Red Eye

Friday, October 16 - Saturday, October 17, 2015

35mm print

“The perfect antidote to bloated summer blockbusters such as Fantastic Four and The Island, Craven’s taut psychological thriller generates more suspense, character interest and excitement in its first 20 minutes than they managed in two hours. Mostly set onboard a commercial airliner cruising at 30,000 feet, RED EYE takes a leaf out of Phone Booth’s directory by making a virtue of its tight parameters. It also shows that veteran horror director Craven can venture outside familiar genre territory and still deliver thrills and chills.Flying home after her grandmother’s funeral, workaholic hotel manager Lisa Reisert (Rachel McAdams from Mean Girls) realises that her cosy seat next to the superficially charming Jackson Rippner (Cillian Murphy) is not a romantic coincidence but a deadly trap. Without alerting the flight crew or their fellow passengers, Jackson quietly informs Lisa she is now part of a plot to assassinate the deputy director of Homeland Security, who will be staying at her hotel the following day. Carl Ellsworth’s smart script and Craven’s tight direction exploit not only the suspenseful situations, but also the complex, sexually tinged chemistry between the professional, problem-solving Lisa and her ruthless manipulator. Murphy and McAdams give their best performances yet, and there’s some leavening humour from first-time actor Jayma Mays as ditzy trainee hotel manager Cynthia, who becomes Lisa’s eyes and ears on the ground. The psychological mind-games are played to the hilt, the pressurised cabin air increases the edge-of-the-seat tension and the 85-minute flight time is gratifyingly short.” – Time Out (London)

Part of the midnight series Wes Craven’s Nightmares

  • Country USA
  • Rating PG-13
  • Year 2005
  • Running Time 85 minutes
  • Director Wes Craven

IFC Center does not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, as sensitivities vary from person to person. In addition to the synopses, trailers and other links on our website, further information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on Common Sense Media, IMDb and DoesTheDogDie.com as well as through general internet searches.