A reporter is on the trail of a vampiric murderer who travels by plane.A reporter is on the trail of a vampiric murderer who travels by plane.A reporter is on the trail of a vampiric murderer who travels by plane.
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- Awards
- 1 win & 2 nominations total
Richard K. Olsen
- Claire Bowie
- (as Richard Olsen)
Robert Leon Casey
- Terminal Cop #2
- (as Bob Casey)
Korbi Dean
- Linda Ross
- (as Deann Korbutt)
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Featured reviews
You can say what you want about Stephen King-movies, but there's always just enough talent and budget involved to not make 'em look cheap. In THE NIGHT FLIER this talent mostly comes from actor Miguel Ferrer and SFX-artists Kurtzman, Nicotero & Berger. Ferrer is an often overlooked actor who most of the time only gets supporting rolls. But he'll always be edged in my memory as go-getter Bob Morton in Paul Verhoeven's ROBOCOP. Now he gets the chance to star in the leading roll in THE NIGHT FLIER, and he proves that he can carry a film. He was just perfect as the arrogant sleaze-reporter Richard Dees.
There's a mysterious figure flying in a black airplane and landing on small airports at night. He leaves behind him a trail of mutilated, blood-drained corpses. Richard Dees, reporter for the cheese & sleaze magazine "Inside View", is put on the case. So he gets in his airplane and starts following the same route as the vampiric murderer. Meantime, a rival reporter (the rookie Katherine Blair) is also assigned to write a story about it...
The plot is nothing too complicated, but it's built up nicely and even manages to be a bit scary from time to time. It all leads to the enjoyable final scenes at the last airport. The vampire is mostly kept in the dark throughout the movie, which helps to build-up a little tension. But don't worry, you'll be satisfied when you see it's ugly scary face in the end. Which brings us to the work of our beloved KNB-crew. The special make-up-effects are very decent and quite gory too. And I also liked the fact that the vampire is able to mess with peoples minds.
Okay, there are some improbabilities concerning some events in the plot, but lets not make a big deal out of it. Just take it as it is: It's a decent Stephen King-adaptation and a good vampire-movie, nothing more nothing less. So switch off the lights and fly with it.
There's a mysterious figure flying in a black airplane and landing on small airports at night. He leaves behind him a trail of mutilated, blood-drained corpses. Richard Dees, reporter for the cheese & sleaze magazine "Inside View", is put on the case. So he gets in his airplane and starts following the same route as the vampiric murderer. Meantime, a rival reporter (the rookie Katherine Blair) is also assigned to write a story about it...
The plot is nothing too complicated, but it's built up nicely and even manages to be a bit scary from time to time. It all leads to the enjoyable final scenes at the last airport. The vampire is mostly kept in the dark throughout the movie, which helps to build-up a little tension. But don't worry, you'll be satisfied when you see it's ugly scary face in the end. Which brings us to the work of our beloved KNB-crew. The special make-up-effects are very decent and quite gory too. And I also liked the fact that the vampire is able to mess with peoples minds.
Okay, there are some improbabilities concerning some events in the plot, but lets not make a big deal out of it. Just take it as it is: It's a decent Stephen King-adaptation and a good vampire-movie, nothing more nothing less. So switch off the lights and fly with it.
I'm not going to say that this is a great movie, or even a great horror movie. A more appropriate way of saying it might be that it's an interesting movie. Those poor filmmakers, they're starting to run out of Stephen King novels to make into movies, so they have to turn to his short stories. Usually this means what should have been a 30 minute movie is drawn out into an hour and a half or longer. But in the case of Mark Pavia's "The Night Flier", story works because Pavia is able to expand on King's original story, and he also seems to have a bit of talent as a director.
Most people complain that Miguel Ferrer's character, Richard Dees, is too mean, or something like that. QUIT COMPLAINING PEOPLE! He's suppose to be an utterly heartless, sleazy, sorry excuse of a person. You're not suppose to feel sorry for him at all as he descends to insanity. Instead having such a terrible lead character is suppose to pose the question whose the real monster? Or, actually I think it'd be more accurate to say, whose the real hero? Is there a hero? Ferrer pulls off the performance perfectly, making a character that could make James Woods or Clint Eastwood whimper in fear. Unfortunately the rest of the cast doesn't do so well, and this pulls in the movie down a little way.
