SpuffyWeb
Sadly Over-hyped
Platicsco
Good story, Not enough for a whole film
moonspinner55
Here's a case for Darrin McGavin's Kolchak from "The Night Stalker": a writer in San Francisco, investigating the occult, disappears after helping a widow rid her estate of her dead husband, who had risen from his tomb seeking human blood to complete a demonic statue. TV-made pilot for a proposed NBC series was filmed on rainy Monterey locations by "Night Stalker" mainstay Dan Curtis. It barely gets by in the shocks department, with one padded sequence in a motel room echoing "Psycho" and the rest weighed down with talk. Claude Akins has a dire role as the unbelieving county sheriff determined to keep a lid on this thing lest the public be unnecessarily worried; considering that a young woman was recently drained completely dry of her blood from the front seat of her car, you would think Sheriff Akins would be a bit more receptive to the fact a vampire is loose! Open-ended final scene begs for an explanation, but the network wasn't interested. One can see why, this is just a Kolchak redux.
AaronCapenBanner
Roy Thinnes stars as author David Norliss, doing research for a book on the supernatural, who mysteriously disappears, but leaves behind a series of audio tapes detailing the case he was investigating, revolving around Angie Dickinson playing a wife trying to uncover the mysterious death of her husband, which takes a sinister turn as events unfold...Roy Thinnes portrays Norliss with the same steely, no-nonsense determination he gave to David Vincent from his previous series "The Invaders". Some find his humorlessness off-putting, but I find it a refreshing change from the norm.Made as a pilot film to a proposed series that was never picked up, which I think is a great pity, since I found Norliss and this case quite interesting, and would like to know what became of him, either with a sequel film and/or TV series.As a consequence, this character remains an intriguing enigma.
DVD_Connoisseur
It's not often that I'm left unimpressed by cult programmes or films. "The Norliss Tapes", however, is an exception to the rule. Had I watched this made-for-television pilot at a tender age in the '70s, I would have no doubt been impressed by the creepy goings on. Watching this today, the production is poor and uninspiring. Blue faced vampires that make strange roaring noises do not make thrilling or chilling television. Fans may argue that this pilot is original for its time. Compared to the '70s plays by Nigel Kneale, this is horror by numbers. It lacks any real drama or substance. Even the presence of Angie Dickinson couldn't save this turkey.In short, this is best avoided - a waste of 80 minutes.
Woodyanders
Roy Thinnes of "The Invaders" TV series fame gives a typically fine performance as David Norliss, a cynical and skeptical investigative reporter working on a book which debunks various supernatural occurrences and paranormal phenomena as phony baloney frauds. While researching his book Norliss crosses paths with widow Ellen Cort (the ever-lovely and appealing Angie Dickinson), who claims that her recently deceased husband (an impressively robust turn by Nick Dimitri, who sports some truly ghoulish make-up and uncanny yellow eyes) has come back to life as a murderous gray-skinned zombie. Norliss finds out much to his dismay that this particular case is all too real and by no means yet another far-fetched hoax.Expertly directed by the late, great Dan ("Trilogy of Terror") Curtis, with a smart and compelling script by William F. ("Logan's Run") Nolan, an arrestingly creepy and mysterious atmosphere, an eerie and rousing score by Robert Cobert, a snappy pace, polished cinematography by Ben Colman, genuinely shocking and stirring outbursts of surprisingly brutal violence (Angie blasts the zombie with a shotgun!), and a thrilling fiery conclusion, this failed pilot for a possible spin-off show sizes up as an often quite scary, always engrossing and overall superior made-for-TV fright feature. Moreover, the sound acting from a solid cast counts as another major asset: Both Thinnes and Dickinson are strong and sympathetic, with bang-up support from Claude Akins as a hard-nosed sheriff, Don Porter as Norliss' concerned publisher, Vonette ("Blacula") McGhee as a helpful occult store owner, Stanley Adams as an excitable truck driver, and Patrick ("The Cheerleaders") Wright as a deputy. Short (it's only 72 minutes long), spooky and extremely well-done all around, "The Norliss Tapes" is definitely worth checking out.
