This is widely considered by fans to be one of the best-ever episodes from the regrettably short-lived TV series and it's easy to see why: this particular outing boasts not only the usual clever writing, sharp acting, cynical wit, and offbeat stories which made the show such a weekly treat, but also a wealth of eerie atmosphere, a nifty bogeyman figure of Cajun legend known as Peremalfait (towering behemoth Richard Kiel in a gnarly monster suit), an extremely harrowing and suspenseful climax with Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin in fine robust form) stalking the hulking beast in the sewers with a spear made out of gum wood, and even a strong and provocative central statement about the potentially lethal power of the subconscious mind. Director Gordon Hessler, working from a bright and inspired script by Alvin R. Friedman and David Chase, relates the compelling story at a constant brisk pace, builds plenty of tension, and wisely only shows quick glimpses of Peremalfait before revealing the creature in all its creepy glory at the nerve-wracking conclusion. The excellent acting from a bang-up cast rates as another major asset, with stand-out work by Keenan Wynn as hot-tempered Captain Joe "Mad Dog" Siska, Severn Darden as pompous dream researcher Dr. Aaron Pollack, Johnny Silvers as shrewd informant Pepe LaRue, Ned Glass as cranky building superintendent Joe, and Randy Boone as helpful street musician Gene the Fiddler. Ronald W. Browne's polished cinematography keeps the camera moving all the time. The spirited shivery score likewise does the spine-tingling trick. Essential viewing for fans of the show.
Kolchak: The Night Stalker (TV Series)
The Spanish Moss Murders (1974)
User Reviews
Review this title15 Reviews
The Spanish Moss Murders
Scarecrow-887 July 2012
Warning: Spoilers
This time Kolchak investigates a series of strange murders where the victims have their chests crushed when trapped in the clutches of a Peremalfait, a Cajun bayou boogeyman conjured up by an innocent street musician, under REM sleep, having agreed to play guinea pig to sleep experiments that take away the ability to dream. People connected to the sleep subject (Don Mantooth) in unrelated ways are specifically chosen as chest-crushing victims, so Kolchak will have to first discover who (or better, what) is killing them and figure out how to stop it. "The Spanish Moss Murders" is definitely one of my favorites from the series thus far. Richard Kiel (yes, Jaws from the Roger Moore Bond movies!) is the Cajun Backwoods Boogeyman, covered in moss, when in close proximity to victims, he makes a scary guttural sound. He kind of looks like a Swamp Thing, covered in Spanish Moss and "green glop", until the end, we see faint images of him before Kolchak confronts him in the Chicago sewer system for quite a hair-raising finale. Fascinating plot includes not only the unusual creature but has its birth caused by sleep experiments. Even more intriguing is the fact that it will attack/prevent anyone awakening the sleep subject based on survival instincts! Keenan Wynn has a really small but funny part as Captain Joe Siska, having attended therapy because of his "mad dog" anger issues and mad outbursts due to lack of control with Kolchak ruining his progress (haha!)! Severn Darden also has a neat part as the sleep professor, Dr. Aaron Pollack, who becomes very annoyed with Kolchak, finding his visits, questions, and accusations of the monster tiresome and burdensome. Even television vet, Virginia Gregg (The Twilight Zone; Dragnet) has a small part as a botanical gardens greenhouse scientist/farmer who, not surprising, becomes quickly aggravated by Kolchak's presence as he is looking for Spanish moss. It is soon discovered, since Kolchak is basically more of an investigator than reporter, that a certain kind of Bayou gum tree stick can be used to kill the Peremalfait if stabbed by it. As usual, Kolchak, scared out of his wits (and rightfully so!) will summon enough courage to go into the sewers to vanquish the beast. The episode kicks off in a great way by showing an exhausted (covered in dry dirt and sewage!) Kolchak relating his harrowing experience in his audio recorder. How Kolchak gets stuck in the sewer thanks to a manhole development adds to his predicament. How Kolchak evades poor Tony's desire for his input on a speech he plans to give at a news luncheon is yet another entertaining subplot that doesn't deprive us of too much time away from the boogeyman story.
Fools Rush In.
rmax30482327 November 2006
Warning: Spoilers
This may not be one of the best TV series ever but at its best, Kolchak is above average. Darren McGavin is Karl Kolchak, a blustering fustian Chicago crime reporter who barges into places where he's not wanted and blunders into places where his body could be disarticulated into its various parts. He's a coward but reckless too, and sublimely nosy. He's always after the biggest story of his career, always involving some sort of X-File type of supernatural force, and guess what. Nobody believes him.
