ABC's 1972 TV movie The Night Stalker serves viewers a hefty slice of cheese with a nice side of camp. Though scare-free and completely ludicrous, it's a pretty fun time.
In this Las Vegas-set "horror" flick, cocksure reporter Carl Kolchak (Darren McGaven) investigates a string of unsolved murders. The more he learns about them, the more suspicious he becomes. Who does he think is behind these terrible crimes? A vampire (Barry Atwater), of course.
The Night Stalker plays out just how you would imagine. Kolchak knows the blood-sucking menace must be stopped, but -- darn it -- a cantankerous editor and corrupt authorities are always getting in his way. How on earth can you defeat an alleged vampire if no one will let you stab him in the chest with a piece of wood? Kolchak deals with tough questions like this throughout the movie.
One reason The Night Stalker actually works is that it owns its absurdity. There is absolutely no subtlety in its powder-blue suits, crazy zoom-ins, and funky '70s beats. The Night Stalker knows just what it is, and it doesn't care.
It's also helped by its brisk pace. The 74-minute running time is just right. Any longer would get wearing, probably to the point of being painful. One can only take so much clichéd vampire in one sitting.
Speaking of that vampire: he's hilarious. You would think after the first failed attempt to riddle him with bullets, the cops would realize the criminal they're chasing is a little off. But no, that would be too obvious.
For all it's nonsensical plotting, The Night Stalker is so unpretentious that it's kind of loveable. The same cannot be said of its 2005 remake Night Stalker. The ABC TV series is well made and entertaining, but it's much darker and slicker than its '70s counterpart.
That's not a bad thing. The show is perfectly adequate, with good actors and solid production qualities. But anyone looking for a clone of the original should stay far, far away.
Night Stalker moves the tale from the flashing lights of Las Vegas to the grim deserts of Los Angeles, similarly transforming Carl Kolchack (Stuart Townsend) in the process. Townsend's reporter is still confident, but he's mostly a tortured soul, haunted by his wife's untimely death.
Townsend does a fine job with the role, even if he lays the enigma on too thick sometimes. In fact, all the actors are pretty good. Gabrielle Union is spunky but understanding as Kolchak's contrary colleague, Perri Reed. And Eric Jungmann has an easygoing presence as photographer Jain McManus. But the writing does not serve these actors well. None of their scenes scream, "Wow, what powerful acting!" Instead, they casually mutter, "Huh. Nice." These actors deserve a better script.
The story is entertaining enough, given an edge by its spooky genre, but it's a little too familiar. From the camera filters to the character dynamics, you've seen this before, I guarantee it. And that's incredibly frustrating. All the pieces are in place for this to be a decent TV show, but not a great or memorable one. There's nothing here that will leave viewers begging for more.
That's something the original and the remake have in common. Neither is terribly special. The Night Stalker is your average B-movie, and its spawn is just another mystery show.
And that is where the comparisons end. The Night Stalker and Night Stalker are worlds apart, connected only by title and lead character. The Night Stalker bounds from scene to scene, not a thought in its head. Conversely, Night Stalker has perhaps too many thoughts in its brooding cranium, and none is particularly compelling. It's faux deep.
At least Night Stalker has the creepy atmosphere down, something sadly missing from the original. If you sell your movie as a horror film, at least try to be scary. Just once. Whether you succeed doesn't matter. It's the disturbing thought that counts.
Trying to figure out which version is better seems a futile exercise. Which would I rather watch? Well, that depends. For a night of dumb fun, make a bowl of popcorn, invite friends over, and plop down on a couch ready to yell at McGavin's Kolchak. For a rainy day boredom buster, find ABC's modernized horror show, sit back, and relax.
Either way you'll end up loafing around wasting time on run-of-the-mill murder mysteries. But you know what? That's okay, and so are they.
No comments:
Post a Comment