Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Yea, GOOD Ol' Cali. This guy kills folks there, yet THOSE idiots make a movie that chalks it up to a bad upbringing. I had a bad childhood. NEVER KILLED anyone. Just understand that Hollywood defends EVIL. Their OWN. STORIES.

Lou Diamond Phillips stellar performance as the serial killer Richard Ramirez was simply wasted playing opposite actress Bellamy Young who plays a fictional lawyer named Kit (Katherine) whose own life was supposedly haunted by the real Richard Ramirez's 1980's killing spree as the infamous Night Stalker as she lived in the California area.Yes, the majority of incidents described as happening in Richard Ramirez's teens and the film's killings outlined in this fictional biopic actually occurred and are attributed to Richard Ramirez's murderous spree. However, this film focuses on Ramirez's time in captivity and his interactions with the female lawyer Kit, who meets with Ramirez over four (4) consecutive days in an attempt to record a confession for a double murder that another man will be executed for committing if Ramirez will not admit to being the actual perpetrator. The fictional drama occurs as Kit is reliving her own teen years while the Night Stalker is all over the news during his late evening robbery, rape and vicious murder spree. Kit has her own demons to live with and the interview scenes between Kit and the shackled Richard Ramirez (Lou Diamond Phillips) are worth watching the film if for nothing else.I hope the now 56 year old Lou Diamond Phillips is provided an opportunity to star in a few dramatic major motion pictures based on this outstanding role as the Night Stalker, because he has certainly paid his dues carrying more than one film on his own broad shoulders and raising the bar on his fellow actors/actresses to follow his lead. "Lead" being the key word. I rate The Night Stalker a high 7 out of 10 on Lou Diamond Phillip's outstanding performance.

As a Horror/thriller/Suspense movie fan I do treat True Crime movies with a more discerning approach because they actually happened.This movie is a fictionalised story between two characters in this portrayed production. Kit (Bellamy Young) is a single, unmarried Woman who embarks on a client's case to clear his name on a Mother and Son that were found murdered and Kit thinks Richard Ramirez the infamous Night Stalker (Lou Diamond Phillips) is linked to this crime. The visitations turn into a cat and mouse game as Kit finds a forgotten and deeper side to herself as Ramirez gets into her mind. Is she a victim herself or does she have a seedy and dark hidden past? All is revealed in this movie. There are flashbacks of Richard's past which was succinct.The Set captures the claustrophobic and dungeon like death row cells of San Quentin, photography and camera angles are superb, Lou Diamond Phillips does a bravado performance and he can't go wrong with doing Richard's darkest and deepest violent sexual fantasies. The repetition of Richard Ramirez political and intellectual quotes that every true crime buff already knew about is in almost every line was a bit frustrating as the movie SPECK when the dialogue wasn't a script it was meshed quotes of different killers, the Night Stalker had everything that Ramirez said in every televised Interview and I longed for something different because he is a very interesting Guy to listen to and a more expansive script for Phillips would befit the fine performer that he is. Bellamy Young is not bad but she lacks to deliver in the final segments in the film, I felt Coleen Porch from Baby Blues (cradle will fall) would play the part because I imagined she would equalise Phillips dangerous side. Benjamin Barrett was good as the Teenage Ramirez but it seems like it was forcibly done in a rush which was a pity, he was absorbing and I wanted to see more of Barrett's performance.The movie is good but not perfect. I look forward to watching a movie on Richard Ramirez full Biography like Dahmer and Bundy because the man's fateful, troubled and disturbing life is yet to be told plus there is not a film based on his life yet. Doesn't matter if you feel a kinship with Richard Ramirez or you despise him, he is still a fascinating person to watch even after his death.

Richard Ramirez, the Satan worshiping "Night Stalker", was someone whose crimes and life I was required to study years ago, one of other serial killers for a criminal justice class. He stood out at one of the more understandable, among the many I researched both from personal and academic interest, because of his background: traumatized in several ways from an early age. Ultimately, however, his crimes were horrendous, extreme and effectively should end any sympathetic tendencies towards him as a convicted criminal who confessed to many of his crimes.Engrossing, chilling and brilliantly acted by Phillips, Ramirez was "Brought to life" with all his cold intelligence and vulnerabilities in place. The subtle expressions, or at times lack thereof, the shift of eyes, the sudden violence. I felt his performance wasn't quite matched by Bellamy Young, but she was entirely believable. She played the lawyer Katherine "Kit", trying to get a confession from him about a crime another was wrongly accused of. The film revolves around the conflict between the two, as she seeks to gain his trust to draw more details of his crimes, which he astutely ascertained, and he to gain something from her he was denied in prison: a female victim he could exploit for his own needs. He sensed vulnerabilities beneath her cool self-assured facade, and sought them out, whether from simple curiosity or true malignancy is for the viewer to decide.Ramirez' history, his background and the traumas and events directly influencing what he became were shown through flashbacks, a wise choice considering Phillips age, and since he was portraying the killer shortly before his death. The young Ramirez' performance was okay, and the vaguely seen crimes and his eventual capture were understated but at the same time dramatic.Though many details were left out about the crimes, and the most atmospheric part of the events: the intensity of the hot weather when most occurred was mostly absent, just references or dialogue. I felt that should have played more of a factor in filming, but overall "The Night Stalker" was well done. Rewatchable at least once, to catch nuances one may miss, a quick scene or glance from the characters eyes, I feel most viewers may be left with the truth of the matter. That it was a tragedy all around, absolutely for the victims, but also for Ramirez as a child and young teen. Sympathy for the terrorizing adult, a cruel rapist and murderer? No way.