The supporting cast is first rate. The rest of the crew at International News Service include Aunt Emily, a dotty old woman who writes advice to the lovelorn; Updyke, whom Kolchak often calls Uptight, a dapper, ambitious, and whining self promoter. Above all there is Simon Oakland in his best role as Tony Vincenzo, the constantly flummoxed editor. There are also a host of fairly well-known performers that show up in guest spots. "Spanish Moss" has Keenan Wynne, Ned Glass, and one or two others.
The episodes are repetitious. The monster genre can only be taken so far, as Universal Studios discovered. But although the plots may pale with time, the script is uniformly inventive. The dialog is outstanding, full of the kinds of wisecracks that Lenny Briscoe made so often on "Law and Order." When the chef in a fancy French restaurant is killed, Updyke can visit the place later and remark sadly that "even the pate seemed to lack luster." Of the restaurant itself, Kolchak can say that its profit was equal to the gross national product of Uruguay. One street musician can say of another, "As for his fiddling -- a dying pig on a kazoo would sound better." I could give other examples but I'll quit.
All of these lines are delivered in absolute deadpan. McGavin gives a very animated performance, his sing-song voice wheedling his way into an informant's favor. (He advises an elderly lady whose tiny dog is having "blockage problems" to feed him a little mineral oil every day.) And Oakland seems ready to have a heart attack momentarily.
I can't seem to quit. Sometimes the series is clever enough to make fun of its own stupidity. A supercilious "expert" on Hindu mythology makes what he calls a joke. "I always like to say that it was in the third century that the cult of Kali flowered." (Caulifower.)
If this series is not as outrageous as it seemed when first shown, it's far above the average TV fare. Where else could you find McGavin describing a particularly smart dog owned by an informant, and Oakland shouting back, "I don't care if he's got a trained seal that plays La Paloma on the bicycle horns"? It's so funny I've copped that line and used it myself.
McGavin tries to take a photo of a monster but it comes out all mixed up and blurry. He thrusts it into Simon Oakland's hands and claims it proves the monster exists. Oakland's eyes bulge with anger and he bellows, "Karl, what IS this, a picture of Salvador Dali's bar MITZVAH?" (I couldn't help it.)
The supporting cast is first rate. The rest of the crew at International News Service include Aunt Emily, a dotty old woman who writes advice to the lovelorn; Updyke, whom Kolchak often calls Uptight, a dapper, ambitious, and whining self promoter. Above all there is Simon Oakland in his best role as Tony Vincenzo, the constantly flummoxed editor. There are also a host of fairly well-known performers that show up in guest spots. "Spanish Moss" has Keenan Wynne, Ned Glass, and one or two others.
The episodes are repetitious. The monster genre can only be taken so far, as Universal Studios discovered. But although the plots may pale with time, the script is uniformly inventive. The dialog is outstanding, full of the kinds of wisecracks that Lenny Briscoe made so often on "Law and Order." When the chef in a fancy French restaurant is killed, Updyke can visit the place later and remark sadly that "even the pate seemed to lack luster." Of the restaurant itself, Kolchak can say that its profit was equal to the gross national product of Uruguay. One street musician can say of another, "As for his fiddling -- a dying pig on a kazoo would sound better." I could give other examples but I'll quit.
All of these lines are delivered in absolute deadpan. McGavin gives a very animated performance, his sing-song voice wheedling his way into an informant's favor. (He advises an elderly lady whose tiny dog is having "blockage problems" to feed him a little mineral oil every day.) And Oakland seems ready to have a heart attack momentarily.
I can't seem to quit. Sometimes the series is clever enough to make fun of its own stupidity. A supercilious "expert" on Hindu mythology makes what he calls a joke. "I always like to say that it was in the third century that the cult of Kali flowered." (Caulifower.)
If this series is not as outrageous as it seemed when first shown, it's far above the average TV fare. Where else could you find McGavin describing a particularly smart dog owned by an informant, and Oakland shouting back, "I don't care if he's got a trained seal that plays La Paloma on the bicycle horns"? It's so funny I've copped that line and used it myself.
McGavin tries to take a photo of a monster but it comes out all mixed up and blurry. He thrusts it into Simon Oakland's hands and claims it proves the monster exists. Oakland's eyes bulge with anger and he bellows, "Karl, what IS this, a picture of Salvador Dali's bar MITZVAH?" (I couldn't help it.)
