drystyx
This is a combination of modern Horror and old Twilight Zone style science fiction.The story is fairly well told. In the 1980s, the idea of the living machine was not overused. It's an age old idea, as life is given to an inanimate object. In this case, there is an attempt to explain it as a scientific plausibility when a "witch" is incorporated into a ship.The movie tries to take both worlds, to satisfy the Horror crowd with witchcraft and "possession", and the Science Fiction crowd with the other possibility.And that's a minor point, but still a point I would rather the movie take sides on instead of intentionally and obviously grab at multiple audiences. Still, knowing that, one can't blame them.The story is fairly well told, a bit engaging. Most of the characters are quite likable, and we can believe their experiences and reactions. I am very surprised at the low rating on IMDb. I am a tough grader, with 5/10 being an average, decent film, and thought my 6/10 was low, but clearly, since I am a tough grader, and not a huge fan of this sort of film making, I am very suspect as to the motives of those who rate this film so low, especially since there were multitudes. You can infer a logical conclusion from that, one you can't prove, but know to be true.I didn't care much for the background sound, and it was a large reason why I didn't rate it higher. A film should be relaxing and easy to watch. I do understand that this is geared to the masochistic Horror crowd, but not totally. In any event, it is uncomfortable viewing, with inadequate Sound effects. The story itself receives a passing grade.
Vivekmaru45
I can't believe the negative reviews. I think most of the reviews have been by persons who have not watched this film properly.This film is far more better than Event Horizon. It stands as a masterpiece on its own.The story is this: A group of skilled individuals have been recruited to go on a voyage into deep space to find an alien race that communicates through radio signals. A man with high telepathic abilities is hired to communicate with this race by listening to the radio signals.The spaceship in which the crew is traveling in has a captain that only appears to them as a holographic image. He never comes in direct contact of the crew. The telepathic man senses an ominous presence within the ship and he keeps this information to himself. Why is the captain of the spaceship avoiding contact with the crew? And what of the ominous presence within the ship? Watch the film to see what happens...Incredible space photography, special effects and thrilling background musical score. Great acting by the cast.10/10. What more do you want? Get it on DVD now!!! You won't regret it - trust me.
Hudson Vandiver
Is it just me, or is this movie basically "Event Horizon"? It makes me wonder if Paul Anderson saw this movie as a kid and then subconsciously recreated it later. A crew of expendable caricatures head for deep space in a mysterious and uniquely experimental vessel which is secretly both sentient and malicious. The evil spaceship begins to throw spooky vibes and lethal accidents at them in equal measure, and a guy who is very "in tune" with the bodiless lurking evil gradually becomes obsessed and consumed by it, eventually graduating into a full-blown zombie possessee. He is killed in a messy, disfiguring way and yet because he is the ship's puppet/mascot he comes back again and again. Eventually what's left of the hardy crew manages to circumvent the "evil core" of the ship and explosions ensue. Does any of this sound familiar? It makes me wonder if EVERY contemporary genre film has its own obscure eighties counterpart that nobody remembers.-H
cskocik
When I enter Nightflyers as my keyword in Google, all I get is references to this movie. That's a shame, since the George R. R. Martin novel, novella, whatever, is a wonderful, intriguing, scary, intelligent mystery story, whereas the movie is the palest ghost of the book's greatness. Martin's book predated Alien by about five years, and I wonder if Ron Shusett or Dan O'Bannon might have gotten some inspiration from it.The movie is a typical '80s gore-fest, complete with misty, foggy sets, ridiculous dialogue and caricatures, and an explosive climax that totally ruins of the book's thoughtful ending. I like the actors who play Royd Eris and Professor D'Branin, and I admit I enjoyed Michael Des Barres's performance as the whacked-out telepath. But most of the acting was subpar. I thought Catherine Mary Stewart did what she could, but the script stripped away all the complexity of her character, who was much more richly drawn in the book. The movie also completely misses the book's subtle sense of humor. The book is closer in tone to John Carpenter's movie Dark Star, plus a great sense of mystery and spookiness. The movie spills the beans on Royd's backstory far too early and off-handedly, as opposed to the book's climactic revelation.So don't let this movie turn you off of Nightflyers -- read the book. By all means, read it!
AD
