Friday, October 14, 2011

Nightwing

Arthur Hiller – 1979 – USA

Attempts by A-list studios and directors to make horror films are almost always grueling disasters – except in rare cases like The Exorcist or The Shining where true auteurs were entrusted with the job.  Nightwing is not one of the exceptions.  Helmed by the play-it-safe journeyman who brought us Love Story and Plaza Suite, it strives for dramatic and ecological profundity but only comes off muddled and ponderous.  The basic problem of having to physically depict swarms of vampire bats attacking people can never be overcome in a move that also insists on wearing its sober sub-text on its sleeve.  The premise and ideas are all valid, but the execution is just dull.  You can actually feel Hiller’s discomfort as he labors through each sequence deciding if he should take it seriously or not.

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