Film Title
Red Eye
Director
Wes Craven
Starring
- Rachel McAdams as Lisa Reisert
- Cillian Murphy as Jackson Ripper
- Brian Cox as Joe Reisert
Wes Craven takes to the air for this suspenseful little thriller that is lean, mean and nail-biting stuff. Red Eye, with many a Hitchcockian element to it, doesn’t aspire to be something brand spanking new; its main objective is to thrill and that’s what it does.
Lisa Reisert is a hotel manager whose life is all about dealing with tough customers and complaints. We pick up with her in Dallas, where she has just attended the funeral of her Grandmother. She’s not the biggest fan of flying, but is going to catch the red-eye flight back to Miami. Unfortunately, her flight is delayed and she has to wait around for a little while. It’s here that she meets the polite and handsome Jackson Ripper, who engages in friendly talk with her. When the flight is ready, they are happy and bemused to see that they are sitting next to each other on the plane. Though he keeps Lisa calm, there’s something not quite right about Jackson which becomes abundantly clear to us and her. What started as flirting and charming conversation soon turns to something very sinister as the plane takes off. Jackson admits to being part of a terrorist organisation that needs Lisa’s expertise in a deadly plan. You see the Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security is staying in the hotel Lisa works in and the people Jackson works for are planning an elaborate assassination for him. They just need Lisa to switch his room for it to be successful. As leverage to ensure she takes part, Jackson informs the terrified Lisa that her father will be killed if his demands aren’t met. Faced with precious time that is ticking away, Lisa digs into her resolve in order to not buckle under the shock that befalls her. But just how long can she hold the evil and ruthless Jackson off before death begins to occur?
Red Eye benefits from the sure hand of Wes Craven in the directing chair. Having been one of the kings of the horror genre, his skills at inducing tension and terror are utilized here in this tightly compact suspense thriller. He gets over a real claustrophobia and paranoia that seeps into every frame, especially the main chunk that is airborne and the most unnerving. Red Eye isn’t aiming for immense originality or to be a game changing suspense movie; its most concerned with offering up something nail-biting and with more than a couple of jolts of unpredictability. economical running time makes sure that we are on the edge of our seats and no flab is seen leaking in Red Eye. The last half hour goes a bit overboard, but the build up and the tightness of most of it makes it easy to ignore and still a well constructed thriller with excitement and a whole lot of tension. The pacing is mainly where the movie is at, cleverly getting to the point after a short but bracing warm up before a white-knuckle intensity covers it splendidly. The mid-air game of sinister cat and mouse is sustained through effectively up close camerawork and Marco Beltrami, who previously scored the haunting music for Craven’s Scream, is ace at filtering an electronic pulse into Red Eye. He starts with little drops of suspense, before cranking up the action and drama for something quickening and growing in volume.
Rachel McAdams and Cillian Murphy are the main players in this movie and they are talented performers. McAdams is a kind of actress who keeps things grounded and her part sympathetic and resourceful. She’s no screaming victim and though under duress, she makes her part one of both believable smarts and vulnerability. Cillian Murphy, with his intense stare and icy blue eyes, is superbly cast as the seemingly charming man who is anything but. Nastiness is his middle name but you can also sense some form of desperation to get his job done no matter what from the always watchable Murphy. Together, both are engaged in a deadly hunter and prey routine that is extremely entertaining. Although his appearance is rather sporadic, it’s always good to see Brian Cox in a movie and he is worth the watch no matter how small the role.
A tense and efficient thriller, Red Eye shows Wes Craven directing with great economy and style to give us a cracking suspense thriller.
ninvoid99 said:
This is one of my favorite films by Wes Craven as it’s an example of what he can do in a limited setting without any real visual effects that prove he was a master at his craft.
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vinnieh said:
He creates such a cloistered and compact tension really excellently here. The best parts are on the pain as Lisa has to think of how to survive what she’s been thrust into.
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fragglerocking said:
Blimey V-man that’s a great review! I almost want to see it!! (#cantddoscarybiscuits) 😊
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vinnieh said:
That’s some high praise indeed, Fraggle.
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beetleypete said:
It’s not scary, just a thriller! 🙂
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fragglerocking said:
Cillian Murphy is always scary! 🙂
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beetleypete said:
He’s great in Peaky Blinders!