Stalking A Boogeyman.
a_l_i_e_n16 August 2006
Warning: Spoilers
Though spell-check insists it's "Bogeyman", Boogeyman looks better.
Chicago citizens suffer an uncomfortable demise in the crushing embrace of a legendary creature come to life.
A medical research assistant and a noted chef are both murdered with massive blunt force trauma to the chest cavity. In both cases strands of Spanish moss are found on the bodies.
A suspect is initially arrested for the murders, but is later released after another man, Bobby-Ray Salange, is also discovered crushed to death and covered in Spanish moss.
Kolchak visits the first victim's place of employment, a sleep research lab. While there he encounters Dr. Pollack, a scientist who has put a young narcoleptic named Paul Langeau into an extended state artificial sleep in which he is not permitted to dream.
Later, Kolchak checks out the Chicago street musician quarter where Bobby-Ray Salange had performed. Among the buskers there he meets a recalcitrant fiddler who takes off on him, and a diminutive panhandler named Morris who knew Bobby-Ray. Morris mentions that Bobby-Ray had a troubled buddy named Paul Langeau, and that both men were Louisianans from the bayou region who often spoke of Cajun folklore. When Morris mentions that the two would sometimes talk about something called "Peremalfait", the little panhandler suddenly vanishes into a shadowy alley as if snatched by unseen hands.
When Carl tracks down the fiddler who'd stiffed him for information, the musician tells him that Peremalfait is a Cajun version of the boogeyman. Said to be covered in rot and Spanish moss, he kills his victims by squeezing them to death. Furthermore, according to legend, the only way to kill Peremalfait is with a sharpened stick of bayou gum.
The reporter goes back to the sleep lab where Paul Langeau still slumbers in his dreamless state. Dr. Pollack isn't interested in any theories about his subject conjuring up monsters from his subconscious, but he soon becomes concerned when he discovers he cannot wake Langeau up. "Well you better," warns Kolchak, "or someone better start whittling a spear from bayou gum." Suddenly Langeau's heart/lung readings go erratic. Seconds later, they flat line and Langeau dies. Kolchak comments, "All of his dreams and nightmares are over...I hope."
When Carl returns to the news bureau to file his story, the janitor informs him that a water leak has left the office sopping wet. But when Carl reaches into his desk drawer he is shocked to discover wet Spanish moss inside. "He's been here!" the reporter shrieks. "He's been here looking for ME!"
Realizing he must act before Peremalfait catches up to him, Kolchak breaks into a botanical garden and steals a branch of bayou gum to make a spear. Next, surmising where a swamp creature might live, the reporter descends into the sewer beneath the area where all the murders occurred. As he trudges through the filthy water, Carl comes upon another body covered with Spanish moss. He panics and makes a break for the street above but discovers that the manhole cover has been set back in place with a truck parked directly on top of it. Suddenly, Peremalfait rises up out of the water causing a startled Kolchak to lose the sack he brought with him. Carl then submerges himself under the sewer water. As Peremalfait searches for him, Carl re-surfaces and crawls into a work conduit. When the monster passes the conduit, Carl leaps back into the water and makes a run for the sack. Just as Peremalfait reaches him Carl manages to get the spear out and jabs the hulking creature square in it's chest, killing it.
In his final comments Kolchak mentions that the "supportive evidence for my story was swept away by the Chicago sanitary canal."
With a great premise and solidly written script by Alex Friedman, "The Spanish Moss Murders" ranks as one of the best of the series. In this, his only "Night Stalker" assignment, Gordon Hessler, (director of "Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger", and "The Oblong Box") imbues this episode with both a tremendously eerie sense of atmosphere as well as great suspenseful buildups to all of Peremalfait's appearances. In one, the creature is seen only as a reflection in a glass door, and later, a window just before he suddenly appears out of a dark alley ensnaring a young girl in his suffocating grip.
In another stunning scene, a motorcycle cop is knocked off his bike when he rides straight into the grizzly-sized monster. Then, in an impressive display of editing, each blast from the cop's gun is inter-cut with shots of Peremalfait's eye staring out from under a mop a Spanish moss.
"Kolchak: Night Stalker's" spotty makeup work scores huge this time with Paremalfait's design; a dripping wet, alien-looking creature that appears to be composed of all the elements of a swamp. The impressively tall Richard Kiel perfectly inhabits the costume and also effectively gives "voice" to the creature whenever a scene calls for him to announce his presence with low, creepy breathing sounds.
