Altitude

90210 star Jessica Lowndes takes off onto to the big screen in this very effective and atmospheric supernatural thriller that takes place entirely on-board a small passenger plane, so if you're claustrophobic hold tight as this movie can get pretty breathless and tight. I think this movie was a straight to DVD, and I avoid them types at all costs, but Altitude caught my attention when I saw those tentacles in the sky and a Kraken like creature roaring in the clouds in the trailer. It's different, I'll give you that, and the twist end was one I didn't see coming. For those who are unsure about watching this re-think it, Altitude is a neat little thriller with surprisingly solid performances, characters that, despite some cockiness, are worth following as well as a lot of suspense, it's probably the only straight to DVD release I own and probably the only one I've ever watched.

A female novice pilot who has no business driving a car much less flying a plane, decides to take the most unlikeable group of friends on a plane ride for reasons really unknown. Her mom died on a plane, so I guess she wanted to die too or something. her friends include the most annoying jock character written, a undeveloped boyfriend character (a most important character by the end for some random reason), a love lost emo and a shallow best friend. They end up in a mysterious cloud, things happen that really don't make sense and the ending you see coming a mile away. The main girl is a raging c-word to her pointless boyfriend (apparently this is a important plot point?). These kids sans the boyfriend remind you of the popular kids you hated in high school. The positives reviews Have to be plants from the industry. Avoid this film, the premise is awful and you end up wanting whatever it is in the cloud to eat them faster. Note to writers of these films, stop writing for the twilight, jersey shore crowd and make the characters quasi likable so the viewer can be emotionally invested, I was more sympathetic to whatever was in the clouds than these people.

I've seen this movie...and yet I haven't. I'm not going to spoil anything for anyone, so no worries there, as I didn't fully grasp what this movie was trying to be.

Little teen/college age horror movie.

Little bit of John Carpenters "The Thing" (the tension in a small confined space) A lot of Twilight Zone and Outer Limits.

Half a cup of H.P. Lovecraft thrown in for good measure.

Then a sprinkle of every over used cliché character in an teen/college age horror movie.

Bake at 375 for and hour and a half.

Results may vary.

Cinematic quality is excellent. Acting is above par (we aren't talking an Asylum or Uwe Boll movie here) but no ones getting an Oscar. Special effects are Meh...seen better and a hell of a lot worse out there. Dialogue was unforgivable at times, more so than not. Ending was really not as big of a shocker as others might have you think.

All in all, it's a fun way to kill an hour and a half if you don't know anything about this movie...no reviews, don't watch the trailer...etc. In other words, even in being as obtuse as I have been here, I still just ruined the movie for you.

Have a good day!

Sara's mother died piloting her small plane. New pilot Sara (Jessica Lowndes) is flying her boyfriend Bruce Parker (Landon Liboiron), her cousin Cory (Ryan Donowho), her best friend Mel (Julianna Guill) and Mel's boyfriend Sal (Jake Weary) to a Coldplay concert. A mechanical malfunction sends them climbing. It's terrifying to fix the problem but then something truly supernatural happens.

This is somewhat like a Twilight Zone episode. I say this as a compliment but it also means that it's a hour-long story at best. Firstly, Sal is too annoying. It seems to be an often used trope but not one that I particularly like. It would help if one character is actually funny and likable. These are photogenic young actors playing uncompelling characters. What starts out as a tight little thriller turns into a hodgepodge of supernatural messiness. I like the confined space of the aircraft but the movie has problems.

OK I have a few things to say about this movie. But to answer the most important questions:

1. Was this a good movie (good meaning quality)? No, this was in no way a good movie.

2. Did I enjoy this movie? Yes, absolutely, I enjoyed every horrible minute of it. Although maybe not the way it was intended. There were some parts that I laughed out loud that weren't meant to be funny.

I'm seeing on the forums this movie compared to Frozen. I have no idea why. The only thing these movies have in common is that the people are high up in the air. Meaning a fall to the ground could be damaging or fatal. Even the heights aren't comparable though. Other than that I see no real similarities.

About this movie specifically. Horrible acting, totally unbelievable, predictable from the first 5 minutes. But I enjoyed it for the same reason I enjoyed other crappy horror movies. And I think those reason are individual. But, I WAS able to, in a couple of scenes, feel the hopelessness of being stuck in a tiny plane up in the air with no possible idea of how to fix it. I would much rather be stuck on the ski lift.

So, if you like crappy horror movies and you can suspend pretty much all reality when you watch a movie you might enjoy, if not, don't bother. You will hate it and people like me who enjoyed it don't want to hear about how bad you thought it was. We know, we liked it anyway.