The Night Flier
Manufacturer : Hbo Home Video
Rating : 3.5
Reviews : 62
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From Stephen King, comes a new tale of terror. What flies by night in a dark winged Cessna, lands at secluded airports and brutally murders local residents? For one reporter, the story of a lifetime may be his last. ‘ ‘The best King adaptation since Misery.’ ‘ (Fangoria)
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Some horror movies are just meant to be a fun movie to watch, and this one definitely fits into that catagory. It was a very original take on the whole dracula story.
I actually bought this for my wife; I’m not much of a fan of this kind of movie in general. She had seen this movie before and wanted it. I was fortunate to find it before all stock was sold out. For my part, the fact that it arrived in the condition it was advertised was a BIG plus. I have several items saved to buy later!
This video though used was great and had no defects when played. It was delievered as stated with no delays or problems.
A GOOD BOOK TO READ, ALSO A MUST SEE MOVIE HOW PLANES WITH INTERESTING PILOTS FLY AT NIGHT. A MUST SEE AND READ:
The Night Flier is a film simply about a flying Dracula. No wait. It’s about a Dracula that flies in-and-out of hole-in-the wall airports preying on their populace (I guess this drac lacks wings, maybe because he never saw a Bela Lugosi movie?) Based on the novella by Stephen King, you can hope it would be a winner much like, well, roughly half of the King adaptations. So, does that make it sound good? Well, it isn’t: the only special part of this strictly by-the-numbers movie it is in the commanding performance by Miguel Ferrer, a fine actor that gives his one-dimensional character the traits of a true anti-hero.
Ever see the movie “Martin.” That film released exactly 20 years before this film– despite its budget constraints and too fast-moving ending block– is still entirely invigorating and fresh. In Martin, the question always lingers: Is this young guy a vampire? Or is he just nuts? I will not ruin that movie for you, but let me tell you, that film did so much right– and while this might seem trivial, The Night Flier would have worked better on so many levels if it had actually tried and achieved that same “ambiguous” card of that film.
There is no sense of mystery in this film. Ok, that would be fine, of course, if there was something else of cinematic importance to get a grasp on other than one good performance. Yet, there is not. There’s no sense of surprise, suspense, fear, or– despite what some say– true creepy atmosphere.
It’s true this film looks good by the film-print standpoint, it’s too bad that that just negates true baroques, and The Night Flier never just lets it burn slowly, or patiently. As aside from a decent, but not-too-good opening murder– that seems like horror’s typical contract obligation for an opening scene–for well over the first hour all the scare scenes are done in flashbacks. While we do get to see them, they merely happen, without a sense of creeping horror or suspense of any worth.
With rote atmosphere that is only done in (typical) dark shadows, the director, Mark Pavia, does not do anything at all in the way of establishing shots to create a sense of place and generate mood, other than a few dead bodies in the ending block. While his Dracula may look scary, it’s only in makeup terms, not in actual fearful conception.
Script wise, it’s either too simplified or heavy handed. Wow, that “caped-guy bought me a drink” scene in the bar is unintentionally hilarious, and there are much too many sequences of overblown, amateurish drama and lousy directing choices: the torn-up plane ticket in slow-mo, or the tensionless black-and-white ax-scene at the end, a similar climax that has been done countless times before.
I can really go on-and-on about how many mistakes this film made. However, I did not have that big of a notepad when I watched it, and second, although it was nice seeing Porky’s Dan Monahan again, I must at last again say that I simply loved Ferrer`s portrayal of the reporter-on-the-hunt, Richard Dees.
Full of vigor and as mean as a pitbull hopped up on whisky and blow, Ferrer was one SOB you love to hate. Although The Night Flier also doesn’t do this as well as it could have, the film somewhat plays out like a morality tale. Dees, all bullheaded, antisocial, and stubborn finally finds something that he was always looking for– a real-life horror story that is full of that gore-ridden bloodlust that you can both detect in his eyes and the way he plays the reporting game.
So, even if this Dracula film lacks on nearly every other possible level, I hate the anti-hero Ferrer even more, and that’s at least something to like about the film, indeed.
Score: 3.5 / 10 (In 0.5 increments.)