It's excellently shot and enhanced by some outstanding musical accompaniment. The sewer sequence in particular resonates with an ever-increasing feeling of dread as rats swim past Kolchak followed by floating strands of Spanish moss indicating that the boogeyman is near. Also effective is Peremalfait's emergence straight up out of the water like a black tree standing before the terrified reporter. It's all superbly scary and brilliantly directed with Mcgavin's spot-on performance solidly underpinning this winning episode. Good enough to have merited a 90 minute feature length, "The Spanish Moss Murders" is a classic, with Peremalfait unquestionably ranking as one of the series's most memorable monsters.
Chicago citizens suffer an uncomfortable demise in the crushing embrace of a legendary creature come to life.
A medical research assistant and a noted chef are both murdered with massive blunt force trauma to the chest cavity. In both cases strands of Spanish moss are found on the bodies.
A suspect is initially arrested for the murders, but is later released after another man, Bobby-Ray Salange, is also discovered crushed to death and covered in Spanish moss.
Kolchak visits the first victim's place of employment, a sleep research lab. While there he encounters Dr. Pollack, a scientist who has put a young narcoleptic named Paul Langeau into an extended state artificial sleep in which he is not permitted to dream.
Later, Kolchak checks out the Chicago street musician quarter where Bobby-Ray Salange had performed. Among the buskers there he meets a recalcitrant fiddler who takes off on him, and a diminutive panhandler named Morris who knew Bobby-Ray. Morris mentions that Bobby-Ray had a troubled buddy named Paul Langeau, and that both men were Louisianans from the bayou region who often spoke of Cajun folklore. When Morris mentions that the two would sometimes talk about something called "Peremalfait", the little panhandler suddenly vanishes into a shadowy alley as if snatched by unseen hands.
When Carl tracks down the fiddler who'd stiffed him for information, the musician tells him that Peremalfait is a Cajun version of the boogeyman. Said to be covered in rot and Spanish moss, he kills his victims by squeezing them to death. Furthermore, according to legend, the only way to kill Peremalfait is with a sharpened stick of bayou gum.
The reporter goes back to the sleep lab where Paul Langeau still slumbers in his dreamless state. Dr. Pollack isn't interested in any theories about his subject conjuring up monsters from his subconscious, but he soon becomes concerned when he discovers he cannot wake Langeau up. "Well you better," warns Kolchak, "or someone better start whittling a spear from bayou gum." Suddenly Langeau's heart/lung readings go erratic. Seconds later, they flat line and Langeau dies. Kolchak comments, "All of his dreams and nightmares are over...I hope."
When Carl returns to the news bureau to file his story, the janitor informs him that a water leak has left the office sopping wet. But when Carl reaches into his desk drawer he is shocked to discover wet Spanish moss inside. "He's been here!" the reporter shrieks. "He's been here looking for ME!"
Realizing he must act before Peremalfait catches up to him, Kolchak breaks into a botanical garden and steals a branch of bayou gum to make a spear. Next, surmising where a swamp creature might live, the reporter descends into the sewer beneath the area where all the murders occurred. As he trudges through the filthy water, Carl comes upon another body covered with Spanish moss. He panics and makes a break for the street above but discovers that the manhole cover has been set back in place with a truck parked directly on top of it. Suddenly, Peremalfait rises up out of the water causing a startled Kolchak to lose the sack he brought with him. Carl then submerges himself under the sewer water. As Peremalfait searches for him, Carl re-surfaces and crawls into a work conduit. When the monster passes the conduit, Carl leaps back into the water and makes a run for the sack. Just as Peremalfait reaches him Carl manages to get the spear out and jabs the hulking creature square in it's chest, killing it.
In his final comments Kolchak mentions that the "supportive evidence for my story was swept away by the Chicago sanitary canal."
With a great premise and solidly written script by Alex Friedman, "The Spanish Moss Murders" ranks as one of the best of the series. In this, his only "Night Stalker" assignment, Gordon Hessler, (director of "Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger", and "The Oblong Box") imbues this episode with both a tremendously eerie sense of atmosphere as well as great suspenseful buildups to all of Peremalfait's appearances. In one, the creature is seen only as a reflection in a glass door, and later, a window just before he suddenly appears out of a dark alley ensnaring a young girl in his suffocating grip.
In another stunning scene, a motorcycle cop is knocked off his bike when he rides straight into the grizzly-sized monster. Then, in an impressive display of editing, each blast from the cop's gun is inter-cut with shots of Peremalfait's eye staring out from under a mop a Spanish moss.
