(1972)
Dir - John Llewellyn Moxey
Overall: GOOD
One of the most popular and endearing television horror movies on the 1970s, The Night Stalker spawned a sequel and a season long series. Some heavy hitters were involved in the production, namely screenwriter Richard Matheson and producer Dan Curtis, making this the first of several collaborations between the two. The story was based on Jeff Rice's then unpublished novel The Kolchk Tapes and seasoned TV actor Darren McGavin was brought in to play the title character. Along with the dad in A Christmas Story, this would become McGavin's signature role and he is effortlessly likeable as the stubborn reporter who undermines the authorities while never being allowed to get the real supernatural news published to the masses. While the hilarious banter between he and Simon Oakland's Tony Vincenzo would be much further elaborated upon later, they still have a handful of intense scenes here which set the template. British director John Llewellyn Moxey takes a wonderful, subdued approach to the material, staging numerous moments to heart-pumping silence and maintaining a frightening aura of mystery around Barry Atwater's non-speaking, blood shot-eyed vampire.
(1974)
Dir - Oliver Stone
Overall: MEH
Writer/director Oliver Stone began his career with the odd, mostly unintentionally goofy horror film Seizure. The then upstart filmmaker scored a considerably notable genre movie cast for his modest debut, including Johnathan Frid, Martine Beswick, Hervé Villechaize, and Mary Woronov. Save a few exceptions, the performances are all either oddly aloof or unnaturally pretentious though. The script features laughable, faux-profound monologues one after the other and it becomes difficult to follow what the point of any of it is supposed to be. Stone's skills behind the lens were just as shoddy, with several attempts to liven things up involving warped close-ups and horrendously inappropriate, romantic music interjecting characters as they wax poetically. Further chuckles can be found in Villechaize being about as menacing as you would expect him to be, looking quite foolish as he adorably threatens and jumps on people. There are plenty of other baffling moments to make it a head-scratching experience to be sure and one that Stone probably wishes would be better left forgotten.
(1976)
Dir - Brian De Palma
Overall: GOOD
The first published Stephen King novel Carrie also fittingly became the first to be adapted for the screen. Brian De Palma was steady off of a block of thriller/horror films when he pushed for the rights from King and the result became one of the best received and highest grossing genre movies of the decade. In the title role, Sissy Spacek is miles away from the homely, chubby, acne-ridden description in the source material, yet her performance is nevertheless fantastic. The famous "prom night from hell" scene where she switches from a frail, horrendously mistreated outcast to a terrifying revenge monster is one of the most memorable ever filmed and Spacek channels such wildly different emotional states flawlessly. As her disturbed mother, Piper Laurie is rather scene stealing as well and with a few more benevolent exceptions, the rest of the recognizable cast make textbook cruel high school bully foibles. De Palma is still directly drawing upon his hero Alfred Hitchcock for thematic references with split screens and screechy violin cues right out of Psycho, plus his further use of slow motion and the occasional lush score from Pino Donaggio gives everything the right bizarre, unnatural feel.
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