This adaptation of the Martin Cruz Smith novel (scripted by Steve Shagan, Bud Shrake, and Smith himself) is actually pretty faithful to the source material. Ultimately, it's not quite as satisfying as Smiths' story, where the characters were given more depth. But it's still a striking and interesting (if not great) film, an unusual mix of animal horror, human drama, and Indian mysticism. The actors in all of the major roles are pretty good, and director Arthur Hiller - a man known more for mainstream comedies and dramas such as "Love Story" - does his best working within a different genre. It's true that the film doesn't have very much suspense, but the animal attacks are NOT that badly done, despite the presence of some chintzy effects. At the very least, what "Nightwing" has to recommend it is beautiful New Mexico scenery and a solid score by Henry Mancini.

Nick Mancuso stars as Maskai policeman Youngman Duran, faced with sudden and mysterious deaths of animals and humans alike. An Englishman named Phillip Payne (David Warner) knows the score: the culprits are vampire bats, and he's the man to take care of the problem. Apparently eradicating this species is his life's work (one would think that animal rights activists would take exception to such a pursuit),because he believes that they embody evil. Yeah, I know, pretty thin for a motivation. Making life difficult for Duran is local mover and shaker Walker Chee (Stephen Macht),a man who's made it *his* mission to acclimate himself to the white man's world, and who's giving an assist to a mining company.

Overall, this isn't bad, even if lacking in style. It's fundamentally a decent story that's capably told. Mancuso is engaging in the lead, and Warner delivers his lines with total conviction, no matter how silly his character may be; the film benefits from his presence. The lovely Kathryn Harrold is appealing as Youngman's white love interest Anne Dillon, George Clutesi (who was in another Indian themed horror film from the same year, "Prophecy") is memorable in the small part of old priest Abner, and the great Strother Martin, in one of his final film roles, is a joy to watch as always as the bigoted trading post operator Selwyn. Among the supporting cast are character players Ben Piazza, Donald Hotton, Charles Hallahan, Alice Hirson, and Pat Corley.

"Nightwing" is definitely worth a look for the curious.

Seven out of 10.

Nightwing is the title of an 'ecological thriller' written by Martin Cruz Smith, detailing an outbreak of vampire bats at an Indian Reservation in New Mexico. I hated that book; found it dry, boring and with characters I didn't care about. NIGHTWING the film improves on the book a little, but only a little: it's saved by a couple of okayish performances and some fun, cheesy scenes, but for the most part plays out the proceedings with a wearying po-faced seriousness. The one thing that NIGHTWING has in its favour is the setting, an Native American reservation in the middle of the New Mexico desert. At least the locale, and the inevitable political strife, has a different look and flavour than is usual for a monster B-movie. It's a shame, then, that the script is so darned pedantic, explaining every little detail and throwing in unwanted romantic sub-plots so that we're half asleep by the time the first bat attack comes.

It's a shame, because that attack is a lot of fun – almost as fun as the fiery climax, in which David Warner is strung up on a rope and Native American hero Nick Mancuso goes crazy after chewing on some mystical root. These scenes have vitality and tension, which isn't spoiled by the crudity of the special effects – the bats here are a mixture of stock footage, silly rubber puppets (looking virtually the same as the ones in SCARS OF Dracula) and hand-drawn effects. Still, the inclusion of Warner is a welcome delight and he looks to be having a ball with his role here. I'm not sure how plausible Nick Mancuso is as a Native American, and I was put off by his dodgy wig for the most part; he's less annoying than Kathryn Harrold, though, who starts off as a feisty sidekick and before long becomes stupid-woman-in-peril.

Some good moments, such as the one where a corpse starts bleeding or another where our heroes are separated from violent death by a flimsy chain-link fence, make NIGHTWING better than it has any right to be. I still don't think it's a very good film, as it's pretty boring, but you COULD do a lot worse...

Well not entirely. Taking a few things that exist and taking them to a whole new level. Conscious but also elevated, especially when it comes to our main actor. Native Americans and what they believe mixed with some animal horror for good measure.

Add David Warner to the mix and you sound at least legit. But I understand those who don't like this. Because it does tip toe around the genre it wants to be involved in. This isn'r really a horror movie ... but I reckon it is the closest to the genres as we know them. But there is another level one can watch and enjoy this. The drama and the struggle is real ... you can also legit use the phrase "bat s... crazy" here ... and maybe this is the best animal horror involving bats ... though there is the other one - Bats with Lou Diamond Phillips ... I do have to revisit that. I remember liking it. But there aren't too many, if you leave Dracula movies out of it, which are a different league alltogether. Bats and blood have aged, but they still can work if you don't overthink it.