Review of Red Eye (2005) by Dawdlingpoet — 28 Nov 2021

This is a thriller drama film from Wes Craven. Fans of Wes' other works will perhaps be disappointed to hear that this particular film isn't a 'gore fest' as it doesn't contain any explicit bloody violence - its not a slasher film, unlike 'Nightmare On Elm Street' et al. However, for me thats a good thing, as I'm not especially keen on such films which usually rely almost entirely on the shock factor to entertain.

I felt this film was genuinely quite tense, suspenseful and unsettling. Speaking of which, I noticed a quite heavy use of stringed instruments by way of instrumental pieces played fairly loudly throughout the film, to help create, or add to, the tension and general unsettling feeling. However, at times I did feel that the music was perhaps a bit too loud and distracting.

There's also a good use of camerawork during the in-flight scenes, whereby the camera slowly zooms/pans across the many various rows of seats, giving the viewer a rather uneasy feel. Its almost as if we're carefully looking at everyone in the flight and wondering which may be involved and may know about whats going on.

I liked the ocassional shot of the skyline from outside the plane, with the red/orange tinged sunset also giving off a spooky atmospheric feel. I felt it was an entertaining and quite watchable film in general, although I wouldn't say that it particularly broke new ground or was especially memorable overall. One thing I did like and found quite funny was the name of the airline thats shown on the side of the plane a few times - 'Fresh Air'.

Cast wise, Rachel MacAdams plays Lisa. She comes across as believably scared and unsure what to do, although (and I realise I'm perhaps being a bit picky here) I could have done with a few less 'oh my God's!. I suppose you could say she plays the typical American 'damsel in distress' type. Cilian Murphy plays Jackson Rippner and he does seem quite facially expressive and emotive, almost seeming somewhat rubber faced not unlike Jim Carrey did in his 90s films, although in a more menacing way. Also present, cast wise, is Brian Cox as Joe Reisart.

I found myself on the edge of my seat at one or two points, when the plot pace suddenly sped up towards the end of the film. If I had to be critical, I'd say that I was a bit sceptical regarding quite how likely, or realistic, aspects of the plot were but for the most part I went with it. I'd still say its more believable than the aforementioned slasher flicks tend to be (in my experience certainly). On the plus side, the film is relatively short running time wise at one hour and twenty two minutes. I do tend to prefer shorter films in general, for the most part. I also enjoyed a fast paced car scene towards the end of the film, as well as one or two special effects. I felt that this was a relatively decent thriller style drama - not one of the finest per se but its certainly entertaining, tense and easy to watch.

Content wise, there is a constant feeling of tension and threat throughout the film, which could potentially upset or frighten particularly young viewers but is, of course, to be expected. There is some relatively strong language and one or two sudden scenes which could make people jump, although, thankfully for me, there is no excessive bloody violence. There is violence but its relatively moderate, or what I would regard as moderate (although someone suffers a stabbing to the neck but next to no blood is clearly shown, otherwise the violence involves things such as vases being smashed on or near others).

Yes, I suppose I would cautiously recommend this film, although it isn't especially memorable as such, its an easy watch, it works quite well at being tense and suspenseful and it isn't overly long. I'm not sure I'd pay much for it but given I got my DVD of it from Poundland, I wouldn't exactly say its a big waste of money.