Nightstalker (2002)

User Rating:

3.5/10   

Director:

Chris Fisher

Writer:

Chris Fisher (writer)

Release Date:

10 November 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Horror

Tagline:

Based On A True Story

Plot:

A horror film based on the life of Richard Ramirez, aka the Night Stalker, who terrorized people in the Los Angeles area during the mid-1980s.

Plot Keywords:

Nightstalker | Rape | Dead Woman | Stabbing | Serial Killer

Cast

Bret Roberts	...	Nightstalker
Joseph McKelheer	...	Demon
Roxanne Day	...	Cherry
Julian Garcia	...	Man on Couch
Christine Long	...	Maria
Mikal Kartvedt	...	SWAT officer (as Mike Kartvedt)
Ana Mercedes	...	Mrs. Riviera
Roselyn Sanchez	...	Gabriella Martinez
Danny Trejo	...	Officer Frank Luis
Derek Hamilton	...	Detective Elliot
Evan Parke	...	Lieutenant Mayberry (as Evan Dexter Parke)
Brandi Emma	...	Adrianne DeLoia
A.J. Buckley	...	Somo
Douglas Spain	...	Father Rodriguez
Aimee Graham	...	Mercedes Woman

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence, language, drug use and sexuality.

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

UK:18 | Netherlands:16 | Germany:18 | USA:R | Australia:MA

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Imperial Fish Company

Trivia:

Most of the locations shot at were either free or donated. Some are even the houses of crew member's who worked on the film.

Quotes:

Nightstalker: But I'm not gonna be gone, EVER

Movie Connections:

Spoofs The Wizard of Oz (1939)

"The devil killed someone again last night."

Nightstalker is one of those movies that could have been so much more. Fangoria called it "a first-rate house of horrors" and it was an official Sundance selection. I guess I missed something. The first ten minutes of the film is nothing but rapid, frenzied "crack montages" shot over speed metal. It's cool, but it's too much. Every time we spend screen time with the killer, it's in this fashion. You see these so much that you become dulled to them and it just becomes headache inducing. The style is almost too chaotic. At the same time, it's the only thing I will remember about the movie. One scene in particular that I did like was when the Nightstalker is walking up to a house and it's accompanied by a very cool effect. I'm not real sure how they accomplished this. Incidentally, the flick was produced by its co-star Danny Trejo. In the end, it's nothing special and will disappear into the void of the based-on-a-real-killer sub-genre.