Interestingly, nearly all the character names (aside from Royd Eris) have been made less futuristic and exotic-sounding and I guess more mainstream friendly – for example Karoly d’Branin becomes Michael D’Brannin (played by British thesp John Standing, who also appeared in The Elephant Man). Genre darling Catherine Mary Stewart ( The Last Starfighter, Night Of The Comet) leaped at the chance to play her first adult role here essaying project co-ordinator Miranda Dorlac (Melantha Jhirl in the book), who is described in the novella as being ‘… big in every way: a head taller than anyone else on board, large-framed, large-breasted, long-legged, strong, muscles moving fluidly beneath shiny coal-black skin.’ Oh yeah, and she ‘sexes’ with pretty much the entire cast of characters in the book (alas, none of which happens in the film). D’Branin’s monomaniacal obsession with the Volcryn is referrenced throughout the novella – but barely touched upon in the film. Team leader Karoly d’Branin is keen to seek out a nomadic race of aliens known as the Volcryn, whom he suspects to be the oldest beings in the galaxy (an intriguing idea, but frustratingly, one which ultimately has no bearing on the outcome of the actual plot and is only introduced as a catalyst to set the story in motion). Set some 400 years in the future (although the filmmakers oddly chose to relocate it to the 21st Century), the story takes place in a far flung corner of the galaxy where a scientific team of humans is assembled to embark on a deep space mission of discovery – a journey which may well lead to first contact with a mythical alien race. Martin (the man responsible for birthing the television champ that is Game Of Thrones), this curious oddity from 1987 is essentially a ‘ten little indians’ survival story set in deep space aboard a spacecraft under the control of a sentient and murderous computer wherein the spacecraft itself (dubbed The Nightflyer) becomes an inescapable death trap. Adapted from a 103 page novella originally published in an expanded form in 1981 by noted sci-fi and fantasy author George R.R. Nightflyers is a late, if unremarkable addition to the ‘horror in space’ subgenre popularized in the early 1980s by the success of Alien in 1979 (with other notable entries including Galaxy Of Terror, Inseminoid, Forbidden World, Saturn 3 and Titan Find). Martin’s novella ‘Nightflyers’ – so tread carefully. SPOILER WARNING – this in-depth review contains plot spoilers for both the book and film versions of George R.R.

Starring Catherine Mary Stewart, Michael Praed, John Standing, Lisa Blount, Michael des Barres, Glenn Withrow and James Avery.

Screenplay by Robert Jaffe, based on the novella ‘Nightflyers’ by George R.R. Psycho’s murderous mom goes all apeshit HAL in space.ĭirected by Robert Collector (credited as T.C.

The nightflyers book