Vampire flicks:

[mickey]

Greetings,

Back in the '70's there was the ABC Movie of the Week. They showed, quality, made for television movies with incredible talent. It was through the ABC Movie of the Week that we saw "Kung Fu," "Brian's Song" and a host of other good quality shows. One movie that really stood out and got notice was an urban vampire movie called "The Night Stalker" this show was pretty much the talk of the town or, to put it nicely, it rocked!! It starred the late Darren McGavin and the show's success spawned a series of the same name that may have been influencial the creation of "The X Files"

Here is a tidbit found on Youtube. At 5:27 you will hear score that may have influenced the motifs used in the 5 Venoms (it does sound like Shaw Brothers lifted this one):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2H3xuhkZuY

Enjoy,

mickey

[mickey]

Oops!

I did write "flicks."

Another great vampire movie that came out during the '70's was called "Grave of the Vampire."
This movie starred William Smith and was about a man who was searching for the vampire who raped his mother, creating him. Definitely shades of Blade, here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3f1AnYyA0NA


mickey

[Jimbo]

I remember watching The Night Stalker on Friday nights when I was about 11. If I remember correctly, it premiered in the fall of 1974 and only lasted halfway into 1975. And yes, it definitely was a heavy influence on The X-Files. IMO, the best episode of Night Stalker was probably the first; about Jack the Ripper re-appearing in Chicago. I think the show became a victim of its own premise; every week a new monster (a slime monster, a group of vampires, a Greek goddess, a werewolf, an underground giant lizard, a headless motorcyclist, an evil witch, etc.). However, I still think Kolchak was one of the great TV characters.

The show itself was a spinoff of the original TV movies The Night Stalker (about a vampire) and its sequel, The Night Strangler.

Not a vampire flick, but another quality movie I saw on TV in the '70s (can't remember what year; either 1972 or '77) was called Gargoyles. I don't know if it was made-for-TV or not. An odd thing about it was that when I saw it, there was a prologue which claimed it was based on real events(!?). It was about humans encountering gargoyle-like reptilian beings in a desert area of the American Southwest. I think it was a well-made movie, and even a bit scary at the time.

A great made-for-TV vampire flick was the film version of Stephen King's novel Salem's Lot. I saw it again recently, and it still stands up today as a good, atmospheric vampire story, and is one of the best Stephen King adaptations ever.

[mickey]

Hi Jimbo,

I vaguely remember seeing "Gargoyles." Someone posted it up on youtube. I do remember the last part, though. I got the feeling this was not made in the USA. I do remember a similar "Gargoyles" movie that featured an underground civilization that spoke a strangely ancient language that was almost like English. They had to use subtitles when one of those gargoyles spoke. These characters were pale looking and had blondish white hair. Do you remember a movie like that? The ending was almost identical, the difference being that they flew off with two human females.

mickey

[Jimbo]

Mickey,
The ones in the Gargoyles movie I saw were mostly small, child-sized(?) beings with maybe beaked faces, but their leader was a tall, winged being that looked a lot like the typical image of the devil. I seem to remember it ending with the winged guy flying off. I think there was a colony of them breeding somewhere in a cave or underground. I don't remember any blondish hair, but I could be wrong (it's been over 30 years). I remember a scene where a dead woman is found hanging upside-down from her ankles on a pole. But I thought this particular movie was an American film, could be wrong there, too.

There is a passing resemblance between the alpha leader of these gargoyles and the monster in Jeepers Creepers.

I'm not sure if modern made-for-TV horror movies can compare atmospherically to some of those '70s ones. I find most of the Sci-Fi channel's TV horror movies are pretty bad, and overstuffed with ultra-fake-looking CGI. Plus most of the actors they get nowadays look like underwear/lingerie models or extras on CSI: Miami.

[CLFNole]

Actully the Gargolyes moved starred ex-NFL player Bernie Casey (he was also in one of the Revenge of the Nerd movies) as the head gargoyle. I don't remember them being small though.

[Shaolinlueb]

kolchak The Night Stalker was a great series and i used to watch the reruns on sci fi.

[mickey]

Shaolinlueb,

If you have the chance, see the tv movie that gave rise to the series.


mickey

[Shaolinlueb]

Mickey

will do.

the reason i checked them out in the first place was because i loved the x-files. my dad turned me onto them because he used to watch it when it came out.

I will try to find the movies.

SL

[mickey]

Hi Shaolinlueb,

All you really need to see is the first one, "the Nightstalker." When you consider the time it was made, it had some very covert anti-feminist, msygonistic undertones. It still does not take away from the movie. The scene where the vampire confronted the cops had everyone talking because we had not associated physical strength with vampires. Up until then, it was more of a mind control, Svengali, type of energy.


mickey

[doug maverick]

corey yuen+women=the win

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2X6mowgw5YI

corey yuen+ anyone else=epic fail

[Jimbo]

One of my regrets is a few years ago, I saw a DVD double-feature on sale that had both the original Night Stalker and Night Strangler on the same disc. I did not buy it, and now haven't seen it available anywhere for a long time.

Mickey, actually the oldest I've seen of a vampire displaying 'superhuman' or greater than normal strength was probably in the 1958 Hammer Films movie The Horror of Dracula, with Christopher Lee as Dracula and Peter Cushing as Van Helsing.

Hey Doug, I sometimes wonder how good The Heroic Trio would've been if Corey Yuen had directed it instead of Johnny To/Ching Siu-Tung. A Corey Yuen movie about lady vampires would probably be very cool.

[mickey]

Greetings,

doug maverick,

That movie looks lame.

When it came to developing a genre of interest, ROBOTRIX really stands out because it combined genres: sci fi, porn, martial arts, and horror. I think the social backlash kept similar movies from being made.

Have any of you seen it?

mickey

[doug maverick]

Greetings,

doug maverick,

That movie looks lame.

When it came to developing a genre of interest, ROBOTRIX really stands out because it combined genres: sci fi, porn, martial arts, and horror. I think the social backlash kept similar movies from being made.

Have any of you seen it?

mickey

dude its a tiny snippet of a teaser you cant tell **** by it. again i say to you

corey yuen+ women= the win


thats a scientific fact.

[mickey]

Greetings,

We will see, doug maverick.

mickey