HORROR VEIN

Johnny Depp as Kolchak in “Night Stalker” Remake?

Published on July 13, 2011

“Deadline” is recently reporting that Johnny Depp’s production company Infinitum Nihil is shacking up with Disney – no surprise, considering Depp’s draw in their “Pirates” series – to remake the 1972 television film and subsequent TV series, “Kolchak: The Night Stalker”.

The original film (and series) starred Darren McGavin (the hilarious dad from “A Christmas Story”) as a hard-nosed Chicago news reporter who investigates bizarre, supernatural occurrences. Anything that ranged from a run-of-the-mill haunting to things like vampires and werewolves. The series was tongue-in-cheek, but dark and moody too – something I’m having some trouble seeing the generally family-friendly Disney pulling off.

Depp is already at work with long-time collaborator Tim Burton on a feature film version of the immensely popular, late-60s/early-70s gothic soap opera “Dark Shadows” – a film that will feature him in the lead role as the famous Barnabas Collins, an aristocratic vampire.

If memory serves, “The Night Stalker” TV film was about Kolchak investigating a string of vampire murders. So we’ve got Depp involved in two 70s-era horror films, both involving vampires, both based on old television shows.

While this news seems “off” to me on a few levels, I think the one that gives me the most pause is Depp as Kolchak in the first place. Don’t get me wrong, I like Depp just fine – but the character of Kolchak had a vibe that doesn’t exactly scream “Depp”. Darren McGavin was an ideal choice for the role in the 70s, and a film version would probably benefit from someone closer to McGavin’s look, feel and sound. Anything else would be a huge departure, and made primarily to capitalize on the “name” of the series – something Hollywood is clearly not above doing.

Personally, if we’re going by age-range, look and genre appeal, I kinda would have liked to see someone like James Woods tackle this roll, but that’s just me. He’s got the type of dry humor and “average-schmoe” vibe McGavin gave out, while still being completely believable when the time came to kick some vampire ass (he did too – remember John Carpenter’s “Vampires”?).

What do you think? Were you a fan of the old Kolchak shows? Does Depp fit the bill?

By Jason Marsiglia