good for TV horror