Anyway, Pavia himself has a talent for gloomy atmosphere, with his overcast, gray skies and quiet music and always just slightly-off-angle photography. He expertly subdues the beginning 2/3s of the movie and then throws a bloodbath at us. It's a very well planned and a shocking move on his part.
"The Night Flier" kicks into major gear towards the end. The final, final conclusion is a little weak, but it really couldn't have ended any other way.
Overall, the couple flaws drag "The Night Flier" down to a good but not great movie, but the really cool climax and other elements make up for it, and make it a good time. Be warned, it won't leave you feeling happy or good.
Most people complain that Miguel Ferrer's character, Richard Dees, is too mean, or something like that. QUIT COMPLAINING PEOPLE! He's suppose to be an utterly heartless, sleazy, sorry excuse of a person. You're not suppose to feel sorry for him at all as he descends to insanity. Instead having such a terrible lead character is suppose to pose the question whose the real monster? Or, actually I think it'd be more accurate to say, whose the real hero? Is there a hero? Ferrer pulls off the performance perfectly, making a character that could make James Woods or Clint Eastwood whimper in fear. Unfortunately the rest of the cast doesn't do so well, and this pulls in the movie down a little way.
Anyway, Pavia himself has a talent for gloomy atmosphere, with his overcast, gray skies and quiet music and always just slightly-off-angle photography. He expertly subdues the beginning 2/3s of the movie and then throws a bloodbath at us. It's a very well planned and a shocking move on his part.
"The Night Flier" kicks into major gear towards the end. The final, final conclusion is a little weak, but it really couldn't have ended any other way.
Overall, the couple flaws drag "The Night Flier" down to a good but not great movie, but the really cool climax and other elements make up for it, and make it a good time. Be warned, it won't leave you feeling happy or good.
This movie is a notch above most King films.
I own the DVD of this film and I have to say that Director Mark Pavia did an excellent job with this film. Especially with the end. The end is a great tribute to George A. Romero's style but it goes further and becomes creepier than anything I've seen in recent memory. I caught the last fifteen minutes of this film on cable one night and I was hooked. I remember thinking wow what a stylish film what the hell is this? So I researched and found out the title and bought the film.
The film suffers from a lame screenplay and some stiff acting. Miguel Ferrer was excellent, as was Dan Monahan. Michael H. Moss and Julie Entwisle were a bit stiff. All in all this is a good horror movie and the DVD transfer is sharp and the colors are precise. The sound balance is natural, without over-placement of artificial sound effects.
Watch it alone on a stormy night!
I own the DVD of this film and I have to say that Director Mark Pavia did an excellent job with this film. Especially with the end. The end is a great tribute to George A. Romero's style but it goes further and becomes creepier than anything I've seen in recent memory. I caught the last fifteen minutes of this film on cable one night and I was hooked. I remember thinking wow what a stylish film what the hell is this? So I researched and found out the title and bought the film.
The film suffers from a lame screenplay and some stiff acting. Miguel Ferrer was excellent, as was Dan Monahan. Michael H. Moss and Julie Entwisle were a bit stiff. All in all this is a good horror movie and the DVD transfer is sharp and the colors are precise. The sound balance is natural, without over-placement of artificial sound effects.
Watch it alone on a stormy night!
Richard Dees is a reporter and he is a vampire because he works for a tabloid and earns his living by writing lurid stories and taking sordid pictures. He's got a despicable job and he is getting sick of it. Dwight Renfield is the Night Flier and he is a vampire too, but he is a "real" one an evil and supernatural creature feeding itself on humans. He flies from one airfield to another across the U.S. on a black, private aeroplane. Of course he always leaves bloodless corpses behind him and Dees ends up chasing him with his tape recorder and camera. When they eventually meet, the vampire doesn't really feel like killing one of his kind, and he is ready to let him go. Yet Dees proves his curiosity will always make him chase people like the Night Flier and he will bitterly regret it. At the end of the film, everybody will see and remember Richard Dees as what he really was, that is to say a nasty character living on people's suffering. Well, this film is a great B-movie. The story is exciting, Miguel Ferrer is excellent and the film has no Hollywood-like happy ending. I strongly recommend it to anyone looking for a nice thrill and a few gallons of blood.
