The Night Stalker/The Night Strangler (Double Feature)

Darren McGavin returns as rumpled reporter Carl Kolchak, the shaggy, sharp-tongued newshound tracking supernatural phenomena in the skeptical modern world in this sequel to "The Night Stalker". "The Night Strangler" finds the down-on-his-luck investigator in Seattle, hot on the trail of a serial killer hiding in the underground city beneath the streets of Seattle, a gas-lit fantasy world frozen in time (L.A.'s famous Bradbury Building--which has also appeared in "Blade Runner" and "DOA"--becomes the spooky city's architectural centerpiece). Exotic dancer and medical student Jo Ann Pflug tags along as partner and bait, and the exasperated Simon Oakland returns as Kolchak's harried editor. Genre fans will enjoy the appearances of popular character actors John Carradine, Margaret Hamilton, Wally Cox, and Al Lewis. Noted horror and science fiction author Richard Matheson scripts this meandering, low-key thriller with plenty of humor, which McGavin delivers with deadpan delight. This film spawned a TV series and inspired fan Chris Carter to create his own cult TV show two decades later: "The X-Files". "--Sean Axmaker"