The Night Flier
Encouraging note to aspiring film maker’s. Director/co-writer Mark Pavia and co-writer Jack O’Donnel make a 40-minute long zombie movie and send it to George Romero and Stephen King as their calling card. The King of splatter cinema and the King of horror are impressed by what they see and ask the duo to adapt King’s short story “The Night Flier” for the screen.
Even better, they want Pavia to direct. It doesn’t get much better than that. Wish the same could be said for the film they eventually made. “Stephen King’s The Night Flier” is a traditional horror romp that lacks any real style. Pavia’s inexperience shows in every frame. There’s no cinematic ups and downs. Everything is pedestrian. Pavia manages to create some spooky moments, including a creepy airport scene that’s actually inspired, but for the most part, “The Night Flier” is too anemic to soar. Miguel Ferrer is terrific (and the only actor in the film who doesn’t look like he’s acting) as the sleazy tabloid reporter hot on the trail of an airborne serial killer who only flies at night and sucks the blood out of his victims. Of course we all know from frame one that this dude is a vampire, so there’s no suspense there. We even have to wait for the characters to catch up so we can all get on with the story. For Richard Dees (Ferrer), ever step closer to his story means another step closer to insanity. Dees doesn’t have any scruples, and learns a nasty lesson in etiquette when he finally meets his prey. “The Night Flier” looks good (director of photography David Connell does a tremendous job of setting the mood), and relies heavily on gore to make it’s point. Originally broadcast on HBO before finding it’s way to theaters, “Stephen King’s The Night Flier” isn’t the worst film in the King library, but it won’t win any awards either.
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VISION: [ ] EXCELLENT [ x ] GOOD [ ] RESUSCITATE [ ] D.O.A.
Because I first saw “The Night Flier” on HBO, I assumed it was made-for-cable and wasn’t expecting much more than a standard television transfer. Wrong! “The Night Flier” was shot as a theatrical film, and has been transferred in it’s original 1.66:1 widescreen ratio. “The Night Flier” looks much better in widescreen. This allows the action to open up and fill the screen, which makes all the difference in this film. Nice transfer seems void of any noticeable compressions problems. Warm, realistic flesh tones , vivid reds and inky blacks make a strong showing. No pan-and- scan version available.
HEARING: [ ] EXCELLENT [ x ] GOOD [ ] RESUSCITATE [ ] D.O.A.
The 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround track gets the job done, but doesn’t overwhelm. Thrifty use of the rear speakers puts the emphasis on the dialogue, which is sharp and clear. Brian Keane’s eerie score occasionally finds its way to the surround speakers, but not enough to warrant 5.1. There’s no noticeable distortion.
ORAL: [ x ] EXCELLENT [ ] GOOD [ ] RESUSCITATE [ ] D.O.A.
Closed captioned for the hard of hearing in English, subtitles in French and Spanish.
COORDINATION: [ ] EXCELLENT [ x ] GOOD [ ] RESUSCITATE [ ] D.O.A.
Impressive collection of interactive animated menus. Watch the blood roll down the letters, or have the “Night Flier” buzz through a scene. The scene access menus (with 24 Chapter Stops) allow you to preview the scene on a small screen before jumping to it. I like this feature, and hope that more DVD’s use it (“Dark City” has this function as well). There’s also the usual array of cast and crew bios, production notes and the original theatrical trailer.
PROGNOSIS: [ ] EXCELLENT [ x ] GOOD [ ] RESUSCITATE [ ] D.O.A.
“Stephen King’s The Night Flier” isn’t a bad movie, and it looks sensational on DVD. Whether or not it becomes part of your DVD collection depends on how deep you plan to stock your Stephen King library.
VITALS: $24.95/Rated R/97 Min./Color/24 Chapter Stops/Snapcase/#91466
ATTENDING RESIDENT: John Larsen
PATIENT: STEPHEN KING’S THE NIGHT FLIER
BIRTH DATE: 1997
HMO: HBO Home Video
