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:

Bret Roberts who plays the Nightstalker was also cast early. Director Chris Fisher met him in 2000 at the Sundance Film Festival. He was passed out on Chris's couch in the middle of the afternoon. Chris didn't know who he was, so he shook him and asked. The two ended up becoming good friends. And Chris cast Bret because of his resemblance to Richard Ramirez. Who's story the film is based on.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Spoofs Jaws (1975)

Stylish? What film were they watching?

About the only thing in common with the actual Nightstalker that this film has is the name. It's a totally false portrayal of the events that took place in the mid 80s in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

First off, let me say the Jacob's Ladder fast-motion, shaking head thing was way, way overdone here, to the point of annoyance. Yeah, we get that he's tortured by demons. Do we have to see this technique 400 times? There are about a million edits every time the "Nightstalker" is on camera, this MTV, quick cuts, fast-motion baloney that is more confusing and annoying than creative or clever. It only takes away from the story, rather than move it.

In this version of the Nightstalker story, Richard Ramirez is white (he was Hispanic in real life). He stalks police (he didn't in real life) and is actually brought down by police (he was brought down by some regular people in a neighborhood he was stalking in real life).

There is a lame attempt to bring a Hispanic officer into the mix by making her seem to be an educated person who deserves to be a detective, with brilliant scenes like this:

Woman: He's uneducated. Male cop: Why do you say that? Woman: He misspelled every word on the wall. Male cop: Yeah. Hey, good work.

Wow. What writing. Was this a high school project somewhere? Nothing wrong with trying to bring an Hispanic woman into the detectives homicide division, of course, since this didn't happen in real life, why do this?

This movie was poorly written and one of the worst pieces of casting in the history of film, Danny Treijo (who also produced) as a uniformed cop. Treijo, who spent time in prison for rape, is covered in tattoos. It must have been a kind of joke to have him play a cop.

Avoid.