Red Eye

In case you’re wondering, I’m going to tell you straightaway that Red Eye is not a horror movie. However, horror fans will want to see it because of its director – genre icon, Wes Craven. That’s not to say it isn’t a white-knuckle experience. As the tagline says, “Fear takes flight.”

Penned by Carl Ellsworth, a screenwriter who’s only done a few TV things (Xena: Warrior Princess, Cleopatra 2525) the Red Eye script is tighter than Joan Rivers’ face and nearly as scary. The premise is simple: Strangers on a plane… and one is stranger than everyone else.

A seemingly meek young woman named Lisa (Rachel McAdams) gets on a red-eye flight after enduring a family funeral and dealing with several crises at the hotel where she works via cell phone. All she wants is a drink, and a nice, quiet trip home. She gets the drink – bought for her by a mysterious, awfully friendly man named, of all things, Jack Rippner (Cillian Murphy). He just happens to be seated next to Lisa on the ride home, and coincidences soon turn into incidents inducing mortal fear.

I think the studio has released too many spoilers on the movie already, so just in case you haven’t read them yet I will keep you in the dark as best I can. I saw this movie already knowing what happens at the end (actually revealed to me by Mr. Craven himself!) and I think I would have liked it even better had I discovered each new level of terror along with the protagonist. So, I’m going to try tell you just the barest bones of the plot and surrounding elements.

I’m not especially familiar with McAdams’s work (though I did endure The Notebook), but I have a feeling this could be her best to date: She plays Lisa with many believable layers, going from dishrag to dynamic with aplomb. As for Murphy, prior to Red Eye, I had only seen four of his 22 films. I’ve always thought he was very good, but in Red Eye he came off just a bit to creepy right from the opening frame and didn’t seem like the sort of person who could lull Lisa or anyone into a false sense of security. The peripheral cast – Brian Cox, Jayma Mays – are excellent, and totally likeable right from the git-go. There aren’t many fleshed-out characters in this movie, and that’s a good thing. It keeps our focus on those who matter.

Wes Anderson’s go-to D.P., Robert D. Yeoman, does a wonderful job of shooting the claustrophobic scenes on the plane making use of every available bit of space in a genuine manner without compromising the artistic composition of his shots. He showcases every silent tear, every whispered threat, to chilling visual impact. The music (by Marco Beltrami, Tom Hiel, and Tom Mesmer) is tense and stirring without being obtrusive, and the set design (yes, there are a few off-the-plane scenes) is pleasingly realistic.

Wes Craven does a magnificent job in directing this slow-burn, short-fused thriller. It’s his best work in many years – and decidedly not in the “fun” vein of Scream or Cursed (both of which I liked… so sue me). You won’t see a single wink-nod at the camera, and definitely no nuns singing Kumbayah on this flight.

This is the first of the “plane thrillers” coming your way soon (Jodie Foster’s Flightplan is next) and it’s a trip well worth taking: Red Eye is first class, all the way.

= = =

Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson

Read Horror.com's exclusive interview with Wes Craven here.