‘The bats of hell let loose on the Earth…’
Nightwing is a 1979 horror film about killer bats that plague a Native American reservation in New Mexico.
Directed by Canadian Arthur Hiller (The In-Laws; Silver Streak; Love Story) from a screenplay co-written by Steve Shagan, Bud Shrake and Martin Cruz Smith, based on the latter’s novel, the movie stars Nick Mancuso (Entity; Rise of the Gargoyles; Death Ship), David Warner (In the Mouth of Madness; Waxwork; The Omen), Kathryn Harrold (The Sender; Vampire 1979), Stephen Macht (The Legend of Bloody Mary; Watchers 4; Graveyard Shift) and Strother Martin (Sssssss; The Brotherhood of Satan).
The soundtrack score was composed by Henry Mancini (The Pink Panther). The bats were created by special effects artist Carlo Rambaldi who also worked on A Lizard in a Woman’s Skin (1971), King Kong (1976), Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Cat’s Eye and Silver Bullet.
Buy Blu-ray: Amazon.com
Plot:
Youngman Duran (Nick Mancuso), an Indigenous American deputy in New Mexico, investigates a series of cattle mutilations. Abner Tasupi, an ancient and embittered medicine man reveals that he has woven a spell to end the world that very night. However, Youngman assumes Tasupi is simply under the influence of datura root. Next morning, Youngman finds Abner’s bloodless body on the floor of his shack, and nearby he discovers a dead shepherd and most of his flock.
Youngman’s faith in tribal beliefs and superstitions leads him to suspect the unexplained deaths may be connected to Abner’s spell. English scientist Philip Payne (David Warner) is certain they are the work of vampire bats infected with bubonic plague. As bats spread throughout the area, swarming through a missionary group’s campsite and infecting everyone in their path, Philip and Youngman join forces with Anne Dillon (Kathryn Harrold), a white medical student who runs a clinic on the reservation and is in love with Youngman. They track the bats to their cave…
“Mr. Hiller (“The In-Laws,” “The Hospital,” “Love Story,”) is credited as the director of the film but it looks as if it had been put together from a child’s instruction book. The screenplay, based on a novel by Martin Cruz Smith, is terrible and the special effects third-rate.” Vincent Canby, The New York Times, June 29, 1979
“Hiller’s direction simply plods to a corny and unsatisfactory ending after getting bogged down in subplots concerning whale-oil prospectors, Indian religious mumbo-jumbo, and inter-tribal rivalries.” Time Out New York
Choice dialogue:
Youngman Duran: “One man’s superstition is another man’s religion!”
Cast and characters:
Nick Mancuso … Youngman Duran
David Warner … Phillip Payne
Kathryn Harrold … Anne Dillon
Stephen Macht … Walker Chee
Strother Martin … Selwyn
George Clutesi … Abner Tasupi
Ben Piazza … Roger Piggott
Donald Hotton … John Franklin
Charles Hallahan … Henry
Judith Novgrod … Judy
Alice Hirson … Claire Franklin
Pat Corley … Vet
Charlie L. Bird … Beejay
Danny Zapien … Joe Mamoa
Peter Prouse … Doctor
José Toledo … Harold Masito
Richard Romancito … Ben Mamoa
Flavio Martinez … Isla Laloma
Lena Carr … Pregnant Woman
Virginia P. Maney … Old Squaw
Wade Stevens … Ambulance Attendant
Robert Dunbar … Helicopter Pilot
John R. Leonard Sr. … Helicopter Pilot
Filming locations:
Bonanza Creek Ranch – 15 Bonanza Creek Lane, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Laguna Pueblo, New Mexico
Filming dates:
Production began on 19th April 1978.
Film facts:
The tribe in the film is referred to as “Meskwaki”, though this is actually the self-designation for the Algonquian-speaking Native Americans in Oklahoma.
Trailer:
Free to watch online on YouTube:
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