Altitude

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!

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.

Several things motivated me to see this film, not the least of which is that I've spent quite a number of hours flying about in small private planes, so I was intrigued to see how Hollywood would portray this. Another motivation was to see Jessica Lowndes do her character thing as a pilot, and also the surprisingly well done acting on the part of Jake Weary, who plays the part of the quintessential loud mouth, hyper emotional, annoying beer guzzling jerk character.

As the plot unfolds into the film, however, the whole story suddenly takes a completely bizarre left turn, which theoretically could have been an interesting "outside the box" twist, maybe . . . but here, it just came off as being weird and silly.

It's kind of sad, actually, in that the seeds of a potentially good film were firmly planted in the first half, but then it just sagged into an absurd side track which basically ruined the whole viewing experience, which by then seemed like a complete waste of time.

However, at the very end of the film, as in just the last couple of moments, the story does suddenly present a very compelling and thought provoking ending, so I'll give the writers some credit where it's due.

Sorry to say, this film is in the 5 - 6 category, and that's being generous, but the acting was well done, so I don't want to tarnish their efforts by being stuck with a flimsy, clumsily thrown together screenplay and script.

There have been many films, TV episodes which have taken place within a confined area, and the tension can become excruciating.

Lifeboat, Midnight (Doctor Who), are just a couple.

Altitude - the story of a half dozen teens trapped in a little plane - is NOT one.

The director who made this - Kaare Andrews - has made a 'teen' horror film that doesn't try hard to be any better than of the films it desperately rips off - the FINAL DESTINATION films, are just one franchise, which comes to mind.

The 'acting' horrendous. The 'plot?' Cheesecloth holds together better.

The 'technical' dialogue, spouted by 'pilot' Ms. Loundes, is akin to hearing a monkey explain quantum mechanics - and, just as believable.

This is one of those films, in which the 'director' seems SO hard to demonstrate his skills, and, has none, to begin with.

Bluish-green tinted movie? Seen it. Actors' eyes (annoyingly) colorized? Yawn - ENOUGH!

I kept praying this nightmare would end - and, by that, I mean 'crash' end. You do not care about ANYONE. It seems they all got cast by meeting Mr. Andrews, who 'promised' they'd 'star in' his big, Hollywood' movie.

"You're not afraid to fly, are you?"

This was like a mediocre, modern episode of the Twilight Zone. One updated with some of the most annoying and unlikeable characters I've ever seen in a movie. Yet, with all the (hilarious) overacting, all the times I wanted these stupid people to just die, already, and the fact that the movie kept getting more and more ridiculous until it reached an almost mythical plateau of absurdity, I didn't hate it.

Altitude begins with a group of young adults loading up into a small plane for a trip to a Coldplay concert. We get introduced to the pilot, who's a young woman with a tragedy in her past, as well as her 4 companions. The first act plays out a bit like a slasher movie, as we meet the various characters and the predictably complicated relationships between the three guys and two girls. Things quickly start going wrong with the plane once it gets into the air. You could probably come up with a pretty fun drinking game based around guessing what incredibly important part of the plane would fail next. As the condition of the plane deteriorates, so does the atmosphere inside the cabin. Jealousy, conflict (along with a storm that clearly could have been avoided), that sort of thing. And then a supernatural element is introduced, which almost makes the latter half of the movie seem like something completely different from what came before. Just as silly, but less of a (hilarious) thriller/slasher and more of a (still hilarious) sci-fi/horror flick. 

In the final thirty minutes, or so, the absurdity spikes to incredible levels. I was somewhat transfixed by just waiting to see how ridiculous the plot would get before it ended. And the end did indeed exceed my expectations, by being perhaps the most incredulous conclusion I've seen since The Life of David Gale. 

I wouldn't describe Altitude as good, but it is entertaining. Please don't watch this if you want a solid thriller/horror movie, because your time will be completely wasted. Don't take it seriously and embrace the unintentional humor of it, and you'll have a new favorite movie to bring to your Mystery Science Theater/RiffTrax party with your friends. Enjoy