Nightwing is set in the New Mexico desert on a reservation where the Maski Indian people live, Deputy Duran (Nick Mancuso) is called out to investigate a dead horse which has been bitten to death & it's blood drank but rich businessman Walker Chee (Stephen Macht) wants it kept quiet since he's trying to sell the land which is rich in oil. Walker is contacted by Phillip Payne (David Warner) an expert in tracking & killing Vampire bats who claims that Vampire bats are nesting in a cave on the reservation & they are spreading the bubonic plague unless they are killed which he is willing to do. Phillip teams up with Duran in an attempt to stop the plague from spreading & wiping out most of America...
Directed by Arthur Hiller this is pretty poor fare from start to finish. The dull script by Steve Shagan, Bud Shrake & Martin Cruz Smith was based on his novel of the same name takes itself extremely seriously & I though it was a bit of a mess if I'm honest. At times it comes across as a drama more than a horror film as it tries to deal with various clichéd issues like the businessman who wants things kept quiet so as not to blow his big money deal, the differences between the Indian people & modern civilisation, superstition, prejudice & a Deputy who has to save the day. For a start lets get one thing settled straight away, this is not a film about killer bats in the way you would expect, no this is about the potential devastation the bubonic plague carried & spread by them could inflict on America. There are only two bat attack scenes in the entire film so don't expect a high body count or lots of gore. Then there's the fact that the film never really decides what it trying to do, it seems split between the rationalisation of the modern world & supernatural ancient Indian spirits & legends. Nightwing never quite makes itself clear whether there is anything supernatural going on or whether it's just Duran's interpretation of the situation, personally I think it's an uneasy juxtaposition which doesn't work at all & just confuses an already poor film. Then there's the fact it's pretty darn slow, not that much actually happens in it & it's just plain boring. The character's & dialogue are poor & the ending is pretty bad as well.
Director Hiller doesn't do anything to make this more watchable, he directs at a leaden pace & at times seems to forget this is meant to be a horror film about bats. However considering the rubbish puppets & special effects provided by the worst special make-up effects man ever Carlo Rambaldi it's not surprising Hill didn't show them too much, the bat puppets are truly terrible & there's simply no other word for it. Forget about any gore as there isn't any apart from a couple of bat bites.
Technically the film is alright with some decent cinematography but when a films just this bad it doesn't really matter how nice it looks. There's no style here, there's no scares or tension or atmosphere & I'm still not sure what sort of film this is meant to be or who it's meant to appeal to. The acting isn't great, it's nice to see David Warner in genre film but I'm not sure about his character, I mean are there really people in the world who do nothing but track & kill Vampire bats for a living? Otherwise everyone here is pretty damned forgettable.
Nightwing is crap, that's just my opinion for what it's worth & it does seem to have good reviews on the IMDb so maybe in the minority although personally I don't think so. Very little here to recommend, watch The Bat People (1974) again instead as it provides far more fun & entertainment than Nightwing does.
Directed by Arthur Hiller this is pretty poor fare from start to finish. The dull script by Steve Shagan, Bud Shrake & Martin Cruz Smith was based on his novel of the same name takes itself extremely seriously & I though it was a bit of a mess if I'm honest. At times it comes across as a drama more than a horror film as it tries to deal with various clichéd issues like the businessman who wants things kept quiet so as not to blow his big money deal, the differences between the Indian people & modern civilisation, superstition, prejudice & a Deputy who has to save the day. For a start lets get one thing settled straight away, this is not a film about killer bats in the way you would expect, no this is about the potential devastation the bubonic plague carried & spread by them could inflict on America. There are only two bat attack scenes in the entire film so don't expect a high body count or lots of gore. Then there's the fact that the film never really decides what it trying to do, it seems split between the rationalisation of the modern world & supernatural ancient Indian spirits & legends. Nightwing never quite makes itself clear whether there is anything supernatural going on or whether it's just Duran's interpretation of the situation, personally I think it's an uneasy juxtaposition which doesn't work at all & just confuses an already poor film. Then there's the fact it's pretty darn slow, not that much actually happens in it & it's just plain boring. The character's & dialogue are poor & the ending is pretty bad as well.
Director Hiller doesn't do anything to make this more watchable, he directs at a leaden pace & at times seems to forget this is meant to be a horror film about bats. However considering the rubbish puppets & special effects provided by the worst special make-up effects man ever Carlo Rambaldi it's not surprising Hill didn't show them too much, the bat puppets are truly terrible & there's simply no other word for it. Forget about any gore as there isn't any apart from a couple of bat bites.
Technically the film is alright with some decent cinematography but when a films just this bad it doesn't really matter how nice it looks. There's no style here, there's no scares or tension or atmosphere & I'm still not sure what sort of film this is meant to be or who it's meant to appeal to. The acting isn't great, it's nice to see David Warner in genre film but I'm not sure about his character, I mean are there really people in the world who do nothing but track & kill Vampire bats for a living? Otherwise everyone here is pretty damned forgettable.
Nightwing is crap, that's just my opinion for what it's worth & it does seem to have good reviews on the IMDb so maybe in the minority although personally I don't think so. Very little here to recommend, watch The Bat People (1974) again instead as it provides far more fun & entertainment than Nightwing does.