"Kolchak: Night Stalker's" spotty makeup work scores huge this time with Paremalfait's design; a dripping wet, alien-looking creature that appears to be composed of all the elements of a swamp. The impressively tall Richard Kiel perfectly inhabits the costume and also effectively gives "voice" to the creature whenever a scene calls for him to announce his presence with low, creepy breathing sounds.
It's excellently shot and enhanced by some outstanding musical accompaniment. The sewer sequence in particular resonates with an ever-increasing feeling of dread as rats swim past Kolchak followed by floating strands of Spanish moss indicating that the boogeyman is near. Also effective is Peremalfait's emergence straight up out of the water like a black tree standing before the terrified reporter. It's all superbly scary and brilliantly directed with Mcgavin's spot-on performance solidly underpinning this winning episode. Good enough to have merited a 90 minute feature length, "The Spanish Moss Murders" is a classic, with Peremalfait unquestionably ranking as one of the series's most memorable monsters.
Man-Thing vs. Kolchak
Johnny_West28 March 2022
Watched the Spanish Moss Murders episode (#9) late tonight. It was really good, and it had that great mix of science, scares, horror, and the occult. The creature looked a lot like the comic book version of the Man-Thing, which runs on instinct (reacts to fear in others) and does not talk; unlike the smarter and philosophical Swamp-Thing.
Keenan Wynn is the guest star playing the Chief of Police in this episode! It seemed like there was a new Chief in every episode! Severn Darden, who was great playing eccentric characters and did a few Planet of the Apes movies was the eccentric sleep disorder scientist.
The sleep disorder guy was Don Mantooth, the brother of Randolph Mantooth one of the stars from EMERGENCY! TV series (1972-79). Veteran actress Virginia Gregg was the cranky employee at the botanical garden. The goofy lab worker that gets killed first was Roberta Dean. The lab assistant was Elizabeth Brooks, who was in The Howling, and later became the special friend of Kristy McNichol (who won 2 Emmys for "Family" TV series 1976-1980).
Ned Glass was a building super (as they were called back in the day). Veteran actor Johnny Silver had some of the best comments to Kolchak. Silver worked as a supporting actor on the TV shows of Danny Thomas, Joey Bishop, Red Skelton, Dick Van Dyck and even on the H. R. Pufnstuf TV show.
Richard Kiel made a great guest appearance as the Spanish Moss Monster!!
Keenan Wynn is the guest star playing the Chief of Police in this episode! It seemed like there was a new Chief in every episode! Severn Darden, who was great playing eccentric characters and did a few Planet of the Apes movies was the eccentric sleep disorder scientist.
The sleep disorder guy was Don Mantooth, the brother of Randolph Mantooth one of the stars from EMERGENCY! TV series (1972-79). Veteran actress Virginia Gregg was the cranky employee at the botanical garden. The goofy lab worker that gets killed first was Roberta Dean. The lab assistant was Elizabeth Brooks, who was in The Howling, and later became the special friend of Kristy McNichol (who won 2 Emmys for "Family" TV series 1976-1980).
Ned Glass was a building super (as they were called back in the day). Veteran actor Johnny Silver had some of the best comments to Kolchak. Silver worked as a supporting actor on the TV shows of Danny Thomas, Joey Bishop, Red Skelton, Dick Van Dyck and even on the H. R. Pufnstuf TV show.
Richard Kiel made a great guest appearance as the Spanish Moss Monster!!
Lots of fun.
Hey_Sweden5 August 2012
Warning: Spoilers
This is a decidedly weird yet diverting episode of the series, with an intriguing, twist-laden plot. Written by Alvin R. Friedman and David Chase, based on Friedmans' story, and directed by Gordon Hessler, 'The Spanish Moss Murders' sees a string of murders occurring as Chicago is suffering through a July heat wave. The victims appear to be getting crushed to death, and a strange vegetation is found at all murder scenes. Kolchak discovers that a test subject in a sleep clinic is the cause of it all: despite the fact that the researchers (led by Severn Darden) are keeping the man from dreaming, his sleep state has allowed a Cajun monster of legend, the Paramalfait, to manifest itself in reality. It's up to Kolchak to dispatch this monster with a spear made out of gum wood.
