The Night Flier (1997)

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

The Stephen King story gets a solid adaptation thanks to co-writer Jack O'Donnell and co- writer / director Mark Pavia. One of its most interesting aspects is the fact that tabloid reporter Richard Dees, a minor character in the King novel "The Dead Zone", is brought to the forefront here. And he's far from being a hero. In fact, he's the kind of protagonist whom the viewer will relish loathing. He's a cold hearted, cynical, miserable s.o.b. who will re- arrange dead bodies at crime scenes for a better photo. Played here by a typically excellent Miguel Ferrer, Dees finally latches onto a story that will affect him at gut level, as he tracks a mysterious, blood sucking serial killer who flies a black Cessna plane from one isolated airport to another, and murders one or more locals before moving on.Pavia does a very fine job of establishing, and maintaining, a sober mood, while also adding dark comedy elements. Things predictably get very gory, but there's a substantial amount of atmosphere as well. Filmed on location in Wilmington, it begins on an appreciably ominous note. The characters make this an interesting journey, with Ferrer at his best. Cute Phoebe Cates lookalike Julie Entwisle contrasts with him nicely as the appealing wannabe reporter who at first doesn't seem cut out to work for a tabloid. Dan Monahan of the "Porky's" series is fun as Dees's boss who's just as much of a sleaze as his star reporter but has a more upbeat attitude. And Michael H. Moss makes the most of limited screen time as our cunning vampire villain.Kudos to the KNB guys for creating what has to be one of THE ugliest vampires in film history, easily able to stand alongside Count Orlok in "Nosferatu" and Mr. Barlow in 'Salem's Lot' '79. Brian Keane composed a reasonably haunting and effective music score. Nice black & white finale, too.Those horror fans disheartened by the over abundance of less than stellar film versions of Kings' stories are advised to give "The Night Flier" a look.Eight out of 10.

Perhaps it's because they don't like the sunlight? Why you ask? Well, let's just say it burns them up a bit. 1997's "The Night Flier" is one of those films whose story of a vampire pilot flying from one tiny airport to another using a private plane might sound a bit silly at first but once you start watching it, you simply can't stop. A mysterious pilot flying a black Cessna Skymaster and using the name Dwight Renfield is stalking rural airports, leaving behind mutilated corpses, with no one having the faintest idea where he comes from. It's a story that egotistical, tabloid reporter Richard Dees (Miguel Ferrer) is put on to investigate. Dees doesn't initially think there's much to the story at first, but after a while, the usually uncaring and cynical reporter starts to wonder if there's more to the story than meets the eye with Renfield. Made for HBO, "The Night Flier" works for several reasons, First and foremost is the good job here of expanding upon the short story by horror maestro Stephen King. Mark Paiva's smart direction, combined with composer Brian Keane's soft-piano but creepy score, serve the story well by keeping the viewer enthralled scene by scene. Another plus is lead actor Miguel Ferrer's performance of Richard Dees. Richard Dees is not at all a likable person; he doesn't seem to care about anyone at all and his only concern is the story, the story, and the story. It's only at the end that Dees discovers what it's like to be at the other end, in a very spooky kind of way. Yet at the same time, Ferrer has that ability to keep us fascinated by the character's journey, no matter how low he goes. It's a real testament to Ferrer's ability and only makes me wonder why he isn't in more leading roles. Supporting him is Julie Entwisle as newbie reporter Katherine Blair, Dan Monahan as Dees' slimy boss Morrison, and Michael H. Moss as creature of the night Renfield. And what good would a vampire movie be if we didn't have an awesome creature to go with it. Michael H. Moss plays Renfield as vampires are supposed to be played, as vile, evil beasts that are from your worse nightmares. Helping in that regard is the makeup department, who manage to create one of the coolest and scariest looking blood-suckers ever. "The Night Flier" is dark tale done well with everything you'd expect in a Stephen King story. I don't know what the King thought of this film (Mr. King is somewhat notorious for not liking a number of film adaptations of his work and truth be told, some of them are pretty bad). But as for me it has to rank as one of the better Stephen King adaptations made and also makes me want to read the story it was based off of. So with all that said, if you're in the mood for a little darkness and a little spookiness, check out Stephen King's "The Night Flier". P.S. It's on you tube.

