This week for Disc Dive we’re taking to the skies. Buckle up and keep your tray table stowed, because things are about to get turbulent with Red Eye.
Title: Red Eye
Director: Wes Craven
Released: August 4, 2005 (Premiere – United States)
Runtime: 1 hour 25 minutes
Disc Format: DVD
Lisa Reisert (Rachel McAdams) is a hotel manager heading home from her grandmother’s funeral. Weather delays her flight, and while waiting to rebook, she steps in to calm an irate passenger at the gate. The man behind her, Jackson Rippner (Cillian Murphy), does the same. It’s the kind of meet-cute that signals they’ll be seeing more of each other.
They pass the delay over drinks at the airport TexMex, say their goodbyes as boarding begins, and then Lisa finds her seat and realizes she’s sitting next to Jack.
There is some heavy turbulence during takeoff and this gives Jack an opening. He asks about her family under the guise of helping her stay calm. She tries to turn it back on him and something shifts. He’s evasive, then suddenly not. A VIP named Charles Keefe is on his way to her hotel, he tells her. If she wants her father Joe Reisert (Brian Cox) alive, she needs to call in a reservation change for Mr. Keefe.
To show that he is serious, he pulls out a wallet with the initials JR and places it on the seat-back tray. The clock is ticking.
This was not a first-time watch for me. I’ve seen Red Eye multiple times over the years. It was probably the first thing I saw Murphy in, McAdams too for that matter. Both deliver performances I’d personally call underrated in their respective filmographies.
At just under 90 minutes, Red Eye moves at a breakneck pace. Portions of it are paper-thin, sure, but you’re kept entertained throughout. From the opening scene with Lisa in a taxi, the film hits the ground running and doesn’t let up.
Setting the bulk of the story in the air was the right call. Even without extenuating circumstances, there’s something uniquely stressful about flying. Craven takes that baseline anxiety and leans into it. Imagine the person you just made small talk with over drinks now sitting beside you at 30,000 feet, threatening your family. It’s a pressure cooker from the moment the cabin door shuts.
When you think of Wes Craven, Scream comes to mind first, and rightfully so. But much like the performances at its center, Red Eye is one that tends to get passed over in his filmography.
It shouldn’t be.