SoTrumpBelieve Must See Movie...

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Abbigail Bush what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Marva It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

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.

Matt Kracht Sometimes, movie adaptations end up totally missing the point of their source material, but this was a very faithful adaptation. In fact, I'd argue that it's probably near the top, as far as faithfulness goes. Unfortunately, there a few things wrong that kind of drag down my rating.I like Miguel Ferrer, so I was pretty excited when I found out that he starred in this movie. As I expected, Ferrer is the high point of the movie. Dees is one of those characters that you love to hate, and he was done to near perfection. Unfortunately, given that film is such a visual medium, it was more difficult to get into Dees' head than the short story, but that's pretty much an obvious and unavoidable issue. Still, Dees' commentary in the short story was the best part, leaving me feeling slightly sad that much of his internal dialogue was missing.As far as the other actors, they were all pretty much passable. None of them were ever bad, at least. A new character was introduced, as a foil to Dees, I suppose. Usually, when this happens, it's a disaster, but I thought it was handled fairly well. Unfortunately, the actress, Julie Entwhisle, was one of the weaker elements in the movie, in my opinion. She wasn't bad, but she wasn't great, either. Dan Monahan, as the editor, played his character as a cheerfully sleazy bastard. I usually dislike comic relief in my horror movies, but it was done well enough here that it didn't bother me. Michael Moss, as the Night Flier, was fine. Other people really seemed to enjoy him, but I did not find his performance particularly memorable.I guess what really bothers me is the plot. This is not unique to the movie, of course. I really don't understand what possessed Stephen King to write a story about a vampire who flies a Cessna. I'll just say it: this is a stupid idea. However, the story really does work, even though the main conceit is too wacky to take seriously. I like how Dees and the vampire serial killer are compared and contrasted, even if it is a bit heavy-handed and lacks subtlety. Nonetheless, it raises interesting questions about morality, ethics, and the role of sociopaths in our society. Still, it's difficult for me to just let go of the ridiculous idea of a vampire flying a Cessna. I mean, really? That reminds me of a hilariously bad European movie I saw once about a haunted elevator. Yes, that's right, it was about a haunted *elevator*. I think it was titled Lift, if you're morbidly curious.While somewhat generic, there are times when the movie does rise above being your average direct-to-video King adaptation. Some of the special effects from KNB are quite good. There's a fairly well-done homage to Night of the Living Dead near the end. Unfortunately, the atmosphere was frequently a bit flat, leaving you with gross-out effects or grisly, black humor, rather than suspense. Certainly, that's not bad, but it makes for a somewhat less fulfilling horror movie. Instead, I think Night Flier works better as an exploitation movie, since it's so lacking in atmosphere, tension, and suspense.Some people were disappointed by the ending, but I found it to be perfectly acceptable and perhaps even satisfying. If I sound a bit unenthused, then keep in mind that many King adaptations end up being dismal failures, and that finding even an average or mediocre one is something of a coup. While not High Art, this is still enjoyable enough to recommend to other King fans, even if they're only familiar with the movie adaptations.

MBunge 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?

Aaron1375 Of all of King's adaptations this one has to rank up there rather high as far as following the story. Granted it has a few add ons and a different ending, but these actually enhance the story more rather than take away. The story has a writer of a trashy tabloid on a hunt for a strange owner of a small aircraft. Seems where this person sets his plane down there are deaths and misfortune. A young upstart female reporter is also on this case. Well it is rather easy to figure out what the night flier is and what he is doing, but it is still fun watching the process. It all leads to one very bloody conclusion and a rather nice ending. The acting is fairly good for what amounts to a rather low budget movie and the effects are rather good too. They did not spread this one out to long as this one moves at a very quick place and it does not have many dull moments. Most of the super bloody scenes occur at the end though, as most of the movie is the reporter one step behind the night flier with him interviewing people in airports the night flier has touched down in. Various flashback scenes and such. All in all not a great movie, but a fairly good Stephen King film.