Red Eye (2005)
Review by Noel
For most of this decade the name Wes Craven was usually followed with the words “used to be the master of suspense” or “coasting off the success of the Scream trilogy” with little or no argument from anyone as his Nightmare on Elm Street-Last House on the Left-Hills have Eyes heyday seemed to be far, far behind him as his name was also being sullied by “presenting” (as in “Wes Craven Presents”, whatever that means) movies like Wishmaster and They. As Scream and its less than grand sequels allowed Craven to pursue vanity projects (the scary, but not in a fun way, Music of My Heart is the one that keeps even the most jaded horror aficionados closing their eyes and clasping their hands over their ears), fans wondered if he’d lost his touch, or if he’d gone into some kind of horror director senility that seemed to have affected his peers (see Dario Argento or George Romero’s more recent offerings).
Craven’s long delayed werewolf flick Cursed was barely a blip on the horror radar back in February of 2005 as most people didn’t even bother watching it because…it just looked as bad as something delayed that much usually is. Sometimes it sucks to be right. Not enough people cared to see it for it to effect Christina Ricci’s career too much and Joshua Jackson proved again why nobody from Dawson’s Creek, with Michelle Williams being the only one with a career worth mentioning (sorry Mrs. Cruise), brings you the chillies.
That subsequently lowered expectations for anything Craven was set to release. Better to relive his classics on VHS than be reminded of his former glory watching another bad film.
Needless to say I was more than a little surprised when Craven’s late summer 2005 release Red Eye involving a previously victimized hotel manager locked in a battle of wills and weapons with a creepy-peepered snake on a plane turned out to be one of the most effective thrillers of the summer, light on the gore but never lax on the anxiety. It hopefully erases memories of Meryl Streep teaching students how to play the violin and that awful N Sync/Gloria Estefan song. Bloodcurdling.
Lisa Reisert’s (Rachel McAdams) grandmother has just died. Sad yes, but that’s okay, she was old and it was gonna happen sooner than later. So Lisa is flying home to Miami on the red eye. Her doting father (Brian Cox, listed simply as “Dad” in the credits) hopes she’s okay. Is he being overly protective, or does he have good reason? Perhaps it has something to do with the scar on her chest.
Lisa’s a manager at Miami’s posh Lux Atlantic Hotel and she’s apparently very, very good at her job thanks to her enlightened attitude when it comes to customer service (“There are no guests who are assholes, only guests with special needs”).You try not to think that she may have just called some guests retarded, but as those of you who work in the service industry know…
During one of the many flight delays in which Lisa uses her expertise to defuse a tense customer service situation, she meets up with a man named Jackson – never Jack – Rippner (28 Days Later and Batman Begins’ Cillian Murphy). In a well played meet-cute, they have drinks, share meaningless banter, and seem to have a connection other than that they’re on the same flight. It never comes to actual flirting, but just pushes up on it. When they’re called to board, you assume they’ll never speak to each other ever again.
Except that Lisa sees that Jackson’s seat is right next to hers. It’s not entirely unpleasant as something about Jackson appeals to her, showing you again why an attractive girl like Lisa remains single.
Lisa and Jackson talk some more, except this time it’s a little more personal as they’ll be forced to share an entire flight together. She’s a little tipsy and her guard is down and she admits to getting really nervous on flights. Jackson helps her through the turbulent takeoff by distracting her. Such nice guy.
Then Jackson tells Lisa she has to use her power as manager to get the Secretary of Defense (Jack Scalia) to switch rooms at the Lux Atlantic or else he will make a phone call and her father will be killed by the professional assassin that’s been watching him as he’s been traipsing around the house watching TV and worrying about his little scared daughter. You could say Dad has nothing to worry about, but you’d be wrong. He has a lot to be worried about.
Lisa thinks it’s a joke, but everyone in the audience knows that Jackson isn’t fucking around. Just to prove it he makes phone call to Lisa’s dad’s house, showing he’s on the up and up and more than capable of doing as he promised.
It doesn’t take long for Lisa to realize that doing as Jackson requires will probably end with the SecDef getting killed…but that’s the least of her worries as she’s got herself and her father to think about. At least she has an entire flight to think of a plan. Too bad she had all those drinks before…
What works with Red Eye:
1.) 2005’s “It Girl” Rachel McAdams plays believable right down the line as Lisa is no superwoman, just a very smart clear-headed one who has been trained in high-stress situations, though nothing having to do with life and death. None of her actions fall into the only-in-a-movie category (she doesn’t suddenly develop ninja skills or learn how to make a bazooka with toothpicks), but she does show she can handle herself with a pen…or even a cudgel.
2.) Lisa telling off a customer is guilty fantasy that I’m sure EVERYONE who’s ever had to work in the service industry has mind-masturbated to, though I’m sure in harsher and even more violent terms than our Lisa. If only seniority at a workplace let you kill one jackass customer per year, maybe two if you get promoted to management.
3.) A scene in an airplane bathroom that you wish was part of the Mile High experience but turns out to be a lot less fun (“A man went in there…”).
4.) Cillian Murphy’s Jackson is one of those great movie villains who never stop moving toward their objective, no matter how much they get the crap kicked out of them or should have been dead many times over. Jackson’s smarter than most everyone in the room, and is just as efficient and impersonal as he has to be for a man in his line of work. He’s doing his job, but you can sense the relish he gets in knowing you will bend over to his will before too long. The only problem being he might have underestimated Lisa once too often. But at least he looks good in a scarf.
What doesn’t work:
1.) In a movie that’s been drenched in relative believability up to this point, the circumstances in which two characters escape from an airport will have viewers saying “Yeah, right” to themselves more than once. ESPECIALLY after 9/11. This shows that future terrorists would do well to set up shop in Miami, providing there’s enough beach for them and the drug cartels to share.
2.) Ditto the scene involving a fishing boat and a…missile launcher. It’s over the top, but I’m guessing most viewers will find themselves slapping their knee in laughter rather than clenching their date with nervousness.
3.) One of our great character actors Brian Cox (X2, The Bourne Supremacy, Adaptation) is reduced to doing nothing but sitting in his chair, watching TV, and answering the phone as “Dad”. I’m guessing he wanted to work with Craven was willing to do pretty much anything. I mean, he did appear in Troy and Chain Reaction, so he’s doesn’t seem to be all that selective.
4.) There are some scenes with almost laughably bad stunt double work. If you’ve seen it before, no doubt you remember them. If you choose to see this on DVD, those scenes present themselves clearly during the running time and the odds are you’ll go back a couple of seconds to see how bad it really was. You’ll know when you’re supposed to see Rachel McAdam’s face, but notice a stunt woman about 15 years older…or a guy with a wig. It doesn’t really detract from the movie, except for breaking the suspense momentarily for levity. Maybe Craven did it on purpose…
Overall, Red Eye remains a bite-size (it’s only 85 minutes), tension-laden thriller that actually thrills and is Wes Craven’s best movie since the original Scream. Just when you thought he forgot how to scare us…
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