Schwingen der Angst

I rented this movie because the Martin Cruz Smith book had recently come my way and I found it quite good. The movie is not unfaithful to the book, though it does suffer in comparison in the strength of the characterizations - in the book we learn why Youngman Duran, Mancuso's character, is so tortured which, of course, makes his ordeal much more significant and meaningful. I'm writing mainly to defend David Warner whom another reviewer characterized as as "bad actor". Warner is a terrific character actor who can presently be heard doing a rich villiany voice on the Saturday morning "Men in Black" cartoon (which is better than the movie, in my opinion). It seems Americans have trouble with classically trained English actors whose diction and style may seem too broad if your only frame of reference is Brad Pitt. Recently went to "Peeping Tom" and sat next to a group of teenagers who laughed all the way through, completely oblivious to the historical context of the film and its quality. So "Nightwing" is pretty good - good character acting (also love Strother Martin), lovely cinematography, nice Mancini score. Blood and gore special effects quite restrained a la 1979 technology, so if that's your thing this isn't your movie.

Well, first of all I must say that for a movie from 1979, then "Nightwing" is actually not too shabby, and it still holds up for a viewing here in 2021.

I had the chance to sit down in 2021 to watch the 1979 movie "Nightwing" from writers Steve Shagan, Bud Shrake and Martin Cruz Smith. Sure, I had even heard about the movie prior to sitting down to watch it. But I've always enjoyed creature features, so of course I sat down to watch "Nightwing" as I was given the opportunity to do so.

And I must say that with the likes of Nick Mancuso, David Warner and Charles Hallahan on the cast list, I believed that I wouldn't be in for something all that bad. And as it turned out, then "Nightwing" was actually an enjoyable movie.

Needless to say that the actors and actresses in the movie definitely put on good performances, and they had some proper material to work with in terms of storyline and well-rounded characters.

The storyline in the movie was well written and brought to life on the screen in a pleasing manner by director Arthur Hiller. And as I mentioned earlier, the movie still holds its ground now, 42 years after it was released. And that, in itself, is a rather extraordinary accomplishment.

While "Nightwing" is listed as a horror movie, I would say that it was more of a thriller than an actual horror movie. There wasn't anything scary about this movie, at least not in the traditional way of horror movies. But it was an interesting story and one that grabs a hold of the audience and brings you on an enjoyable ride.

Visually then of course "Nightwing" is showing clear signs of being 42 years old. But as the movie wasn't really overly reliant on special effects, then the effects in the movie were passable enough to carry the movie for what the effects needed to do. Of course, by comparing it to today's special effects, then "Nightwing" is a relic.

I have to say that I was more than genuinely entertained by "Nightwing", and it proved to be a very enjoyable movie, like they used to make creature feature movies back in the day.

My rating of the 1979 horror movie "Nightwing" lands on a six out of ten stars. Well worth taking the time to sit down to watch this movie, trust me.

This movie's fun, if based on a questionable premise. We have the stereotypical Menace -- in this case, vampire bats -- who have to be exterminated before they Get Us All, and the pivotal character is an American Indian cop.

A tribal elder on a reservation is apparently behind the appearance of the bats, as he apparently shamanistically summoned them to "end the world." This because sacred grounds are being threatened by an industrialist, who wants to exploit resources.

Now, a word of reality here: movies to the contrary, real Vampire Bats don't suck blood. They evolved from fruit bats, and they nip their sleeping victims and lap the blood. The astonishing thing is that they do this without waking their victims. Their bite and anticoagulant saliva are being studied by medical institutions for new technological advances (in surgery and anesthesiology). They're neither aggressive nor dangerous.

Nonetheless, the movie bats are a menace, and a force of nature. The film reaches a satisfactory ending, which solved the problem set up by the industrialist, too. Fun, but not to be taken seriously.

This adaptation of the Martin Cruz Smith novel (scripted by Steve Shagan, Bud Shrake, and Smith himself) is actually pretty faithful to the source material. Ultimately, it's not quite as satisfying as Smiths' story, where the characters were given more depth. But it's still a striking and interesting (if not great) film, an unusual mix of animal horror, human drama, and Indian mysticism. The actors in all of the major roles are pretty good, and director Arthur Hiller - a man known more for mainstream comedies and dramas such as "Love Story" - does his best working within a different genre. It's true that the film doesn't have very much suspense, but the animal attacks are NOT that badly done, despite the presence of some chintzy effects. At the very least, what "Nightwing" has to recommend it is beautiful New Mexico scenery and a solid score by Henry Mancini.

Nick Mancuso stars as Maskai policeman Youngman Duran, faced with sudden and mysterious deaths of animals and humans alike. An Englishman named Phillip Payne (David Warner) knows the score: the culprits are vampire bats, and he's the man to take care of the problem. Apparently eradicating this species is his life's work (one would think that animal rights activists would take exception to such a pursuit), because he believes that they embody evil. Yeah, I know, pretty thin for a motivation. Making life difficult for Duran is local mover and shaker Walker Chee (Stephen Macht), a man who's made it *his* mission to acclimate himself to the white man's world, and who's giving an assist to a mining company.

Overall, this isn't bad, even if lacking in style. It's fundamentally a decent story that's capably told. Mancuso is engaging in the lead, and Warner delivers his lines with total conviction, no matter how silly his character may be; the film benefits from his presence. The lovely Kathryn Harrold is appealing as Youngman's white love interest Anne Dillon, George Clutesi (who was in another Indian themed horror film from the same year, "Prophecy") is memorable in the small part of old priest Abner, and the great Strother Martin, in one of his final film roles, is a joy to watch as always as the bigoted trading post operator Selwyn. Among the supporting cast are character players Ben Piazza, Donald Hotton, Charles Hallahan, Alice Hirson, and Pat Corley.

"Nightwing" is definitely worth a look for the curious.

Seven out of 10.

I liked this movie so much that it prompted me to take a trip to New Mexico and to eventually move there!! Unfortunately, due to medical problems, I was forced to come back to Kansas, but I will never regret moving to the Southwest.

Okay, so Nick Mancuso, who played Duran, sounded like he was from the Bronx occasionally and the tribes were renamed, but I purchased the VHS tape many years ago and check out every DVD web site hoping to find it there. It is probably the only reason I still have a VCR.++++++

The book was written by Martin Cruz Smith, an accomplished author, it was directed by Arthur Hiller, and the musical score done by Henry Mancini. Just how bad could it be?? If it is a horror movie you are looking for, this is not going to satisfy you. But a movie about the hardships and superstitions that still persist on the Navajo and Hopi reservations is as relevant as it was when Nightwing was made back in the 70s. I think that if the movie had not been billed as a "horror" flick, it would have gained much more of a following. I find it quite amusing that although it has never been made as a DVD, it is still found almost every other month on one of the pay movie channels. So I guess I'm not the only one who thinks that Nightwing is worth watching!