"Planes, Veins and Stephen King"

(Stephen King's-The Night Flier)

When you hear the phrase 'Vampire Movies', what are the first images that come to mind? Anne Rice's "Interview with a Vampire"? Joel Schumacher's "The Lost Boys"? Maybe even Bela Lugosi's original character is 1932's "Dracula"?

Those were the images that flooded my thinking….until the other night.

Now, I had read Stephen King's short story titled "The Night Flier" in his latest book of short stories NIGHTMARES AND DREAMSCAPES, and I had read that it was currently in television production. But when I sat down to watch it the other night, I was stunned.

It was good. REAL good.

I mean, let's face it, there have been countless films in the last few years centering around our bloodthirsty friends, and the number of bad King films has equaled, if not surpassed, the quality King films. Yet, there I sat with eyes wide open at the latest King excursion, and it wasn't at the movie theater or on 'TV'.

It was on HBO.

Now, King has done vampires before when his novel, "Salem's Lot" was made into a television movie 19 years ago. But this one is different. This isn't your typical Transylvanian Count who comes into the woman's room at midnight, sticks his fangs in her neck and then flies off into the moonlight. This guy flies all right, but we're not a 'bat' here……we're talking a 'plane'.

This one is original, and quite frankly, creepier.

The movie centers around Richard Dees (Miguel Ferrer), the Senior Editor at the National Enquirer-like tabloid, INSIDE VIEW. It's been awhile since Dees' stories have made the front page. But then his boss informs him of a quiet rumor about a man who has been supposedly flying around in his black private jet to various little towns in the boondocks in various states and is leaving victims completely drained of their blood. This man appropriately calls himself Dwight Renfield.

Dees' jumps in his own private plane…..and the chase is on!

His first order of business is to visit the sites of the victims and talk with their friends and family……and take LOTS of pictures. This is where he encounters the gruesome and violent deaths the victims experienced, and so far, it all points towards actual vampire activity. Of course, Dees doesn't believe in it, but it makes for a great story and it follows his theory, "Never believe what you print and never print what you believe".

During the course of his chase, Dees must deal with problems such as pressure from his boss and competition from another reporter. It's clear that he has had these minor difficulties before, so it doesn't get to him. But then he runs into a bigger problem when a message written in blood on a napkin is given to him. It states "STAY AWAY". He then receives a few more of these messages and realizes that Renfield knows he's being followed.

But this only motivates Dees even more. And when he finds out that Renfield has landed at an usual place, a crowded airport, Dees goes in for the kill.

When I began watching the credits at the beginning, I was very skeptical. Like most of you, I am a very big King fan…….a big King fan who is tired of his books being destroyed by the film industry. So, when I saw that I didn't recognize most of the names involved in "The Night Flier", I tried desperately to hold off a big sigh of disappointment. But it's Stephen, and I always give him the benefit of the doubt.

I was not let down.

In fact, every aspect of this film was pretty much in-your-face. The violence and gore was graphic. The dialogue, though a bit cheesy at times, was profane and tough. The cinematography was wonderfully claustrophobic. And the music score……oh wow!, was subtle piano that set the tone and pace and reminded me of "Stephen King's IT" and 1982 chiller "The Hearse".

Personally, I am burnt out on vampires. They just don't scare me anymore, and films like "Interview with a Vampire" or television like "House of Frankenstein" aren't helping. And then I sat on the edge of my seat for an hour and thirty five minutes over a movie that centered around those boring vampires. But this guy was different; he was original. And his pursuer was a character who was an ambitious jerk, so I found myself rooting for AND against him, and that kept me in a suspenseful struggle throughout the film. And, yes, the film's ending DID deliver.

For now, "The Night Flier" is only on HBO, but as we all know, it'll be on video eventually. Don't miss it!


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