Airplane flight is always a risk. They say flying in a plane is safer than driving your car. However, I think you have better odds of surviving a car crash. Lets face the facts, after the 9/11 tragedy, the fear of flying has increased. I know people who flat out refuse to fly. I, for one, don’t mind being in a big plane, but after a rough experience on small plane, I don’t think you’ll ever catch me in one of them again. Altitude is a film that takes the fear of flying to a whole new level and puts its characters through just about every bad situation that can happen while traveling by plane.
Altitude is about five teenage friends who decide to rent a plane for a weekend getaway. The plane is piloted by Sara, one of the friends who just has received a pilot’s license. As they begin their journey, all seems well until two of Sara’s friends, Sal and Cory, get into an argument over a comic book. After they are all about to settle down, however, the plane begins to experience all kinds of problems. It begins to climb in altitude and to make matters worse; the plane is headed right into a large storm cloud. As the story progresses, things begin to get worse, and they soon find that not only is something odd going on, but that there is someone or something behind what is going on with the plane.
Anchor Bay seems to be getting into the fear films that touch on things that could happen to you in real life. Last month, they released the Adam Green masterpiece Frozen on Blu-ray and DVD. The film took the fear of skiing to a whole new level. While Altitude does not come close to the effectiveness of Frozen, the film still instills a fear of flying on a plane and all the bad things that can happen. The story is set up with the audience right there in the plane as the sixth passenger as we go through this terror ride with the characters. At times, the film can be boring, as a lot of the arguments between the characters become repetitive and we tend to lose focus on the plot. The action in the film is intense and sometimes is almost hard to watch, however what makes this film special is a little twist that is hinted at but you almost don’t see coming.
The Blu-ray disc comes with a few special features which include Audio Commentary with award winning graphic novelist and director Kaare Andrews, a Green Storm Featurette, a Behind the Scenes featurette and an original concept gallery.
Altitude is a decent film. It may not have the intensity of some classic thrillers, but it does have some scenes that will keep you on the edge of your seat. The film has some decent production values for such a low budget film and the film’s twist makes it worth checking out. It is a film that can be described as a feature-length version of a Twilight Zone episode. If you’re into the bizarre stories of The Twlight Zone, you’ll probably enjoy this high-flying shocker.
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