Hoping to score a much-needed cover story, Richard Dees (Miguel Ferrer), unscrupulous hack for sensationalist tabloid Inside View, goes in search of Dwight Renfield AKA The Night Flier, a vampiric killer who travels the country in a black Cessna Skymaster, landing at rural airstrips where he feeds on the locals. Also keen to bag a scoop with The Night Flier is the rag's newest reporter Katherine Blair (Julie Entwisle), but has she got what it takes to do the job?The Night Flier is adapted from one of Stephen King's short stories, and it feels like it, the plot being far too insubstantial for a wholly satisfying feature length film; consequently, there is a lot of filler, mostly in the form of the dull rivalry between slime-ball Dees and ambitious newbie Blair, which soon gets tedious. A delightfully scummy turn from Ferrer (Dees is a character you will love to hate) and some rather gruesome effects from KNB help matters a little, but as Stephen King movies go, this is amongst the more forgettable efforts.5.5 out of 10, generously rounded up to 6 for the hilarious goof where the clean-shaven Dees lands his plane and, just for a fleeting moment, he is the proud owner of a very bushy moustache.

I have to say one of my choices as a horror sleeper from the 90's is this little creepy grisly effort from director Mark Pavia, based on a Stephen King story, regarding a narcissistic, manipulative, and ultimately vicious tabloid reporter who'll stoop to the lowest level to keep his story on the front page, meeting his match when he begins tailing a vampire killer flying a black Cessna plane who hypnotizes victims around plane air strips throughout Northeastern United States, the rural routes of small town America. At the bottom of his plane is maggot-filled earth, and inside, smeared throughout the controls is dried blood, collected over the his time of mutilation and death. Julie Entwisle, just a bubbly, high-spirited cutie presented as the perfect little fish to be devoured by Miguel Ferrer's cunning shark, tries to forge her way into the tabloid's upper tier, starting from the bottom with a key ability to get forms of information difficult to reach for the paper's top piranha. Anyway, we see as he flies in his own plane from destination to destination, Ferrer's Richard Dees working through the first murder sites, gathering bits and pieces from whatever he can find, through testimony and bribing coroners for photos of mutilated victims. We also get a chance to see his ways of flamboyant journalism by disturbing a victim's grave, adding ugly dead flowers and his own blood(..while even stooping so low as to move the gravestone)..everything is for getting the top story printed with extra spice.I think the idea of the main character being a real slimeball could hurt the film for many because it's much easier to cast a likable hero who we feel sympathy for as he/she pursues the killer leaving a graphic trail of gruesome murders, with throats ripped open so badly that the head is pulled apart from the neck displaying bloody flesh. There's even one scene where the head is ripped completely from the body, placed in an appropriate area as to show those who investigate that the vampire can operate without restraint almost teasing the authorities to catch him. The opening kill shows long gashes down a male victim's face..good, gory carnage is left in this vampire's wake. The closing sequence is one that receives mixed reaction. I've read from some who love it, believing it's the most effective portion of the movie, while others believe it's the most harmful. I particularly love the scene where we have Dees, after finally becoming sickened by the airport lobby slaughter by the vampire, watching from the mirror as the invisible count takes a leak, with the urine being blood red..haha, nice touch. The B&W portion where Dees confronts victims, dressed as vampires, as the count allows him to see what it's like from the other side, I thought was a nifty little moment of nightmarish power. I think we have been spoiled rotten by DVD special features, given access into the movie-making behind-the-scenes effects process. For some, the practical effects of gore, displaying the killer's grisly methods, will receive less of an impact, but I enjoyed them even though I know how they are brought to life(..I think for some, the nasty open wounds from the vampire's finger nails look less effective, and we can understand how they were created).I think the casting of Ferrer is ideal just because of the type of character he portrays. He indeed has a taste for bloody carnage and the vampire, through the final climactic sequence, first seeing the wake of violence of an entire group of people awaiting a trip to some unknown destination, and the B@W vision through a taste of the killer's blood, gives him an opportunity to experience just that. The audience does get what they crave, this bastard's comeuppance. He wanted that front page and gets it, but this time, Entwisle's young reporter(..who gets shafted by Dees)benefits. It's a fitting conclusion, I think, which speaks volumes for why this film must have an anti-hero as the main protagonist. I like how the film presents Dees, the backstories of those with stories to tell of past victims to him, the sleazy process of how he operates, and the way Dees falls to the one warning him to stay away. I loved the ending with how Dees, who basks in exploiting whatever works to bring him success, becomes the victim.