Nightwing (1979)

Fantastic!

Excellent but underrated film

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

"Nightwing" is one of those rare movies that is far more entertaining than it should be, and most definitely the film never allows a few facts to get in the way of imaginative story telling. It has a plethora of misinformation regarding vampire bats. Nevertheless "Nightwing" has some of the finest southwestern landscapes on display, and a terrific and appropriate score by Henry Mancini. It should also be mentioned that Strother Martin delivers a colorful supporting performance in one of his last films. Though lacking in the logic department, I still consider this to be one of the best bat movies, because despite it's faults the film is interesting. - MERK

How many movies about killer bats do you know of that are actually any good? With "Nightwing" I believe I may have stumbled upon one that's actually a bit better than the generic "Bats" (1999), one I deemed to be the best (as in: all others were worse) I've seen so far. Mixing Indian mysticism & science clashing with economical progress in a creature feature about the 'desmodus rotundus'; in other words: an unusually large horde of vampire bats out for flesh & blood. While not exactly on par with, let's say "Jaws", it's still a far better film than its measly 4.2/10 would have you believe on here. The acting is a bit of a mixed bunch, but we are presented a variety of pretty likable characters, each serving their purpose to the well-balanced plot. Well-balanced, that is to say: there's not too much killer bat action, actually, but one massive nightly attack on a bunch of campers around the 45 minute-mark stands out as a memorable bloodbath and remains a horrific highlight of the movie. David Warner is excellent as the determined scientist that tracks down vampire bats and kills them (that's pretty much his mission in life, and he takes it very serious). The plot does an admirably effective effort to explain things as well as making the threat of the vampire bats tangible and we're talking a fairly large-scaled production here. Henry Mancini did a nice job on the score and legendary Italian SFX artist Carlo Rambaldi also made a fine contribution in the Visual Effects department. If you're into these type of eco-horror movies from the late '70s, "Nightwing" might make up for a fun double bill with, for instance, "Prophecy" (1979). Or if you're looking for another seventies flick were the desmodus rotundus steals the show, check out "Chosen Survivors" (1974).

Perhaps we have grown harder to convince since the days when John Ford passed off Utah's Monument Valley as West Texas, but showing us the Grand Canyon followed by a radio voice locating us near Tucson when the movie was actually made outside of Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico, just doesn't cut it except for the kiddie crowd and the geographically challenged. This isn't even a good scary movie. There is no "horror" and less suspense. It centers on a preposterous premise of "bad" science (but that hardly makes it unique). And it includes a mishmash of symbols that should be generally insulting to Native Americans and their religious leaders. Kathryn Harrold is probably still embarrassed she took this role just to prance around and play the lone helpless woman whose only plot function is to be rescued by the hero. It seems more like a movie made in 1959 than one made in 1979. That said it remains my favorite "swarms of vampire bats carrying pneumonic plague on an Indian reservation" movie.

For the lovers of the truly idiotic, there's 1979's Nightwing, a thoroughly ridiculous pile of guano pretending to be a serious story about Native American mysticism and the dangers of great, winged hordes of needle-toothed rodentia.What makes Nightwing so embarrassing is that it's so very watchable. You can get your fill of angelic Indians, stupid (and soon-to-be-dead) Christian missionaries, and maybe the single worst performance in Kathryn Herrold's career (boy, she turned out to be a big star, didn't she?).It's a hoot (or a high-pitched sonar squeal) and I can't think of a better movie to recommend for your weekend living room movie festival, capping off the great cheapjack monster flicks of the 1970's (you'd better have Prophesy, Manitou, and Motel Hell along for the ride!).