This movie keeps making promises that something is about to come along and make up for all the awfulness, but it does not. I know this is not a high budget film but no amount of money could make the basic idea not suck. I predicted the ending quite early and was disappointed to see that I was right. It really is a waste of time and the scariest part of it was that Stephen King would spend his time and energy writing on such a dumb concept.

Films like this fill me with hope for straight-to-video flicks. For hours I'll sit through endless trash, totally irredeemable and pointless. But occasionally, very occasionally, something interesting will turn up, as is the case with this film. Don't be put off by the fact it's been languishing in the dark for nearly three years before release in the UK, as THE NIGHT FLIER is a highly enjoyable and in some ways, old-fashioned, thriller.The plot comes across a bit like an episode of THE X-FILES, with a journalist (instead of an FBI agent) interviewing suspects and gradually getting closer and closer to the killer of the story. This isn't cliché land, though, as the 'hero' of the story, played by Miguel Ferrer, is for a change a totally heartless character, out for his story and nothing else. In fact there are no sympathetic people in this film at all, everybody is out for themselves, whether it be for fame, fortune, or just plain food in the vampire's case. A lot of people found Ferrer's performance to be misjudged and criminal, that in a lot of ways he is actually more evil than the vampire he seeks. Ferrer is cynical to the point of hopelessness, walking around with his camera and snapping dead people like a birdwatcher would take pictures of birds. A car accident he coincidentally passes he regards as a "bonus", photographing the sprawled corpses with relish. Although Ferrer seems to be typecast in villainous roles, it's something he does brilliantly.And I did feel sorry for him too by the time the finale arrived. Okay, so he had been warped by the sickness around him, but he was still human, just at mercy from the own dark side of his soul. Unfortunately, apart from Ferrer's performance, the rest of the acting in the film is of a low standard, with Julie Entwistle supplying a pretty face but little depth. Thankfully Ferrer is on screen for most of the running time (yes, the film focuses on him instead of the vampire, refreshingly). I was glad that this film didn't bother with all the standard talk about vampires being killed with garlic and stakes, in fact the makers knew that the audience would already know what a vampire was so there was little reason to explain.Okay, so the film does fall foul of some of the conventions of modern horror (i.e. the scenery is littered with bloodied corpses at every opportunity, there's little plot to move things along, it's more like a series of linked scenes), but it overcomes these flaws and turns out to be a nice little gem of a film, offbeat and different enough to appeal to the fan tired of slug-like films, bloated with gore, like WISHMASTER and its sequel. The vampire himself wears an old fashioned cape (I would have sworn it was the one that previously belonged to Lugosi, except he was buried in it) and looks like a decayed version of the guy from SALEM'S LOT. The makeup is very good, and used only briefly to be more shocking (except thanks to advertisers they smeared the image in close up all over the posters and video boxes, ruining the impact. This really annoyed me as the vampire's face was hidden throughout the film, yet the suspense coming from his unknown appearance was ruined by the stupid box designers). The gore level is quite high, especially in the last third, and mainly takes the form of bloodied bodies.One thing that is brilliant about this film is the twist ending, which I won't spoil, only to say that it's very similar to the ending of ARLINGTON ROAD and just as effective. There's a hallucinogenic moment where Ferrer is forced to drink the vampire's blood and sees the dead coming back to life around him, enshrouded in mist, just like in NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD; made more effective through the use of black and white. I loved the corpse with flashing eyes saying "can you look this way?", a reflection of what Ferrer had become, a camera and no conscience. THE NIGHT FLIER somewhat bravely breaks the boundaries of the genre, and, although disliked by many, definitely deserves at least one watch. It's also one of those films which has a long-standing appeal and can be enjoyed more than once, because it's not just about special effects.

