A re-animated corpse deals with those responsible for his death.
Definitely one of the finest episodes, "The Zombie" follows Kolchak's attempts to get to the bottom of a series of murders among Chicago mobsters in which the only common link is a dead body that keeps turning up at the scene of each crime. Carl begins to suspect someone is using voodoo to send this Haitain stiff (the victim of a gangland hit) out to whack all those who had a hand in his murder.
The zombie itself is quite a frightening juggernaut the way it emerges out of nowhere, quickly dispatches a victim and then quietly stomps off into the night. A particularly effective (and grisly) touch is it's penchant for lifting victims into the air and breaking their spines with an audible "snap!"
Humourwise, this episode contains the welcome arrival of Carl's new "colleague", Monique Marmelstein. Monique may be the newspaper owner's niece, but as she's quick to point out, it's her journalism skills that got her there. As she puts it, "nesticism" had nothing to do with it. Whenever Monique gets in his way Carl deals with the problem by putting her in a cab and telling the driver to take her to Brooklyn, or by locking her in the trunk of his mustang for safe keeping.
The script's funniest line comes when Vincenzo presses Carl for details about how the zombie is being directed to carry out these murders. Kolchak replies, "well, I don't have it all put together yet, Tony, but I think it has something to do with chicken blood and corn kernels." In another tense and yet hilarious scene, when Kolchak is discovered eavesdropping on a gangland summit he attempts to talk his way out of trouble by mentioning every Italian name he can think of to the unimpressed mob boss.
Example: Kolchak- "I'm SURE you must know my editor, Antonio Vin-Cen-zo!"
"The Zombie" is peppered with terrific guest appearances by people like Scatman Crothers from "The Shining", Charles Aidman, narrator of the 1980's version of "The Twilight Zone", and Antonio Fargas ("Huggy Bear" himself) as a Haitian mob boss named "Sweet Stick". John Feidler, (mousey Mr. Peterson from the old "Bob Newhart Show") plays morgue attendant "Gordy the Ghoul".
The laughs aside though, this episode comes to an astonishing climax when Kolchak, who's discovered he, too is now on the zombie's hit list, tracks the walking dead man back to a deserted scrap yard. Venturing inside, Carl finds the zombie resting in (appropriately enough) an old hearse. To our spine-tingling delight, the jittery reporter then climbs into the back of the hearse and, laying down next to the slumbering creature, attempts to carry out a zombie-killing ritual. First, he must fill the corpse's mouth with rock salt. Then, ever so carefully, he must sew it's mouth shut with a needle and thread. From it's beginning right to the eventual moment when the zombie's eyes suddenly open and gaze up at terrified Carl, this scene has to be one of the most engrossing, unbearably suspenseful sequences ever broadcast on network television.
The quality of the zombie makeup deserves a special mention, too. The thing's wet, mottled flesh is quite effectively repellent and, oddly enough, this actually leads to the reason why "The Zombie" doesn't score a perfect ten. In one scene, this rotting corpse walks onto a city bus and quietly takes a seat. Now of course we know big city folk are supposed to be jaded, seen-it-all kinda' people, but the idea that this gross-looking (and probably foul-odored) monster could ride public transit without anyone paying notice (not to mention the fact it seemed to have exact change to ride the bus) is just a tad hard to swallow.
That nit-pick aside, much credit should go to Alex Grasshoff for his very capable direction of David Chase's excellent script. Gill Melle's fine musical scoring includes some great Haitian flavoured touches that well suit the theme of the story. Especially effective is the scene in the cemetery where the creepiness is enhanced ten-fold by Melle's brilliant use of strings.
As both an episode of this series, as well as an example of what television can achieve in the area of horror, "The Zombie" remains a stunning success.
Definitely one of the finest episodes, "The Zombie" follows Kolchak's attempts to get to the bottom of a series of murders among Chicago mobsters in which the only common link is a dead body that keeps turning up at the scene of each crime. Carl begins to suspect someone is using voodoo to send this Haitain stiff (the victim of a gangland hit) out to whack all those who had a hand in his murder.
The zombie itself is quite a frightening juggernaut the way it emerges out of nowhere, quickly dispatches a victim and then quietly stomps off into the night. A particularly effective (and grisly) touch is it's penchant for lifting victims into the air and breaking their spines with an audible "snap!"
Humourwise, this episode contains the welcome arrival of Carl's new "colleague", Monique Marmelstein. Monique may be the newspaper owner's niece, but as she's quick to point out, it's her journalism skills that got her there. As she puts it, "nesticism" had nothing to do with it. Whenever Monique gets in his way Carl deals with the problem by putting her in a cab and telling the driver to take her to Brooklyn, or by locking her in the trunk of his mustang for safe keeping.
The script's funniest line comes when Vincenzo presses Carl for details about how the zombie is being directed to carry out these murders. Kolchak replies, "well, I don't have it all put together yet, Tony, but I think it has something to do with chicken blood and corn kernels." In another tense and yet hilarious scene, when Kolchak is discovered eavesdropping on a gangland summit he attempts to talk his way out of trouble by mentioning every Italian name he can think of to the unimpressed mob boss.
Example: Kolchak- "I'm SURE you must know my editor, Antonio Vin-Cen-zo!"
"The Zombie" is peppered with terrific guest appearances by people like Scatman Crothers from "The Shining", Charles Aidman, narrator of the 1980's version of "The Twilight Zone", and Antonio Fargas ("Huggy Bear" himself) as a Haitian mob boss named "Sweet Stick". John Feidler, (mousey Mr. Peterson from the old "Bob Newhart Show") plays morgue attendant "Gordy the Ghoul".
The laughs aside though, this episode comes to an astonishing climax when Kolchak, who's discovered he, too is now on the zombie's hit list, tracks the walking dead man back to a deserted scrap yard. Venturing inside, Carl finds the zombie resting in (appropriately enough) an old hearse. To our spine-tingling delight, the jittery reporter then climbs into the back of the hearse and, laying down next to the slumbering creature, attempts to carry out a zombie-killing ritual. First, he must fill the corpse's mouth with rock salt. Then, ever so carefully, he must sew it's mouth shut with a needle and thread. From it's beginning right to the eventual moment when the zombie's eyes suddenly open and gaze up at terrified Carl, this scene has to be one of the most engrossing, unbearably suspenseful sequences ever broadcast on network television.
The quality of the zombie makeup deserves a special mention, too. The thing's wet, mottled flesh is quite effectively repellent and, oddly enough, this actually leads to the reason why "The Zombie" doesn't score a perfect ten. In one scene, this rotting corpse walks onto a city bus and quietly takes a seat. Now of course we know big city folk are supposed to be jaded, seen-it-all kinda' people, but the idea that this gross-looking (and probably foul-odored) monster could ride public transit without anyone paying notice (not to mention the fact it seemed to have exact change to ride the bus) is just a tad hard to swallow.
That nit-pick aside, much credit should go to Alex Grasshoff for his very capable direction of David Chase's excellent script. Gill Melle's fine musical scoring includes some great Haitian flavoured touches that well suit the theme of the story. Especially effective is the scene in the cemetery where the creepiness is enhanced ten-fold by Melle's brilliant use of strings.
As both an episode of this series, as well as an example of what television can achieve in the area of horror, "The Zombie" remains a stunning success.