The Night Flier (1997)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Mark Pavia

Writers (WGA):

Stephen King (story)
Mark Pavia (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

6 February 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy | Horror | Mystery

Tagline:

Never believe what you publish...Never publish what you believe.

Plot:

A reporter is on the trial of a vampiric murderer who travels by plane.

Plot Keywords:

Reporter | Vampire | Tabloid | Airport | Face Ripping

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Miguel Ferrer	...	Richard Dees
Julie Entwisle	...	Katherine Blair
Dan Monahan	...	Merton Morrison
Michael H. Moss	...	Dwight Renfield
John Bennes	...	Ezra Hannon
Beverly Skinner	...	Selida McCamon
Rob Wilds	...	Buck Kendall
Richard K. Olsen	...	Claire Bowie (as Richard Olsen)
Elizabeth McCormick	...	Ellen Sarch
J.R. Rodriguez	...	Terminal Cop #1
Robert Casey	...	Terminal Cop #2 (as Bob Casey)
Ashton Stewart	...	Nate Wilson
William Neely	...	Ray Sarch
Windy Wenderlich	...	Henry Gates
General Fermon Judd Jr.	...	Policeman

Also Known As:

Stephen King's The Night Flier
The Night Flier (Italy)

MPAA:

Rated R for horror violence, gore and strong language.

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA | Italy

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Netherlands:16 | Singapore:PG (cut) | South Korea:18 | Finland:K-16 | Germany:18 | Australia:MA | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Wilmington, North Carolina, USA

Company:

Medusa Produzione

Trivia:

Many of the murder photos in the press office are real, including the one of the horribly mutilated prostitute. They were taken from the photo album of a homicide detective who worked in LA from the 1930s to the 1950s, which would later be published under the title "Death Scenes".

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Richard goes "to hell" there is a close-up of a vampire's face and the contact lenses used are extremely visible.

Quotes:

Richard Dees: Never believe what you publish, and never publish what you believe

Movie Connections:

References Superman (1978)

Soundtrack:

Til My Head Explodes

Underrated Adaptation Of Stephen King's Chilling Short Story

Cable TV movies are not supposed to be this good. Surprisingly, it is one of the most effective movies based on the work of horror maestro Stephen King. The narrative offers a novel twist to the vampire formula: a serial killer targets small airports and while victims keep piling up, a reporter tries to investigate. Unfortunately for the reporter, he is not after a typical serial killer, and almost too late, the man of the press discovers that vampirism is behind the mysterious killings. As I said before, King's short story becomes a really good Cable TV flick. Very faithful to the original material, this is one of the few adaptations of a King story that really works. It is one of the scariest movies I have seen in a long time, very well made and interesting. Some lazy performances threaten to ruin the movie experience, but I think director Pavia's directorial touches and the strong script overshadow the weak elements of film. The ironic, twisty ending is the perfect frosting of this bloody cake. Highly recommended to horror fans.