For something based on a Stephen King short story, that looks and sounds like an overly long episode of "Tales from the Darkside", has shockingly little sex and violence, and features a villain who is laugh out loud ludicrous if you think about it, The Night Flier is a stunningly good piece of work. It is honestly creepy, bluntly engrossing and steam powered by a great character and an equally accomplished performance. This is one of those movies where you're waiting for it to suck and instead, it keeps getting better.
If I told you this film was about a tabloid reporter chasing after a vampire who wears a full-on Dracula outfit, complete with cape, and pilots a tiny, prop-engine plane from small town airport to small town airport, feasting on the middle-aged and elderly admit it. That sounds like the premise of a horror parody, doesn't it? I mean, a real vampire who dresses like a Bela Lugosi impersonator? And he doesn't fly by turning into a bat, but by strapping himself into the cockpit of something that looks like a pair of wings got slapped onto a VW hippie van? And he sucks the blood, not from nubile lasses but from members of AARP? Does that sound scary to you?
And yet, The Night Flier is one of the more genuinely entertaining horror films I've ever seen. Largely, that's due to the central character of Richard Dees and the snarling integrity Miguel Ferrer gives him. Dees is a veteran reporter for the sort of tabloid rag that wallows in blood, scandal and outrage of all kind. He is also one of the most unrelenting pricks in the history of cinema and Ferrer fills Dees to bursting with insolent, impotent distemper. He has nothing but contempt for all the other people of the world and their delicate sensitivities. Dees is such a thorough-going bastard and Ferrer is so unflinching in his portrayal that the character blasts through any viewer enmity and becomes an admirable figure. You wouldn't want to be sitting next to a son of a bitch like Dees in a bar, but he's exactly the sort of man you want trying to uncover difficult and ugly truths. And whether Dees is jousting with his wickedly jaded editor (Dan Monahan) and a perky female reporter (Julie Entwisle) or slowing unraveling the mystery of The Night Flier, you can't take your eyes off him.
If you're looking for non-stop gore, flesh being shredded and disgusting perversion, you'll not find it here. The language is R-rated but the violence is no worse than what can be seen on most network TV cop procedural shows. The emphasis is on suspense and the smoldering anger of Richard Dees. The plot is also pretty simple, with Dees following in the footsteps of The Night Flier until he finally catches up to him. Like I mentioned, this resembles nothing so much as a good, 97 minute long episode of "Tales from the Darkside", right up to the little twist at the end.
This is a horror movie made by people who refuse to accept that the genre is only meant to appeal to unthinking teens and nihilistic freaks. They believe horror is for everyone and can engage them on more than the visceral level. It's a stark reminder of how messed up, degenerate and decadent horror films have become. So, The Night Flier isn't just a good movie. It has socially redeeming value, in addition to a buck-toothed blood sucker. What more can you ask for?
If I told you this film was about a tabloid reporter chasing after a vampire who wears a full-on Dracula outfit, complete with cape, and pilots a tiny, prop-engine plane from small town airport to small town airport, feasting on the middle-aged and elderly admit it. That sounds like the premise of a horror parody, doesn't it? I mean, a real vampire who dresses like a Bela Lugosi impersonator? And he doesn't fly by turning into a bat, but by strapping himself into the cockpit of something that looks like a pair of wings got slapped onto a VW hippie van? And he sucks the blood, not from nubile lasses but from members of AARP? Does that sound scary to you?
And yet, The Night Flier is one of the more genuinely entertaining horror films I've ever seen. Largely, that's due to the central character of Richard Dees and the snarling integrity Miguel Ferrer gives him. Dees is a veteran reporter for the sort of tabloid rag that wallows in blood, scandal and outrage of all kind. He is also one of the most unrelenting pricks in the history of cinema and Ferrer fills Dees to bursting with insolent, impotent distemper. He has nothing but contempt for all the other people of the world and their delicate sensitivities. Dees is such a thorough-going bastard and Ferrer is so unflinching in his portrayal that the character blasts through any viewer enmity and becomes an admirable figure. You wouldn't want to be sitting next to a son of a bitch like Dees in a bar, but he's exactly the sort of man you want trying to uncover difficult and ugly truths. And whether Dees is jousting with his wickedly jaded editor (Dan Monahan) and a perky female reporter (Julie Entwisle) or slowing unraveling the mystery of The Night Flier, you can't take your eyes off him.
If you're looking for non-stop gore, flesh being shredded and disgusting perversion, you'll not find it here. The language is R-rated but the violence is no worse than what can be seen on most network TV cop procedural shows. The emphasis is on suspense and the smoldering anger of Richard Dees. The plot is also pretty simple, with Dees following in the footsteps of The Night Flier until he finally catches up to him. Like I mentioned, this resembles nothing so much as a good, 97 minute long episode of "Tales from the Darkside", right up to the little twist at the end.
This is a horror movie made by people who refuse to accept that the genre is only meant to appeal to unthinking teens and nihilistic freaks. They believe horror is for everyone and can engage them on more than the visceral level. It's a stark reminder of how messed up, degenerate and decadent horror films have become. So, The Night Flier isn't just a good movie. It has socially redeeming value, in addition to a buck-toothed blood sucker. What more can you ask for?