One would think that any and all scenes with the actual monster (Richard Kiel returns to perform the role, after having played the evil Medicine Man in 'Bad Medicine') would come off as laughable (and one *can* see the zipper on the costumes' back at one point), but in truth they actually work pretty well; the monster does look pretty foul. Hessler does a fine job at building up the suspense, and creating that strange atmosphere. In the tradition of past episodes, the story gets spookier as it goes along, leading to a fun climax in the Chicago sewers.
The dialogue is priceless as usual, with an especially delicious one-liner from Vincenzo when he refers to a fuzzy photo of the creature as "Salvador Dali's Bar Mitzvah". The roster of guest stars is impressive, with Kiel doing a fine and creepy job, and Keenan Wynn offering a hilarious performance as a police detective not known as "Mad Dog" for nothing: eventually he turns into the bellowing Keenan Wynn we know and love so much. Randy Boone plays aspiring musician Gene the Fiddler, Johnny Silver the street character who's adopted a French persona, Ned Glass a suspicious superintendent, and Virginia Gregg a botanist. Brief appearances are made by series regulars Jack Grinnage and Ruth McDevitt, and Elisabeth Brooks, the smoking hot temptress from the feature film "The Howling", can be seen as Dardens' assistant at the clinic.
Overall, 'The Spanish Moss Murders' sizes up as one of the more interesting and engaging episodes of the series.
Eight out of 10.
One would think that any and all scenes with the actual monster (Richard Kiel returns to perform the role, after having played the evil Medicine Man in 'Bad Medicine') would come off as laughable (and one *can* see the zipper on the costumes' back at one point), but in truth they actually work pretty well; the monster does look pretty foul. Hessler does a fine job at building up the suspense, and creating that strange atmosphere. In the tradition of past episodes, the story gets spookier as it goes along, leading to a fun climax in the Chicago sewers.
The dialogue is priceless as usual, with an especially delicious one-liner from Vincenzo when he refers to a fuzzy photo of the creature as "Salvador Dali's Bar Mitzvah". The roster of guest stars is impressive, with Kiel doing a fine and creepy job, and Keenan Wynn offering a hilarious performance as a police detective not known as "Mad Dog" for nothing: eventually he turns into the bellowing Keenan Wynn we know and love so much. Randy Boone plays aspiring musician Gene the Fiddler, Johnny Silver the street character who's adopted a French persona, Ned Glass a suspicious superintendent, and Virginia Gregg a botanist. Brief appearances are made by series regulars Jack Grinnage and Ruth McDevitt, and Elisabeth Brooks, the smoking hot temptress from the feature film "The Howling", can be seen as Dardens' assistant at the clinic.
Overall, 'The Spanish Moss Murders' sizes up as one of the more interesting and engaging episodes of the series.
Eight out of 10.
The Peremalfait
AaronCapenBanner10 November 2014
Carl Kolchak(Darren McGavin) investigates two seemingly unrelated murders that turn out to have a common thread involving Spanish moss, which was found on the bodies. They are traced to a dream research project where the subject is a comatose Cajun man who is being deprived of the ability to sleep, and as an unintended consequence, his unconscious mind has somehow materialized a childhood legend of a towering swamp monster called the Peremalfait(played by Richard Kiel), who kills anyone it views as a threat, and whose next target is Carl... Keenan Wynn makes the first of two appearances as police captain Joe "Mad Dog" Siska, who can't stand Carl! Memorable episode overcomes far-fetched premise with a scary,unique monster and eerie atmosphere.
Peremalfait - Now A TV Legend Too
DKosty12323 July 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Kolchak bites off quite a wad with this bogeyman covered with Spainish Moss. The XFILES would get inspiration from this episode years later. In this one, the Cajun Bogeyman is created by a University of Chicago student who is doing a sleep study in his mind from childhood nightmares. Once again, Kolchak is trying to figure out the unthinkable. How do you kill the product of someones dreams?
It ain't easy, as the victims keep going down and Kolchak has trouble finding out anything about this legend. Meanwhile Keenan Wynne is the police detective who thinks Kolchak is nuts. Monster Legend Richard Kiel (Jaws to Roger Moore's James Bond) is the guy in the moss suit. After viewing this one, the pre-cgi effects are pretty impressive. Of course I found this quote elsewhere to round out this review- and remember with any legend- the truth is out there- somewhere.
