Leechpm
What is with people and needing to see everything? YouTube and magazines are stuffed with footage of real murder, real torture; and what's the attraction? Well… just to see terrible things and absorb the horror, which is messed up, and it doesn't take a genius to know that. The Night Flier certainly does.Miguel Ferrer plays Robert Dees, a reporter from Inside Scoop, a magazine devoted to only the most morbid of news. He does it because it's a job, and like the rest of the world he gets a kick from the morbidity and he loves the blood, but he never, never, strictly never—in fear of the news perverting him—becomes personally involved, which of course gets challenged as his latest case absorbs him. Some wacko keeps flying his plane from airport to airport every night and mutilating people.Before I even start with the hell this movie unleashed on me, I want to first mention the man behind it: Mark Pavia. This is his first major film, and he handles it as though he's directed hundreds. The pacing is perfect. Not once did I feel rushed into something or like he cut my enjoyment short, nor did anything drag for too long. And where Pavia really shines is in his uncanny ability in his frames to tease, showing so much of what we long to see, and then just barely covering it. It's like when I get a very specifically shaped gift and think I know what's inside, but never feel satisfied because the wrapper holds me one step a way from resolution.And now, here is my evening spent with The Night Flier: first I scolded Inside Scoop and its workers for their exploitation entertainment, just as the film wanted me to, emphasizing and emphasizing how little the reporters cared about the victims. However, as the film progressed, my curiosity grew against my will about this killer… just as the reporter's did… just as the magazine's readers' did… just as the film wanted me to. And then Robert reports back about how mangled he found the victims, his boss responding, "This is great sh*t. The fatties in the supermarket line are gonna love this guy. God, I hope he kills more people," and I realized, "Oh no! I'm one of those fatties!"That's right: The Night Flier makes you feel like a terrible person. Isn't that fun? Sure, Robert has his conflicts throughout the movie, but pretty soon I found myself not caring about him, because the conflict was in myself. For Robert, the stakes are low: if he leaves the case alone he won't have a story, and he loses a bit of pride for adhering to the killer's demands and staying away (something that could actually help him). For Katherine, the other investigator, the stakes are much higher, because she actually cares about exposing crime and making a difference in the world. She strives towards an ethical goal, and so her failure means she has failed her morality—a much more devastating stake than Robert's. And so what does The Night Flier do? Well, it teases us with Katherine as a could-have-been protagonist, then follows Robert instead, rubbing in our face we don't need Katherine and her high stakes to keep watching; we only need promise of a terrifying end. We care about Robert, but only as a tool to find the information and lead us to the action (just as we want actual reporters to do).When The Night Flier, as if it hadn't teased us enough, finally gets to the action and the killer (who looks awesome, by the way!!) it then does something really mean: makes us care about Robert. It still reports the horror, but for the first time pities the victim, and thus really makes us feel bad. And the film ends on a very personal and sad note.The Night Flier is a really smart film, showing a deep understanding of its interaction not with itself, but with the audience. It sadly does not go without flaws (the competition between Robert and Katherine becomes an unnecessary bore after awhile), but The Night Flier is a film aware of its every action, masterful with spectacle, and a letter to horror drenched with love… and also a lot of guilt.
Fella_shibby
The story is good and suspenseful, and actually has some brains behind it as well. Saw this in the late nineties. Based on Stephen kings story. Miguel Ferrer is great as the reporter, you tend to like him but at the same time you recognize what an asshole he is and whats in store for him. This is still enjoyable enough to recommend it. Surprisingly edgy and gory, with plenty of suspense and solid cinematography. Very moody, dark, and mysterious. It is an incredibly atmospheric and gripping film. In one creepy scene they show the vampire walking invisible through a restroom while all its mirrors shatter and his footsteps pass them one by one. Had they left the vampire unseen I think it wud hav been better. It has its strong moments and its weak ones. The films 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 not notice. Beware of a nightmare like ending.
Mark Sion Roberts
Without a doubt, one of my all time favourite films. The Night Flier is an incredibly atmospheric and fabulously gripping film, so-well executed and full of mysterious suspense -- and easily one of the best Stephen King adaptations to ever be made, in my opinion. So criminally overlooked and underrated for a King adaptation -- a rare case of where the film version surpasses the source material (The Night Flier, first published as part of an anthology of modern horror in 1988, later became part of King's own collection of short stories, entitled Nightmares & Dreamscapes in 1993). The film isn't as widely known as it should be, as it didn't have a Hollywood release at the time. HBO bought it so it had it's world premiere on cable. It was then picked up by New Line Cinema and had only a limited theatrical release. Being the mid-1990's, it was not a fertile time for good movie horror. In recent years, it's become something of a cult classic with a big fan following -- myself for one! The Night Flier deserves and needs a Blu-ray release as soon as possible!
