MovieChat Forums > The Night Flier (1998) Discussion > Who was the beautiful woman in Renfield'...

Who was the beautiful woman in Renfield's photo album

posted 15 years ago by jeffyoung1
5 replies | jump to latest

THE NIGHT FLIER tantalized us with intriguing information about Dwight Renfield's history then left us all hanging. Richard Dees finds Renfield's old photograph album in the Cessna Skymaster. The photographs reveal that Renfield came from around the 1920s and was of course, originally a normal human. Since only well-to-do people could afford to own an airplane and indulge in flying; that and Renfield's well-tailored and expensive flying clothes in the photos imply him to have been a rich man. Renfield had a beautiful young wife and there are several photos of her. The movie spent some long moments showing her face and time spent with her husband, as if the director wanted us to know more about her.

I can't put my finger on it. I swear I've seen that actress/model's face somewhere before, the woman who posed for the black and white photos in real life, posing as Renfield's historical wife. Does anyone know who she was?

It would have been nice had there been some background movie time spent on Dwight Renfield's history. It's possible that in his many flying adventures, he stumbled upon the diabolitical supernatural evil that transformed him into a vampiric demon. That's right. Dwight Renfield was no ordinary Barnabas Collins vampire. Renfield had become a demon vampire, a true monster that possessed the ability of illusion to show his once handsome human face. But now his true face was that of a monster demon. There was talk of a sequel back in 2005 if you read the other imdb posts. But it's been five years and nothing came of it. It's also been twelve years since the movie. Everyone in it has aged visibly by now. New actors have to be hired.

[–] rogergargantua 14 years ago

Unfortunately, I dont know who she was....

And even though I want things really get explained, I believe its part of the movie's mystery. It leaves us guessing who Renfield really was. But we only get tiny clues.....ranging from an old photobook to sad expressions in his face when he leaves the last airport. I think he never wanted this vampiric life. But then again, we can only guess on that.

As for the sequel, yea, there was some talks. But like you said, everybody has ages and if they do another Night Flier movie....it has to be a remake.

[–] saprater 14 years ago

It's been a long time since I last watched this film, but I still remember the beautiful woman from the photo. You're right...there does seem to be a deliberate attempt to pique our interest in her and Renfield's life. I'm glad they put that bit in though. It gives him a touch of tragedy that he'd keep it close by after all of these years.

Pity about the lack of a remake.

As for the woman in the picture, like I said...it's been a while since I saw the film. Maybe if I had a screenshot?

[–] vlada131 14 years ago

The woman in the photo album resembles the old lady that Renfield killed earlier in the movie, along with her husband. So maybe the album isn't Renfield's, after all (i.e. he took it with him from their house after he killed them). I always thought there was some weird connection between the flier and the old woman: remember the scene of the two of them in the car, at the gas station? The husband is pale and lost, looks as if hypnotized, and she's all smiling and happy, and telling him to hurry up, so that their 'guest' won't have to wait for them (or s-ing along those lines, I haven't seen the movie in a while). Then, when Renfield goes on beating the husband slowly to death the next night, she doesn't try to help him, call the police or even run - she's happy, and she dies happy. It always seemed to me that she knew Renfield (perhaps even her husband knew him too?), maybe he's some lost love from her youth? I know it sounds very far-fetched, but that thought occurs to me whenever I watch the movie...

[–] panicatthekai 13 years ago

I thought the same exact thing

[–] jeffyoung1 12 years ago

Years later, I suddenly remembered who the young woman in the old, black-and-white photograph might be.

My theory is that the image is that of the real-life actress, MADCHEN AMICK, taken when she was a few years younger. Madchen Amick was a main supporting actress in another classic horror flick, SLEEPWALKERS (1992). She was at the height of her beauty. NIGHT FLYER was filmed in 1997 and released in January 1998, so Madchen Amick would have been only about five years older or so. But it wouldn't have taken much to make her look younger in a black-and-white photo.
Black-and-white photography has the characteristic of making a younger person look older and conversely making an older person look younger.