Nobody Talks About Stephen King's Real Scariest Movie From The 1990s

Despite being one of the best Stephen King horror movies of the 1990s, no one ever talks about The Night Flier now. Salem’s Lot was one of the earliest Stephen King books, and was such a home run that he’s rarely returned to bloodsuckers since. He has written a few short stories on them though, including some Salem’s Lot follow-ups.

Another is The Night Flier, which follows a scuzzy tabloid reporter as he chases after a killer who may or may not be a vampire. Spoilers: he’s totally a vampire. The Night Flier comes from King’s Nightmares & Dreamscapes collection, and is one of several tales from the book adapted into movies.

The film version from director Mark Pavia had to beef up the relatively slim story, adding a new character in the form of rookie reporter, Katherine (Julie Entwisle). The movie didn’t get much of a release and came and went with little notice, though it has – with good reason – become a cult favorite.

The Night Flier Is One Of The Scariest Stephen King Horror Movies Of The 1990s

A vampire standing behind Miguel Ferrer in The Night Flier.

Looking back on the Stephen King movies that arrived in the 1990s, the best tended to adapt his non-horror work, like The Shawshank Redemption or psychological thriller Misery. There were plenty of duds too, like The Mangler, but standing proud among the author’s ’90s horror output is the legitimately creepy The Night Flier.

Part character study of a reporter with a decayed soul (played with relish by the late, great Miguel Ferrer) and part grisly vampire horror, The Night Flier is an intense 90-minute ride. Sure, some of its techniques have aged and its modest budget often shows, but this noirish, gory tale is never less than totally compelling.

Dees is a nasty little man who Ferrer still makes oddly likable, while the mismatched buddy relationship between Dees and Katherine anchors the movie. The third act showdown with the тιтular vampire is a scalp-freezing sequence and staged with theatrical gusto by Pavio.

The Night Flier Barely Got A Release

Renfield walking through the rain toward his plane in The Night Flier.

It appears both producers and audiences were cooling on King adaptations during this era after a 20 year glut. In 1997 there were no King movies released theatrically, but there were several television offerings like King’s remake of The Shining or the TV movie Trucks.

While Night Flier technically debuted in 1997, it arrived on HBO first. The King movie had been filmed with a theatrical release in mind, however, and received a limited one during February 1998. The handful of critics who ᴀssessed the bloody vampire flick weren’t impressed, and it stands at 33% on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Night Flier only pulled in $125,000 during its cinema run too. Despite being largely forgotten at the time, over the years the movie has pulled in a loyal cult for its creepy atmosphere, unique vampire design and Ferrer’s central performance.

The Night Flier Links Itself To Other Stephen King Movies

Stephen King readers will be aware of the author’s expanded universe. His books often feature overlapping characters and monsters, such as the easter egg nod to Pennywise the Dancing Clown in 2001’s Dreamcatcher. Dees himself was originally introduced in The ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Zone, where he worked for the awful tabloid Inside View.

The Night Flier used Inside View as a clever way to sneak in King references via overblown headlines. These include “Kiddie Cultists in Kansas Worship Creepy Voodoo God!”, a clear Children of the Corn shoutout, while Needful Things gets a tip of the cap with “Satanic Shopkeeper Sells Gory Goodies!”

The best is the Thinner reference, where an amoral attorney starts wasting away via a curse; Inside View sums up Thinner with “The Ultimate Killer Diet! Gypsy Curse Flays Fat Lawyer’s Flesh.” It’s also interesting how The Night Flier ignores The Lawnmower Man film (which King disowned) and instead references the original story with “Naked Demons Levelled My Lawn!”

The Night Flier’s headlines are the best kind of easter egg. It makes sense that Inside View would be one of the few papers reporting on the bizarre incidents in King’s universe, and only viewers who are savvy with the author’s work will really understand what the headlines are referencing.

Stephen King Wrote A Night Flier Sequel

King has been burned in the past while granting sequel rights to producers. During a 1992 chat with Fangoria, King revealed part of his early deals when granting rights to his books included handing over sequel rights. This, in turn, led to a wave of inferior, often STV sequels trading on King’s good name.

George Clooney is Miguel Ferrer’s cousin and was reportedly set to have a role in The Night Flier during pre-production.

These misbegotten franchises include Children of the Corn, The Mangler and Sometimes They Come Back. King hated that these sequel projects used stories not based on something he’d written while using him as their main selling point.

One movie King did like was The Night Flier, to the point he did something unheard of: he co-wrote a movie sequel for it with Pavia (via Shockwaves). Dubbed Night Flier 2: Fear of Flying, this would have focused on Katherine in the bloody aftermath of the original as she delved deeper into the тιтular bloodsucker and learns his origins.

Despite King having co-penned the screenplay and throwing his full support behind The Night Flier 2, studios had zero interest in making the sequel. Pavia was seeking a relatively modest $10 million budget, but given that the first film did no real business at all, everyone pᴀssed on it.

Source: Rotten Tomatoes, Box Office Movie, Fangoria, Shockwaves