Red Eye - 84%

So here's Wes Craven, departing from his usual horror fair, treating us to a nice little thriller called "Red Eye". I love the simple set up of the film, having most of the action in the confines of an airplane. And it never seemed boring. The intensity (and the chemistry) between Rachel McAdams and Cillian Murphy was great. Rachel McAdams shone through her performances in this one, and if this is any indication of things to come, we have one fine actress here in the making. Cillian Murphy played "scarecrow" in "Batman Begins" and now, another "scary" character in this one. He's good, but I hope they do not typecast him into all these creepy roles as he is one fine actor too.

Story goes like this: Lisa (McAdams) meets a man at the airport, had a drink with him at a bar, and ended up seating next to him on the same flight. What a nice coincidence? But things are never as simple as it seems. The pace picks up quickly and the movie bumrush from start till finish, keeping the audience at the edge of the seat throughout the entire film. The ending seemed a little too contrived, but it was still done respectfully. And again, it was the acting of the two actors that made it work. Wes Craven made sure the movie was kept serious and made no jokes about it, and it was also what made the movie seemed believable.

Only one complaint. The original teaser/trailer for the film was great! It made it seemed like it was a love story, and then bam! It hits you with a surprise that tells you, things are not as it seems. But the great marketing seems to have lost its impact when it was given away in the description, synopsis, and all the critics who basically gave away the premise that "this is not a horror movie". And they even went as far as explaining what the evil character was up to. Totally knocked the interest level down a notch. Not that it made the movie worse, but it certainly killed the element of surprise.

I recalled going to watch "Independence Day" without knowing who's starring in it, nor knowing what it was about. Imagine my surprise when the Aliens "attacked" instead of "we-are-here- as-frens" ala "encounters of the 3rd kind". The movie was still implausible, but the experience kicked ass.

Wes Craven made his name known as a horror movie director, and even the initial trailer/teaser made it seemed like a "supernatural" or horror movie. But I think I would have given it a higher score had I been a bit more surprised.