"After viewing an episode of KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER, forerunner to and inspiration for THE X-FILES, entitled "The Spanish Moss Murders," I wondered if the supernatural threat featured in that episode was based on a genuine legend. As most episodes of this series did feature titular character Darren McGavin fighting some monster out of actual mythology, as opposed to some fictional construct created strictly for the series, I figured the towering, moss-draped fiend "Père Malfait" must be real, too. Based on a real legend, that is; whether or not he, or it, exists in the literal sense has yet to be conclusively determined. A quick google search, though, revealed that Père Malfait is indeed a real mythic creature."
It ain't easy, as the victims keep going down and Kolchak has trouble finding out anything about this legend. Meanwhile Keenan Wynne is the police detective who thinks Kolchak is nuts. Monster Legend Richard Kiel (Jaws to Roger Moore's James Bond) is the guy in the moss suit. After viewing this one, the pre-cgi effects are pretty impressive. Of course I found this quote elsewhere to round out this review- and remember with any legend- the truth is out there- somewhere.
"After viewing an episode of KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER, forerunner to and inspiration for THE X-FILES, entitled "The Spanish Moss Murders," I wondered if the supernatural threat featured in that episode was based on a genuine legend. As most episodes of this series did feature titular character Darren McGavin fighting some monster out of actual mythology, as opposed to some fictional construct created strictly for the series, I figured the towering, moss-draped fiend "Père Malfait" must be real, too. Based on a real legend, that is; whether or not he, or it, exists in the literal sense has yet to be conclusively determined. A quick google search, though, revealed that Père Malfait is indeed a real mythic creature."
Kolchak: "The Spanish Moss Murders"
Wuchakk19 April 2018
PLOT: Kolchak encounters a series of murders linked by Spanish moss found at the scene. He traces the slayings to a Cajun man undergoing dream deprivation in a research experiment, which somehow releases a legendary swamp boogeyman, Père Malfait.
COMMENTARY: The monster recalls Marvel's Man-Thing and DC's Swamp Thing, both of which were popular in comics at the time. Richard Kiel returns from the previous episode to play the hulking id-driven creature. The monster-costume is pretty effective for early 70's TV, except for its obviously-human hands. Too bad no one could obtain some boggy-ish gloves. The climax in the Chicago sewers is notable.
The sharp dark-haired lab assistant was played by Elisabeth Brooks, best remembered for her role as the villainess Marsha Quist in "The Howling" (1981). She prematurely died of brain cancer at the age of 46 in 1997.
COMMENTARY: The monster recalls Marvel's Man-Thing and DC's Swamp Thing, both of which were popular in comics at the time. Richard Kiel returns from the previous episode to play the hulking id-driven creature. The monster-costume is pretty effective for early 70's TV, except for its obviously-human hands. Too bad no one could obtain some boggy-ish gloves. The climax in the Chicago sewers is notable.
The sharp dark-haired lab assistant was played by Elisabeth Brooks, best remembered for her role as the villainess Marsha Quist in "The Howling" (1981). She prematurely died of brain cancer at the age of 46 in 1997.
Spanish Moss
bkoganbing15 September 2017
This Kolchak: The Nightstalker episode has Darren McGavin chasing the boogeyman. Of course after a while it's the boogeyman chasing him. Some murders in and around a section of Chicago where a lot of Cajun folks from Louisiana have settled. People are being torn limb from limb or crushed in that area and always Spanish moss like you get from the swamp is around them.
This traces back to a sleep study program being conducted by Dr. Severn Darden with Donald Mantooth as the subject. As he dreams he conjures up Richard Kiel all 8 foot of him, unrecognizable except for his height as a boogeyman legend Cajun kids were taught to fear.
Best scene was when McGavin finds Spanish moss near his desk and he knows the big guy is out for him.
But of course he deals with it as you Carl Kolchak always does.
This traces back to a sleep study program being conducted by Dr. Severn Darden with Donald Mantooth as the subject. As he dreams he conjures up Richard Kiel all 8 foot of him, unrecognizable except for his height as a boogeyman legend Cajun kids were taught to fear.
Best scene was when McGavin finds Spanish moss near his desk and he knows the big guy is out for him.
But of course he deals with it as you Carl Kolchak always does.
Interesting
gavin694220 June 2015
A pair of seemingly unrelated deaths are connected by the fact that each victim had a small amount of Spanish Moss on the body. When more murders occur, Kolchak is able to determine that each victim is indeed connected to a comatose Cajun man who is part of a sleep experiment where he is denied the ability to dream.
