Search Movie Review Archives

Rachel McAdams, Cillian Murphy, Brian Cox

This tidy little thriller from director Wes Craven (“Scream”) will make you realize that wading through the bodies at security isn’t the worst thing that can happen to you. Lisa Reisert (Rachel McAdams) juggles her responsibility as a manager at a Miami hotel with…nothing else. She IS her job. She doesn’t have a social life and she’s not sure that she wants one right now. Returning from the funeral of her grandfather in Texas Lisa finds herself trapped with Jackson (Cillian Murphy in a wonderfully creepy performance) an assassin who blackmails Rachel into helping him murder the new head of Homeland Security. Through 85 nail-biting minutes we travel with these two as Lisa tries and to figure out a way to warn those around her about Jackson and his plan. ***

Featuring taunt no nonsense direction from Craven, “Red Eye” is the type of thriller that Hitchcock might have made if he were alive. The only thing missing is the blond hair for his heroine. The screenplay by TV writer Carl Ellsworth (“Cleopatra 2525”, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”) pulls out all the stops to milk the suspense for all its worth. In fact “Red Eye” would probably have worked almost as well on the small screen except for the annoying interruption of commercials. Filmed on a paltry $25 million budget “Red Eye” proves that the best film making comes not from outrageously large budgets and CGI effects but from a well written script, strong direction and two appealing leads. Make no mistake this isn’t “Vertigo” nor is it “Munich” but Craven’s film falls into the “entertainments” such as “North by Northwest” that Hitchcock made. ---

Luckily watching “Red Eye” won’t leave you with the bleary looking eyes of someone who has taken an early morning plane trip. The colors are nicely reproduced with natural skin tones. The stormy and menacing lighting adds perfectly to the claustrophobic atmosphere of the film and Craven keeps most of his camera work deceptively simple except for one or two memorable exceptions. The film is enhanced for 16x9 TVs so the 2.40:1 aspect ratio shouldn’t be a problem for most folks with widescreen TVs. The stormy soundtrack puts you right in the middle of the turbulent flight that the two main characters are on. Surround speakers are used very effectively throughout most of the film.

We get a gag reel that’s presented in widescreen (but not in anamorphic widescreen) as well as a couple of featurettes that are so-so. The first “The Making of ‘Red Eye’” is pretty standard fare. The cast, screenwriter, producer and Craven are interviewed about what attracted them to making this thriller. “Wes Craven: A New Kind of Thriller” has Craven discussing what attracted him to making the film and how he never intended to be a “horror” director just a film director. He mentions this was an attempt to step away from horror although not too far so that he wasn’t in completely unfamiliar surroundings. We also get previews which you can skip.

“Red Eye” is an enjoyable B-movie thriller. Craven restrains himself throughout the movie keeping gore to a minimum and focusing on creating a suspenseful film instead. It’s not a profound or ambitious movie but it doesn’t pretend to be. It’s an enjoyable romp that will keep you entertained during its 89 minute running time.