Flight 7500 (2014)★★★★☆

I remember I was pretty excited for this one when I first saw the trailers. Planes are such a neat setting for stories since there’s nowhere for passengers to escape, and some long-haul international flights get even more interesting when you consider how much time is spent flying literally over seas with minimal options for early landing.

Plus the cast is awesome! Jamie Chung, Ryan Kwanten, and Johnathon Schaech are all great actors, and I’ve always had a thing for Amy Smart (y’know, because she’s Amy Smart… and I’m Allie smart). So I was pretty excited to finally watch it today, and I’m happy to report it did not let me down.

It wasn’t perfect though. I kind of hate it when movies start off with a scene from somewhere in the middle of the movie just to build suspense. I think it’s a cheap move and if the movie is done well, it’s unnecessary. In this case, it was definitely unnecessary.

It took a little while before the scary stuff got started, but once it did, it didn’t let up. I loved that the movie was scary and suspenseful without resorting to jump scares or lots of blood and gore. I also appreciated that the in-flight entertainment included The Twilight Zone’s “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” (I’ll admit, I would totally watch that on a flight if I could).

I thought the character development in the film was really impressive – it’s tough to build a properly scary story and develop so many characters at the same time, but this film pulled it off. By the end, I found myself intrigued by even the most unlikeable of characters, which made the suspense and anticipation that much greater.

If you’re already a nervous flyer, I would definitely recommend staying far away from this movie. But if you’re not, and you like scary movies, this one will not disappoint.