For a Native American take on vampires, get Nightwing. Though the focus is on vampire bats, this film offers a glimpse inside the world of Native mysticism and a magnificent look at desert life.

A powerful shaman, Abner (George Clutesi), decides to end the world before the mining companies take the reservation. He performs a ceremony to open the circle and allow the bringers of destruction to go free. He says he will die before morning.

Vampire bats are already attacking. Duran (Nick Mancuso), the only cop on the Maski reservation, is trying to find a solution to the problem. His difficult task is complicated by Walter Chee (Steven Macht), who believes any progress is good progress, even if it means strip-mining the sacred burial grounds, and the vampire bat hunter, Phillip Payne (David Warner), who is running amuck through the reservation. Meanwhile, Duran's girlfriend, Anne Dillon (Kathryn Harrold), has taken a group of missionaries into the desert.

Duran already has enough to deal with when Abner's body disappears from his grave and he begins appearing to tribal elders with messages and visions. Duran must find a way to stop the bats from attacking and spreading the bubonic plague while getting Abner back into his grave and protecting the tribal burial grounds from strip-mining.

Nightwing was the original Bats, which was released 20 years later. Although I love Lou Diamond Phillips and enjoyed Bats, it cannot begin to compare to Nightwing, which is softcore activism that directs our attention to the plight of the Native Americans and the devastation from strip-mining.

This movie has an intricate weaving of subplots that pulls you inside the story and leaves you powerless to stop watching. The suspense level is through the roof.

Henry Mancini did an outstanding job with the musical score, which is predominantly Native flute. The only fault I can find is that there are a couple of points where the reverberation of the note is at too high a volume. The music should never be painful to the viewers and suspense is not synonymous with decibels.

This movie is based on the novel by Martin Cruz Smith.

Nightwing is a brilliant film that never received the credit it deserved. It was ahead of its time as a Native American film and can be fully appreciated today. If this film were released today, it would be a box office sensation. It is a wonderful addition to any horror, Native American, folklore, or mysticism collection. It really is a great movie that provides high quality entertainment.