Movie Review: Red Eye

Red Eye

When I first saw a little horror movie called A Nightmare on Elm Street, I thought it was one of the most original and truly terrifying movies I'd ever seen. The truth of the matter is that I still do. The man behind that film was Wes Craven (don't blame him for the sequels with which he wasn't involved). Craven went on to create the Scream franchise and establish a solid reputation in Hollywood. It was that reputation that led me to think that Craven's latest offering was a horror film. It isn't. But there are monsters to be found in psychological thrillers, too...

Lisa Reisert (Rachel McAdams), a hotel guest manager in Miami, is on her way back home after attending a funeral in Dallas. When she arrives at the airport just in time to catch her late night flight, she learns it's been delayed. During the delay, Lisa chats briefly with several of her fellow passengers including the handsome Jackson Ripner (Cillian Murphy). While they wait, Lisa and Jackson enjoy a drink together at an airport bar. Almost too soon, their flight is called and they hurriedly wish each other a safe journey and go their separate ways to deal with last minute phone calls and other preparations.

When Lisa finally boards the plane, she's pleasantly surprised to find that the seat next to her is occupied by Jackson. Once the flight takes off, though, her relationship with Jackson changes abruptly and dramatically when he informs her that she must do as he says or her father will die. Lisa's options are limited: She can do as Jackson says, she can refuse and risk her father's life, or she can try to escape him and his plans. But she's trapped in the seat next to him at 30,000 feet, and there are virtually no options that won't result in somebody dying.

Meanwhile, in Lisa's absence, a new hotel employee named Cynthia (Jayma Mays) is having troubles of her own with rude guests and VIP schedule changes. One of those VIPs is the Deputy Director of the Department of Homeland Security. Charles Keefe (Jack Scalia) is a regular guest at the hotel, and he knows Lisa. What he doesn't know is that she's being coerced into doing things that could jeopardize far more than merely her father's or her own life even as he and his family check in for another stay...

Rachel McAdams has proved herself a formidable — and versatile — talent with movies in recent months including the tearjerker The Notebook and the very funny comedy The Wedding Crashers. Now she shows she's a fine dramatic actress as well. Meanwhile, Cillian Murphy is also no stranger to the big screen of late. As the creepy Scarecrow in Batman Begins, he's definitely a bad guy. In Red Eye, he's quieter and more understated, but somehow even more menacing. And he manages to do that despite being a very "pretty" face! Jayma Mays is fine as the harried hotel employee, and both Brian Cox (who plays Lisa's father, Joe) and Jack Scalia are all right. But supporting roles in this film are so limited that even credited roles are little more than extras. McAdams and Murphy carry the show, and they do it with apparently little effort.

Director Wes Craven has always been good at jacking up the suspense, and he does a fine job here. Much of the action takes place aboard a crowded airplane meaning there's limited space for anything to happen. And yet you can't take your eyes off the main characters, and you'll tense in your seat as you wonder what will happen next. (The realism of the plane doesn't hurt — it's crowded, noisy, and bumpy, just like the real thing). Once the plane lands, the action can expand and it does, but it gets no less intense along the way. Red Eye isn't destined to be the classic that Elm Street became, but that doesn't mean it's not worth the price of admission.

POLITICAL NOTES: There's scant mention of increased airport security in the film, though it is, at least, acknowledged. The real political point here is made in an excerpt of a speech by the Deputy Director shown via a clip on some TV news. The words of the speech are a little surprising coming from Hollywood, and I have to confess I was in agreement with what was said...

FAMILY SUITABILITY: Red Eye is rated PG-13 for "some intense sequences of violence and language." That rating is probably about right. Small children won't understand much of what's happening, and the level of intensity (Lisa is terrified, and it shows) will likely be too much for them. Older kids, though, and adults who enjoy the occasional thriller will find plenty to keep them interested here.