The Norliss Tapes

"The Norliss Tapes" is a TV movie that was originally intended as a pilot for a TV series--one that never materialized. Dan Curtis (who created the original "Dark Shadows" and made some great monster films in the 70s) was shopping this show as well as "Kolchak" (with Darren McGavin) at around the same time. Both shows were essentially the same sort of thing--with very few differences. Curtis made two Kolchak pilots, re-arranged the show and made Norliss. Oddly, "The Norliss Tapes" aired only a few weeks after the second Kolchak film ("The Night Strangler"). Perhaps he was just trying to cover all the bases. Soon Kolchak was okayed by ABC and aired as a series for one season. Both involved writers who investigated so-called monsters--and in each, the monsters turned out to be true! The only major difference was that Norliss was a darker show--with a less comedic style.

This one begins with a writer, David Norliss (Roy Thinnes) disappearing. His publisher is worried and all they find are a stack of cassette tapes. When the publisher places one of the tapes in the cassette player, the story begins. Presumably, had the show been picked up, each episode would have been a flashback instigated by the playing of yet another of these tapes.

The monster in this one is a dead man. His zombie body returns--and naturally scares the crap out of his wife (Angie Dickenson) when it tears his dog to pieces and tries to kill her. However, no one believes her and the only one who will listen is Norliss--and at first he doesn't believe her. Not surprisingly, the local sheriff (Claude Akins) doesn't believe her stories about a giant smurf-like zombie! What does some magic ring have to do with this and how can Norliss help her? I would say that this show wasn't quite as enjoyable as the two Kolchak pilots ("The Night Stalker" and "The Night Strangler")--but it is quite enjoyable in a campy way. Worth a look to see what might have been.

It's a shame that this movie is not readily available, like "THE NIGHT STALKER" is....it is a very well done (KUDOS to Dan Curtis, DARK SHADOWS, etc)Occultish-Vampirish Horror movie (made for TV). The setting for this film (Carmel, CA, I believe) is as atmospherically driven as was the Dark Shadows Intro...if you can view this film, i wholeheartedly recommend it. A fine cast, with Roy Thinnes in the lead, investigator role, with Claude Adkins "reprising" his role as the unbelieving lawman....if you liked Carl Kolchak or Fox Mulder, this film is out there...find the truth for your self.....

I finally caught this one earlier tonight on the FOX movie channel. I'd been wanted to see this since I first learned of its existence some 20 years ago. It certainly struck me as a precursor to "The Night Stalker."

I managed to record this onto DVD-R, so if any of you are still looking for a copy, simply email me.

I was channel surfing the other night and caught the last 20 minutes of The Norliss Tapes. I saw the film back in the 70's and it scared me and gave me nightmares for a long time. I thought it was very suspensful and scary. It is a movie that sticks in my mind. I hope they put it out on VHS or DVD!!!!

I ordered this hard-to-find show on eBay and got an excellent copy of it. I'd been literally waiting years to finally watch the TV show that had left the greatest impression of terror on me since childhood. I mean, I wasn't let down when I acquired a DVD of Trilogy of Terror with Karen Black; that last episode with the freaky doll still creeped me out... kinda.

Well, last night I sat down, put the disc in my trusty old DVD player , and -- uh, found it to be a less-than-horrific experience. Of course I knew it wasn't going to have the same sort of effect on me that it did back then, so I prepared myself for a bit of disappointment.

It was okay I guess, and considering I'm much older and can follow the storyline infinitely better than I did when I was 9 helps too. I liked the shots of the Bay Area and the Pacific coastline, and a young and lovely Angie Dickenson is always easy on the eyes, but still -- I wasn't even so much as mildly surprised throughout the entire film. The evil manifestation that happened at the end of the film almost had me laughing -- and I scolded myself for mocking this beloved show.

As a made-for-TV film it is somewhat enjoyable and certainly above average, but as with all things nostalgic and memorable, don't get your hopes up too much like I did.

Okay, now I'm off to find some "ABC Movie of the Week" episodes that hopefully have aged a little better than this one did...