Aside from the crazy fiddle player, there is not much of interest for a while... and then we get the crazy scientist who performs the cruel sleep study forcing a man to go without dreaming for six weeks. Now, the outcome is rather unlikely... but the idea is awfully clever. It reminds me of "Patrick", but actually predates that film by a few years, so it may be the other way around!
Aside from the crazy fiddle player, there is not much of interest for a while... and then we get the crazy scientist who performs the cruel sleep study forcing a man to go without dreaming for six weeks. Now, the outcome is rather unlikely... but the idea is awfully clever. It reminds me of "Patrick", but actually predates that film by a few years, so it may be the other way around!
Family fun without being too scary for middle school or Jr. High kids.
jimlefebvre15 March 2006
This show was really enjoyed by my family without making any parents or kids uncomfortable, and just scary enough to stay interesting. D. McGavin was great! It was also entertaining for the adults to see old supporting actors we remembered from when we were children. The references to places in Chicago was interesting for us, as we use to live there. We will try to watch more of this series. The channel we watched had a special marathon of the Kolchak: Night Stalker, and my son wanted me to tape the rest of the shows so he could show his brothers, who were not there. We wished the series had been longer than, unfortunately, it was.
Swamp thing at Chicago!!
elo-equipamentos28 January 2020
This turn the monster is coming from the faraway Louisiana's folklore Spanish Moss or Peremalfait, our Kolchak is willing to solve a weird murder case, after several bodies appears at city morgue, he supposes that has some connection with dream research project developed by Dr. Aaron Pollack where a Cajun comatose patient they didn't allowed to dream, Carl Kolchak made a hard job asking for many witness and future victims over this mystery case, also he has to face the angry Mad Dog Captain Joe Siska (Keenan Wynn) which is fed up with their dirty tricks to get informations, when Kolchak understand all about the monster will hunt him, a bit contrived episode which the subject was still almost drained, however with Kolchak everything is reliable!!
Resume:
First watch: 2020 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7
Resume:
First watch: 2020 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7
Not one of the better ones
Delrvich11 July 2020
Spanish Moss
BandSAboutMovies19 July 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Chicago is filled with supernatural murders. This time, the only thing linking the killings of a sleep research center assistant (Elisabeth Brooks from The Howling!) and the chef of Chez Voltaire is that their chests were crushed and their bodies covered with Spanish Moss. Somehow, Kolchak learns that the crimes all come from the Cajun myth of Pere Malfait, who is known as the Bad Father. Only a spear made of gumwood from the bayou can stop the monster, which Kolchak also finds and then goes into the sewers to battle the supernatural yet again.
The monster has come to life thanks to the sleep studies of Dr. Aaron Pollack (Severn Darden) and as one of his patient's (Don Mantooth) dreams of the boogeyman, the tactics to help him sleep unleash it in the real world. Kolchak comes up against another Chicago cop who wants none of his monkey business, this time Captain Joe "Mad Dog" Siska, who played by Keenan Wynn.
The Spanish Moss Monster is played by Richard Kiel, who is the bad guy two episodes in a row. The creature is based on a legend of a soldier who kidnaps, rapes and beheads and hangs a Native America princess from a tree. Her spirit becomes one with the tree and she hunts down the soldier, killing him with the roots of the tree, which have become one with his hair. There's also a Florida Moss Man legend of a "large man-like beast with a rank odor and covered with swamp grass" that was seen often in the late 1800s.
This was directed by Gordon Hessler, who also directed Scream, Pretty Peggy, Cry of the Banshee and Scream and Scream Again. It was written by Alvin R. Friedman and David Chase.
The monster has come to life thanks to the sleep studies of Dr. Aaron Pollack (Severn Darden) and as one of his patient's (Don Mantooth) dreams of the boogeyman, the tactics to help him sleep unleash it in the real world. Kolchak comes up against another Chicago cop who wants none of his monkey business, this time Captain Joe "Mad Dog" Siska, who played by Keenan Wynn.
The Spanish Moss Monster is played by Richard Kiel, who is the bad guy two episodes in a row. The creature is based on a legend of a soldier who kidnaps, rapes and beheads and hangs a Native America princess from a tree. Her spirit becomes one with the tree and she hunts down the soldier, killing him with the roots of the tree, which have become one with his hair. There's also a Florida Moss Man legend of a "large man-like beast with a rank odor and covered with swamp grass" that was seen often in the late 1800s.
This was directed by Gordon Hessler, who also directed Scream, Pretty Peggy, Cry of the Banshee and Scream and Scream Again. It was written by Alvin R. Friedman and David Chase.
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