The Night Flier Touches Down in the Third Class of the Hall of Killers
The Hall of Killers has gained a new nocturnal member, and he has come in for a landing with a thirst for blood and aviation fuel. Richard Dees, the grizzled tabloid reporter from The Night Flier, may have spent most of his screen time chasing monsters, but it is the monster himself who is getting the spotlight this time. The mysterious vampiric pilot known only as Dwight Renfield (a cheeky nod to Dracula’s lunatic servant) has officially flown his way into the Third Class of the Hall of Killers, joining other cult favourites who never quite got their franchise wings.
If you have not seen The Night Flier—and let’s face it, many horror fans have not—it is one of the great underrated Stephen King adaptations. Released in 1997 and based on King’s short story from his Nightmares and Dreamscapes collection, the film follows Richard Dees, played with perfect cynicism by the late, great Miguel Ferrer. Dees is a ruthless journalist who works for a sleazy publication called Inside View, which specialises in stories about UFO sightings, Satanic rituals, and anything else that might sell a few copies to people who should not be allowed near typewriters.
Dees catches wind of a series of gruesome murders at small airports across the country. The only clue? Each crime scene is left soaked in blood and littered with shredded bodies, with reports of a mysterious black plane landing before each killing. Naturally, Dees thinks this is his big scoop. Unfortunately for him, it turns out the pilot really is a vampire who flies from airport to airport in his private plane, draining victims before taking off into the night sky. It is basically Dracula meets The Twilight Zone by way of The X-Files, and it is much better than it has any right to be.
Directed by Mark Pavia, The Night Flier is a film that came and went like, well, a night flier. It did not get a huge theatrical release, and it has spent most of its life living on VHS and DVD shelves, quietly gathering dust and cult admiration. But those who have seen it know that it is a sharply written, darkly funny horror with a cynical edge that feels even more relevant today. Ferrer’s performance is the stuff of genre legend: his Dees is arrogant, self-loathing, chain-smoking, and somehow still lovable. You can smell the cheap coffee and cigarette ash every time he opens his mouth.
The vampire himself, Dwight Renfield, is one of the more original creations to come out of a Stephen King story. Forget the tuxedos and gothic castles; this is a creature of the modern world, complete with a pilot’s licence and a thirst for hemoglobin. His red-eyed stare and monstrous bat-like visage are genuinely terrifying when revealed, proving that practical effects still trump the CGI nonsense that flooded horror in the late nineties.
So why the Third Class? Well, while Renfield is not exactly a household name like Freddy or Jason, he earns his spot as a cult favourite. The Third Class of the Hall of Killers is reserved for those who may have only appeared once or twice but left an unforgettable mark. These are the killers you find yourself quoting at midnight screenings or recommending to friends who claim they have seen everything. The Night Flier fits that perfectly. He is strange, unsettling, and entirely his own brand of nightmare.
The film also stands out as one of the few Stephen King adaptations that captures the author’s trademark tone of sardonic humour mixed with grim horror. It skewers the media’s obsession with death and sensationalism while gleefully indulging in buckets of blood. It is as much about Dees’ moral decay as it is about a vampire, and by the time the end credits roll, the film leaves you wondering which one of them was truly the monster.
It is also worth mentioning that The Night Flier has become something of a collector’s item. Fans have long begged for a Blu-ray or 4K release worthy of its cult status, yet it remains stranded on DVD and old digital transfers. Considering we live in an age where Leprechaun in Space can get a lavish remaster, this oversight feels almost criminal.
Renfield’s induction into the Hall of Killers is a small but satisfying act of recognition for a film that has been gliding under the radar for far too long. While he might not have the name recognition of Michael Myers or the body count of Jason Voorhees, he has style, mystery, and a private plane. In a world full of clumsy slasher icons, The Night Flier is the frequent flyer of fear—classy, creepy, and always on time for dinner.
If you have never seen The Night Flier, track it down, dim the lights, and maybe cancel your next flight booking. You never know who might be sitting in the cockpit.
