Rating: B
Dir: John Llewellyn Moxey
Star: Darren McGavin, Carol Lynley, Simon Oakland, Barry Atwater
Is this the best made for television movie of all time? I think there’s a good case for it, though fans of Duel or Threads might disagree. It was the highest-rated TVM to that point, and got released theatrically in some overseas territories. Which makes perfect sense, because it’s straight up credible as a film. Outside of obvious pauses for commercial breaks, I never found myself thinking, “This was intended for the small screen.” Broadcast in January 1972, I wonder how much its huge success was an influence on Hammer, who would look to bring vampires into the modern day later that year, in Dracula A.D. 1972. Though admittedly, Count Yorga, Vampire had updated bloodsuckers before Kolchak.
This unfolds in Las Vegas, where a string of murders have left police baffled, after the victims have been brutally murdered at night, with their blood missing. Veteran reporter Carl Kolchak (McGavin) gradually becomes convinced it’s the work of a vampire, thanks to material provided by his girlfriend, casino worker Gail Foster (Lynley). His boss, Tony Vincenzo (Oakland) and the cops are, for obvious reasons, less certain. But the killings continue, and the suspect is eventually revealed as Janos Skorzeny (Atwater) – when the police try to hold him, they discover he possesses incredible strength. This is awkward, since he has a suspicious record dating back to World War II, so must be of an advanced age. Vampirism increasingly becomes the only credible explanation.
Despite the presence of a rampaging vampire, chewing his way through Sin City, the main implausible element is probably the very cosy relationship between Kolchak and the cops. For they allow him to sit in on their meetings, show up at murder scenes and take pictures of the corpse, etc. Hey, what can I say? It was the seventies. I guess that kinda thing was par for the course. Everything else though, is a treat, with McGavin perfect as the hard-bitten scribe, who simply shrugs his shoulders and accepts the existence of vampires, when that’s where the evidence points. I also love the ending, with the authorities burying the whole incident and threatening to frame Kolchak for murder, if he tries to reveal the truth.
Particularly in that element, of cover-up by those in authority, it’s clear the debt owed by The X-Files to the movie, and the TV series which followed. Richard Matheson’s script was based on a then-unpublished novel by Jeff Rice, and is perfectly-paced. Every scene in its 74 minutes moves things forward, and veteran director Moxey (best-known for The City of the Dead) wrings as much tension as possible out of things. The characters all feel genuine, too, and the obviously restrained nature of proceedings – it’s an almost bloodless vampire movie! – imposed by the medium, should not interfere with your enjoyment. Additionally, it works as a lovely time-capsule of seventies Las Vegas. Though I may have caught second-hand bronchitis off the amount of smoking depicted.