Hoping to score a much-needed cover story, Richard Dees (Miguel Ferrer), unscrupulous hack for sensationalist tabloid Inside View, goes in search of Dwight Renfield AKA The Night Flier, a vampiric killer who travels the country in a black Cessna Skymaster, landing at rural airstrips where he feeds on the locals. Also keen to bag a scoop with The Night Flier is the rag's newest reporter Katherine Blair (Julie Entwisle), but has she got what it takes to do the job?The Night Flier is adapted from one of Stephen King's short stories, and it feels like it, the plot being far too insubstantial for a wholly satisfying feature length film; consequently, there is a lot of filler, mostly in the form of the dull rivalry between slime-ball Dees and ambitious newbie Blair, which soon gets tedious. A delightfully scummy turn from Ferrer (Dees is a character you will love to hate) and some rather gruesome effects from KNB help matters a little, but as Stephen King movies go, this is amongst the more forgettable efforts.5.5 out of 10, generously rounded up to 6 for the hilarious goof where the clean-shaven Dees lands his plane and, just for a fleeting moment, he is the proud owner of a very bushy moustache.

I have to say one of my choices as a horror sleeper from the 90's is this little creepy grisly effort from director Mark Pavia, based on a Stephen King story, regarding a narcissistic, manipulative, and ultimately vicious tabloid reporter who'll stoop to the lowest level to keep his story on the front page, meeting his match when he begins tailing a vampire killer flying a black Cessna plane who hypnotizes victims around plane air strips throughout Northeastern United States, the rural routes of small town America. At the bottom of his plane is maggot-filled earth, and inside, smeared throughout the controls is dried blood, collected over the his time of mutilation and death. Julie Entwisle, just a bubbly, high-spirited cutie presented as the perfect little fish to be devoured by Miguel Ferrer's cunning shark, tries to forge her way into the tabloid's upper tier, starting from the bottom with a key ability to get forms of information difficult to reach for the paper's top piranha. Anyway, we see as he flies in his own plane from destination to destination, Ferrer's Richard Dees working through the first murder sites, gathering bits and pieces from whatever he can find, through testimony and bribing coroners for photos of mutilated victims. We also get a chance to see his ways of flamboyant journalism by disturbing a victim's grave, adding ugly dead flowers and his own blood(..while even stooping so low as to move the gravestone)..everything is for getting the top story printed with extra spice.I think the idea of the main character being a real slimeball could hurt the film for many because it's much easier to cast a likable hero who we feel sympathy for as he/she pursues the killer leaving a graphic trail of gruesome murders, with throats ripped open so badly that the head is pulled apart from the neck displaying bloody flesh. There's even one scene where the head is ripped completely from the body, placed in an appropriate area as to show those who investigate that the vampire can operate without restraint almost teasing the authorities to catch him. The opening kill shows long gashes down a male victim's face..good, gory carnage is left in this vampire's wake. The closing sequence is one that receives mixed reaction. I've read from some who love it, believing it's the most effective portion of the movie, while others believe it's the most harmful. I particularly love the scene where we have Dees, after finally becoming sickened by the airport lobby slaughter by the vampire, watching from the mirror as the invisible count takes a leak, with the urine being blood red..haha, nice touch. The B&W portion where Dees confronts victims, dressed as vampires, as the count allows him to see what it's like from the other side, I thought was a nifty little moment of nightmarish power. I think we have been spoiled rotten by DVD special features, given access into the movie-making behind-the-scenes effects process. For some, the practical effects of gore, displaying the killer's grisly methods, will receive less of an impact, but I enjoyed them even though I know how they are brought to life(..I think for some, the nasty open wounds from the vampire's finger nails look less effective, and we can understand how they were created).I think the casting of Ferrer is ideal just because of the type of character he portrays. He indeed has a taste for bloody carnage and the vampire, through the final climactic sequence, first seeing the wake of violence of an entire group of people awaiting a trip to some unknown destination, and the B@W vision through a taste of the killer's blood, gives him an opportunity to experience just that. The audience does get what they crave, this bastard's comeuppance. He wanted that front page and gets it, but this time, Entwisle's young reporter(..who gets shafted by Dees)benefits. It's a fitting conclusion, I think, which speaks volumes for why this film must have an anti-hero as the main protagonist. I like how the film presents Dees, the backstories of those with stories to tell of past victims to him, the sleazy process of how he operates, and the way Dees falls to the one warning him to stay away. I loved the ending with how Dees, who basks in exploiting whatever works to bring him success, becomes the victim.