MovieChat Forums > The Night Strangler (1973) Discussion > The Killer

The Killer

posted 19 years ago by bing-57
12 replies | jump to latest

I don't know. I liked the movie, but I just couldn't get the motivation of the Doctor. Oh sure, he gets to be young again, but he doesn't seem to do anything with those extra years. He can't really keep running his clinic because people will notice that he looks pretty good for a 144-year old man.

In those extra years he bought himself, he seems to hide in his lair and do nothing but chat with his dead family. He didn't seem to try to perfect his elixir (each time it had the exact same effect) or interact with real humans.

Oh, and where did he get his super strength from? His elixir was for long life, not for super strength.

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"Music is a world within itself, with a language we all understand." - S. Wonder

[–] bexlyspeed 19 years ago

could it be that he was... INSANE!?
his body stayed young but obviously he did go a bit strange, like dining with the corpses of his civil war buddies

[–] a_l_i_e_n 17 years ago

Yes, and afterall, this Is science fiction so who's to say one side effect of Malcolm's formula couldn't be increased physical strength?

[–] ms-zanadu 16 years ago

I agree with everyone here all very good points . The scary scene for me was when the Doc was getting ready to attack Kolchak the fearse look on his face before he attacks says it all for bexlyspeed insanity theory . As for his strength I agree with a_l_i_e_n on that one too . This ones still my # 1. favorite for me . Thanks bing-57 for this subject post .

[–] sage2112 9 years ago

Your post doesn't make much sense, but your signature is even worse. VERY few understand the language of music - it's quite complex. But I guess that's stevie wonder not making sense.

[–] PaladinNJ (21762) 6 years ago

He said he was working on the serum during that time. In at least two of his lives he was active in the medical community. But overall I'd have to agree with other posters., in technical terms: He was a loon.

Also Margaret Hamilton's character stated that increased vitality and strength were also possible from the elixir. So that explains the strength.

[–] pundit2006 (173) 2 years ago

Also he was a callous selfish individual who probably couldn't come to terms with the idea of dying. Rather than face it he wanted to prolong his life as long as possible. Which is obviously something we all share. How many of us would prolong our lives if the cost of it wasn't that high?
How many of us would be willing to give up living if we had the option to do so?
At what point would we be willing to give up living if given the option?

In this film this serial killer was more than willing to live on at the expense of others. Justifying it by saying he needed time to perfect his elixir.
I suspect that this is just a flimsy excuse to cover his obvious ulterior motive. He wanted eternal life even if it meant killing others to obtain it.
Even if he did perfect the elixir I seriously doubt he would have gone public about it.
He couldn't without having to explain that over the years he had to kill so many people to perfect it.
Because he would have to admit being a murderer and that would have landed him where he would have belonged.
In prison and possibly on death row.

[–] greenbudgie (2355) 4 years ago

He does tell Kolchak that he wants to perfect the drug so he doesn't have to kill again. He is a doctor so I think his motivation may be the advancement of medical science. Or alchemy. I don't think that he would be actually idle during those 21 year spans.

[–] pundit2006 (173) 2 years ago

That would have been his excuse. However I doubt seriously he would have had any intention of going public, or sharing his discovery with others.
For the simple fact that he would have to explain, that in order to perfect this elixir, he had to murder so many people to do so.
That I'm sure he wouldn't have been willing to do.

[–] strangenstein (683) 4 years ago

I don’t think he truly thought through the consequences of his decision. On the surface, eternal life may sound great, but the price is high. You’ll watch everyone you love grow old and die.

[–] pundit2006 (173) 2 years ago

This would be ideal only for a real loner. Someone who doesn't have any companions or deep friendships with anyone.
Being immortal then might be a blessing for such an individual. However if the majority of people had this then it would be an ecological or environmental nightmare. If more people are living than are dying then it's obvious to see what the environmental consequences would be.

[–] pundit2006 (173) 2 years ago

Also the fact that he was immune to bullets. During a fracas with the police he had been shot numerous times but still managed to flee without any serious injuries.
Just like the vampire in Night Stalker.

[–] [email protected] (6224) 2 years ago

I saw this when I was a kid. I didn't think too deeply on the doctor's motives, reasons or abilities. It was enough for me that Carl Kolchak was back on the scene and solving another weird, creepy mystery!