Dreamworks Starring: Rachel McAdams, Cillian Murphy
Directed By: Wes Craven
Rated: PG-13
Dreamworks
When I heard people saying that Red Eye was one of Wes Craven's best films, I naturally figured that it was a horror film. In fact, I got it mixed up in my mind with some other film preview I've seen recently that was a horror film that takes place primarily on a plane (the upcoming Jodie Foster film Flightplan).
At any rate, I was surprised to find that Red Eye is very much not a Wes Craven film in the mold of A Nightmare on Elm Street or Scream, but a tight psychological thriller.
Lisa Reisert (McAdams) is a hotel manager who is trying to get home to Miami from Dallas on a red eye flight that has been repeatedly delayed. While waiting in the airport, she meets a seemingly nice guy named Jackson Rippner (Murphy) who befriends her, buys her a drink, and keeps her calm through the rough take-off (she's afraid of flying, and he is--coincidentally--seated right next to her). Unfortunately, Rippner is not who he seems. He needs Lisa's assistance in an assassination attempt he is making on a government official, and her father's life is forfeit unless she cooperates.
I've always been a sucker for films that take place (for the most part) in a very confined place. Die Hard and Phone Booth are both good examples of the kind of tension you can build when the protagonist has no way to escape a threatening situation. Red Eye definitely has that quality and, although there's not a lot that's particularly new about this sort of story, the tension is well played, and the story moves at a brisk pace--after it finally gets going. It is a little front-heavy. It takes a while to set things up, and it seems a little talky and slow at first.
The actors and actresses are all well cast, from the stars down through the supporting cast. McAdams is totally convincing, and Murphy (who played the Scarecrow in Batman Begins and is risking being typecast as a psycho) is quietly evil. Another standout is Jayma Mays who plays Cynthia, a wide-eyed night shift desk clerk at Lisa's hotel. She provides wonderful comic relief. There's even an appearance by Colby Donaldson, the second-place contestant from Survivor: Australian Outback. He's perfect in the role of a Secret Service agent (he even has several lines). And good for Colby that he didn't have to get involved in a sleazy reality TV movie show like the horrible Kill Reality (currently on E!) in order to get a movie role.
If you want to see a typical Wes Craven horror film, Red Eye will certainly disappoint you. However, if you want to see a decent thriller, you'll be happy to know that Wes is a competent director outside his normal genre as well.
Bottom line: Not a typical Wes Craven film--but a really good thriller that's well worth seeing.