FAQ

Richard Dees (Miguel Ferrer), senior reporter for the tabloid newspaper Inside View is offered a new assignment. Some sicko who calls himself Dwight Renfield (Michael H. Moss), as in the Dwight Frye who played the role of Renfield in the 1931 movie version of Dracula (1931), is flying from desolate airport to desolate airport in his black Cessna Skymaster 337, tail number N101BL, killing whomever is there and then drinking their blood—and no one has caught him yet. However, Dees thinks the story is a waste of his time and suggests that editor Merton Morrison (Dan Monahan) give the assignment to cub reporter Katherine Blair (Julie Entwisle), whom Dees has unaffectionately nicknamed "Jimmy," after Jimmy Olson of Superman (1952) (1952-1958) fame. The next morning, after Katherine has been able to tap into a network of local law enforcement agencies on her computer and to find three cases that all meet the batty flier's M.O., Morrison again asks Dees to take the assignment. This time, Dees agrees. Needless to say, Katherine isn't pleased.

"The Night Flier" is a short story by American horror writer Stephen King, contained his 1993 anthology Nightmares & Dreamscapes. The story was adapted for the movie by Mark Pavia (who also directed) and Jack O'Donnell.

Unable to hide behind his camera anymore, Dees races to the men's room where he upchucks his dinner. Suddenly, someone else enters the men's room, but Dees cannot see anyone in the mirror, only the trickle of blood in the urinal where someone is relieving himself. It is Dwight Renfield, and for the first time, Dees realizes that he has encountered a real vampire. Dwight makes Dees destroy his film, warns Dees not to follow him anymore, and leaves. After shivering for a few seconds, Dees follows anyway, shouting at Dwight to show his face. Show it he does, to reveal two huge, opposing fangs, one on the top and one on the bottom. Dwight then slits his own wrist and makes Dees drink the blood. Now Dees enters his own personal hell. The floor of the terminal turns misty and from it start rising all the people dead people in the terminal and some of those whom Dees has exploited to write his stories for Inside View. As they advance toward him, Dees freaks. Grabbing the axe from the emergency firebox, he starts hacking at them. Suddenly the police arrive, followed by Katherine Blair. The police order Dees to freeze, but he rushes towards Katherine anyway, so they shoot him. They warn Katherine to stay back, so she stands by the terminal window where she sees Dwight Renfield getting into his black Skymaster and taking off. Katherine knows that she can never print what she believes or believe what she prints, so the next cover of Inside View features Richard Dees lying in a pool of his own blood. The headline reads: NIGHT FLIER DEFANGED. Inside View Scribe Moonlighted as Dastardly Deadly Count. In the lower right-hand corner is a photo of Katherine "Jimmy" Blair, the tabloid's new ace reporter. Sorry, Dees. You lose.