Nightwing (1979) Review

It is interesting to consider that although Native American mythology is rich with terrible beasts, frightening folk tales and sinister superstitions, horror cinema throughout history has rarely focused on them.

There are exceptions to this rule from the stereotypical and slightly insensitive Creepshow 2 to the sublimely brilliant Wind Walkers however it is a shocking shame that for the most part American cinema ignores and undervalues the native peoples beliefs and stories.

Perhaps the issues is more to do with the political and social side of things than purely about storytelling and the tragic and shameful fact remains that the first peoples of the United States of America, as in many other countries throughout the world, are undervalued and under appreciated when it comes to their contribution to the culture and history of their country.

One film that manages to cleverly keep one foot in race relations and pure creature chaos is the 1979 horror Nightwing. Adapted from the novel of the same name by Martin Cruz Smith, who also co-wrote the screenplay, it is directed by Arthur Hiller better known for crackpot comedies like See No Evil, Hear No Evil and soppy romance movies like Love Story.

Made as a cash in on the huge popularity of Jaws the quick sell sees a Native American reservation overrun with a deadly swarm of killer vampire bats however there is much more depth to the story than that simple synopsis implies.

Set in the Hopi Indian reservation in New Mexico our reluctant hero is Youngman Duran (Under Siege’s Nick Mancuso) a deputy in the Tribal Police and the law of the land. Called in to investigate mysterious cattle mutilations he is left clueless to the cause and things only become more confusing when the person who raised him, a powerful medicine man named Abner Tasupi (George Clutesi also seen in Native American horror Prophecy) informs him that the end of the world is coming.

Convinced he has conjured the apocalypse Abner tells Durran that he has summoned the tribes god to cleanse the land of the white man, the tribal council and even his own people. Believing this to be the ramblings of a bitter old man who has ingested too much of the mind altering datura root Durran leaves only to return the next day to find Abner dead and drained of all his blood.

As bodies pile up both animal and human an increase in unexplainable events force Durran to consider the petrifying prophecy could be correct however the appearance of British scientist Philip Payne (TRON and In the Mouth of Madness star David Warner) brings an explanation even if it is nearly as insane.

Payne is an expert in vampire bats and has dedicated his life to hunting and destroying them. He reveals to Durran that not only is there a colony of over a thousand blood sucking bats sweeping through the reservation killing everything in their path but they are infected with bubonic plague. The law man and the chiropterologist must join forces to overcome the winged menace before Abner’s disastrous prediction become reality.

A critical and financial failure when it was released Nightwing has thankfully been reevaluated in recent years and taken more seriously with author Lee Gambin writing that “the film is a great exploration of social change and race relations” and scholar John Edgar Browning labelling it as an “Eco-Gothic Western.”

Both observations are extremely accurate and it is refreshing and significant to see a story primarily set in a reservation with Native American characters and issues related to their lives, beliefs and concerns with the white folk or “Anglos” as they are labeled mainly relegated to the sidelines.

A large part of the story concerns Durran’s fractious relationship with Tribal Council chairman Walker Chee (Stephen Macht from The Mosnter Squad) who is finalising a deal with a mining company to extract oil from land that is sacred to Durran and his people. Chee believes in the greater good and is willing to abandon old ideas and beliefs for cold hard cash which he thinks will secure the future of the tribes. Although his underhanded actions throughout the film paint him as villainous it is ultimately up to the viewer to decide whether his motives are pure and his prime opinion, that Native Americans need to play the white man’s game in order to survive, provides an answer to their plight.

The humanitarian side of Nightwing thankfully never dilates the horror and although the special effects, made by Alien and E.T maestro Carlo Rambaldi, do look a little ridiculous now the tension and terror is still effective. A perfect example is in the prolonged Missionary attack where the wonderful score by Henry Mancini disappears entirely leaving us with the shrill call of the blood thirsty bats and the sickening screams of their victims.

Nightwing also features a sensational turn from David Warner as Phillip Payne a character that deserves his own film for sure. Serving as the modern day Van Helsing of the piece his intense hatred for the creatures he hunts is as captivating as it is crazy. One of the best moments in the entire film comes when he is explaining to Durran his seemingly everlasting loathing: “I kill them because they’re evil. There’s a mutual grace and violence in all forms of nature; and each specie of life gives something in return for its own existence. All but one. The freak. The vampire bat alone is that specie.”

Entertaining and intellectually engaging in equal measure Nightwing is available on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK as part of the Eureka Classics range and accompanied by another Native American horror Shadow of the Hawk making it a must have purchase.

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