Barnes & Noble

Following up on her comedic triumph in Wedding Crashers, the versatile Rachel McAdams makes her thriller debut in this gripping opus directed by veteran shudder film specialist Wes Craven. She plays Lisa Reisert, the resourceful customer service manager of a large hotel catering to government officials as well as visiting tourists. While flying home to vacation with her dad (Brian Cox), Lisa is essentially kidnapped onboard the plane by a fellow passenger who calls himself Jackson Rippner (Cillian Murphy, the creepy Scarecrow in Batman Begins). He's working for an unnamed terrorist group that aims to assassinate a Homeland Security bigwig who's about to check into Lisa's hotel, and he orders her to help facilitate the hit or lose her dad to a shooter lurking outside the Reisert home. It's a simple premise, but Craven develops it skillfully, without extraneous characters or time-wasting subplots. Once the basic situation is established, our attention is riveted on Lisa's plight: Trapped in an airplane with an admitted killer sitting next to her, can she possibly foil his plan without risking either her life or her father's? It's a tour de force for McAdams, who makes Lisa totally believable within the confines of a narrowly defined character. Murphy, too, is excellent, conveying oily charm and quiet menace with seeming effortlessness. Red Eye isn't a lengthy or complex thriller; it sustains suspense with constant forward motion, progressing seamlessly from one plot point to the next, and without a single superfluous scene. It's not unlike the very best B-movies of Hollywood's Golden Age, which told their formula-bound stories concisely. It's the best film Craven has directed in years. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

Terror rides the night skies in this thriller from horror auteur Wes Craven. Lisa Reisert (Rachel McAdams) is a young woman with more than her share of anxieties about flying. However, when circumstances demand she go to Miami, she gathers her nerves and books a seat on a late-night flight. Sitting next to her is a handsome and charming man named Jackson (Cillian Murphy), whom she already met in the airport, but once their jet is safely in the air, Lisa discovers he's not the pleasant traveling companion she imagined. Jackson is part of a terrorist cell plotting to kill the head of Homeland Security, and he's decided to draft Lisa into helping him. While Lisa has no interest in abetting Jackson's plan, he soon reveals he's holding a trump card -- his compatriots are holding Lisa's father hostage, and will kill him if she doesn't cooperate. Red Eye was the first feature film credit for screenwriter Carl Ellsworth, who previously scripted episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Xena: Warrior Princess. Mark Deming

Product Details

• UPC: 678149447224
• Source: DREAMWORKS VIDEO
• Region Code: 1
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
• Language: English, Français
• Subtitles: English, Français, Español
• Time: 1:25:00
• Sales Rank: 29,426

This DVD is also available as part of a box set:

• Fright Night Collection

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