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fragglerocking said:
Still yet to see it!
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beetleypete said:
Sacrilege! One of the best dramas in recent memory. Time for a box-set catch-up methinks…
🙂
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fragglerocking said:
Yes we have it at the top of the list when we’ve got through Hard Sun and McMafia
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beetleypete said:
I am enjoying McMafia, but my jury is out on Hard Sun at the moment. Make sure you start at the beginning with PB. It is like a serial.
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vinnieh said:
Thanks for the advice.
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vinnieh said:
I’ve heard some fine things about McMafia.
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fragglerocking said:
And Vikings 😀
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vinnieh said:
I too have to catch up with it, Pete.
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vinnieh said:
My Mum and Dad love that show.
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vinnieh said:
He is pretty effective when it comes to playing villains.
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raistlin0903 said:
As I have a fear of flying (no joke….I will never, ever enter a plane), movies such as these really don;t help with that lol.
But you are right though, this was a very fun and tense thriller. It was a bit on the short side, but despite that, it was very effective. And Murphy was terrific in it and scary as hell. Great post Vinnieh! 😀
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vinnieh said:
It really made for tense and nail-biting viewing. I felt my heart beating faster as the suspense really kicked in upon the reveal of Jackson’s motives. Murphy was an ideal bad guy; he exudes a very real menace, particularly with those icy eyes of his.
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beetleypete said:
I quite enjoyed this. Murphy was suitably menacing!
Cheers, Pete.
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vinnieh said:
He has a knack for menace, it’s all in the eyes.
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Mario said:
Nice review mate. You have a skill, your first paragraph makes me want to go back and watch the movie again! I thought the premise was quite absurd when I first saw the trailer, but I remember really enjoying the film. Love me some Wes Craven!
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vinnieh said:
Thanks for your nice words, Mario. I was always taught that a first paragraph is important to draw the reader in.
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Jay said:
I kind of forgot this one existed!!
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vinnieh said:
Good thing my review was here to remind you.
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Alex said:
I have always loved this one! Rachel McAdams is brilliant in this!
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vinnieh said:
She’s such an underrated actress. I have always admired here. Nice to hear from you Alex, how are you?
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Alex Withrow said:
Love this review. I’ve always really enjoyed this film and wish it had gotten more positive acclaim. I totally agree, it is tense, efficient and very economical filmmaking.
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vinnieh said:
Yes, it does the job of nail-biting thriller excellently. I always admired Wes Craven and his ability to generate shock and suspense. He was a master. Thank you for commenting, Alex.
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alexraphael said:
Saw this at the cinema. I didn’t even know what red eye meant at the time. I did enjoy it. The leads were magnetic. I loved it when Jackson admits that he has been telling the truth the whole time. Just chilling and almost comical.
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vinnieh said:
I loved both the leads here. It’s a movie that manages various chills and suspense with aplomb.
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Dani☆Touch My Spine Book Reviews☆ said:
This looks awesome Vinnie!!! I love a great thriller and your review was amazing!!!😁😍
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vinnieh said:
If you like thrillers, Red Eye is a fine example.
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keepsmealive said:
And here I wondered how they were gonna make an entire movie about a drink! Maybe it was a Cocktail association…? But nope! It’s a flick they definitely need to start showing in-flight ASAP! 🙂
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vinnieh said:
Haha, I just love your witty comments.
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keepsmealive said:
I’m here all week! Try the veal! 🙂
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allthingsthriller said:
Atypical Wes Craven movie, though his atmospheric, creepy signatures are all over it. Very nice review, had forgotten about this film and how much I enjoyed it. Thanks for reminding me.
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vinnieh said:
He had that knack for creepy and spine-tingling. It’s what made him horror royalty.
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dbmoviesblog said:
I remember watching this movie some years back and I really liked it, especially that uncomfortable atmosphere created of a plane in the air and danger inside with no escape. It was tense and Cillian Murphy makes for such a great villain. This film always remind me of Nick of Time with Johnny Depp, because I used to watch them together and they share similar themes of ticking clock and danger.
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vinnieh said:
It crafts a very claustrophobic atmosphere that is super tense. You know, I’ve not seen Nick of Time yet.
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