This movie premiered on TV when I was in fourth grade -- the commercials advertising it had been going on for weeks, and the night it aired, I think every kid in my school planned to watch it. The only TV that worked in my house at the time (and we only had two) was in my parents' bedroom. So my parents, my younger brother and I all parked on the rug in there, with the lights out, to watch what we had been looking forward to for weeks. This was long before cable and VCRs, so it's hard to understand today what a HUGE event this was. And, unlike a lot of highly touted TV flicks, The Nightstalker did not disappoint. IT WAS SCARY!! And funny, when it wasn't being scary. And overall, just enormously entertaining. Darren McGavin, who is in my top ten list of most under-rated actors, is just so much fun to watch. When it was over, all four of us went downstairs at the same time, practically on top of one another, we were so scared stiff. My older brother, who had a night job at a label factory had watched the movie there, and before leaving to take the trolley home, put a two-by-four in his back pocket, just in case.
I saw the movie again several years ago, and it was just as good as it was way back in 1972. Unlike today's horror movies, which are usually just gross or violent, this one is truly scary, and manages it with a minimum of gore and violence.
I saw the movie again several years ago, and it was just as good as it was way back in 1972. Unlike today's horror movies, which are usually just gross or violent, this one is truly scary, and manages it with a minimum of gore and violence.