This movie, unlike almost every other movie made from a Stephen King story, is awesome. Ferrer is perfect for the role of somewhat coldhearted tabloid reporter, Dees, and he makes the movie work in the end. There are a few cheesy things about the movie, the look of the vampire being the biggest, but it's easy to look past these little things and see the movie as it is. It's creepy and it's entertaining. I have watched this movie a number of times, and I still get excited to see it coming on cinemax or HBO or whatever.
The film's look is really done well, a lot of darkness adds to the overall feel. The places used to shoot the different airports are awesome as well, great small town look, where things like this might happen, and no one would even know. I love the movie, and I think it's probably the best King adaption yet. By the way, the word can either be adaption or adaptation...just in case anyone was wondering of my use of the word.:) 9/10
The film's look is really done well, a lot of darkness adds to the overall feel. The places used to shoot the different airports are awesome as well, great small town look, where things like this might happen, and no one would even know. I love the movie, and I think it's probably the best King adaption yet. By the way, the word can either be adaption or adaptation...just in case anyone was wondering of my use of the word.:) 9/10
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Did you know
- TriviaIn the scene where Katherine is looking at all of Richard's bylines, the framed copies of "Inside View" contain many references to other stories by Stephen King: "Springhill Jack Strikes Again!" (Strawberry Spring), "Headless Lamaze Leads To Successful Birth!" (The Breathing Method), "Kiddie Cultists in Kansas Worship Creepy Voodoo God!" (Children of the Corn), "Satanic Shopkeeper Sells Gory Goodies!" (Needful Things), "Naked Demons Levelled My Lawn!" (The Lawnmower Man) and "The Ultimate Killer Diet! Gypsy Curse Flays Fat Lawyer's Flesh" (Thinner).
- GoofsRichard is leaving a small rural airport when he swerves to avoid hitting an oncoming pickup truck. As he does this you hear the squealing tires but he is driving on a dirt road.
- Quotes
Ezra Hannon: What paper you say you're from?
Richard Dees: Inside View, you know it?
Ezra Hannon: Oh yeah. My wife Martha reads your paper. After she's done with it, I use it to line our kitty's toilet box. Soaks that cat piss real good.
- Alternate versionsThe U.K. DVD includes a few more seconds of gore in the massacre sequence at the end. 1) The camera pans over the corpses on the floor a second time (right to left), and we get a closer shot of a black man, cut in half. The reporter stops and takes a photo of this. He then looks to his right, before proceeding further into the room. Duration: Approx. 18 seconds. Now, this is how the scene plays in the US cut: After the reporter enters the building, the camera pans over the corpses scattered on the floor, from left to right. After that the film cuts to a close up shot of the reporter holding his flash light and looking around. Instead of the insert mentioned above however, the US cuts directly to the next two corpses on the floor (a woman with a neck wound). 2) A close up shot of Dees holding his flashlight and looking around is longer in this cut (after he walks away from the woman with the neck wound and the other corpse). In the US cut we see him look straight ahead and then the film cuts directly to the dead woman at the counter. However, the US disc omits the following: Dees looks to his left and there are three quick shots of a severed head on the floor. He walks further and looks down, and there's a severed arm there. The camera pans up from the arm and shows some more of the interiors in a wide shot. Duration: 14 seconds 3) Before the night flier feeds Dees his blood, there is a longer gore scene: The shot showing him cutting his arm open with his long nail has more spurting blood and lasts longer. Also, the camera pans / tilts from the wound and up to the Night flier's face. In other words: A one shot with a camera pan / tilt. The US cut on the other hand uses an alternate shot / take from a different angel, to make the scene less explicit. First we see the first second of the cutting & blood flow in a large close up, and then the US cuts to a front shot of the vampire finishing the cutting. Around 2 seconds of gore missing here. 4) The exploding head in the black and white sequence is longer.
- ConnectionsFeatures Killer Crocodile (1989)
- SoundtracksRed
Performed by Sister Machine Gun
Written by Chris Randall
Published by KMFDM Ent. (BMI)
Courtesy of Wax Trax! Records / TVT Records
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Details
Box office
- Budget
- $1,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $125,397
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $91,549
- Feb 8, 1998
- Gross worldwide
- $125,397
- Runtime1 hour 37 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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