As you could probably already guess from the title, Altitude is another mystery movie taking place on an airplane. I don’t know about you but I’m a fan of these airplane movies. As soon as the plane takes off, the atmosphere thickens and usually the plot too. The feeling of claustrophobia is all too real and if you add a bit of supernatural, well, then you got yourself a winner. This time we will be following a group of young friends who will encounter exactly that, a supernatural threat. And if you look at the poster right now, you might get those juicy Lovecraftian vibes. And that’s all I’m going to say about that.
Altitude is not big nor a great movie. It’s just good enough to warrant a single viewing, especially if you like this sort of stuff. It has a certain road trip movie but on an airplane vibe. Most likely because all the characters are young college boys and girls. They’re also quite stereotypical and the conversations they’re going to have are even worse. We’ve got our obnoxious jock, nerdy nerd, the hot girl, and all the other familiar faces we’ve seen in countless other movies. This part could be so much better.
However, once strange shit starts happening, you’ll forget about all of that. I also like how the movie skips the boring intro altogether. Wham, bam, five minutes in and we’re already flying towards our destination. And you know what they say it’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey. Or something pretentious like that. Featuring a short running time, claustrophobic atmosphere, and a story full of twists, Altitude is a movie that’s going to keep your attention. It’s a nice little distraction you can play before the main movie of the night. Flightplan is a good choice along with hilariously entertaining Snakes on a Plane.
Imagine being able to fly and not drive for hours to see your favorite band. Imagine that one of your friends is actually a pilot who can take you there. And imagine that the band you’re going to see with your friends is Coldplay. This is the situation we find ourselves in as the small plane takes off from an airfield somewhere in Canada. The mood aboard the aircraft is high and will remain high until they spot something behind them. Something that they’ve never seen in their lives.
Our young and mostly unknown cast led by beautiful Jessica Lowndes did a solid job. After all, there’s only so much you can do with a script like this. Considering that this is Kaare Andrews’s first movie, he did a terrific job. I like how the camera moved and the angles he used. This is really important if your movie is taking place in such a small and confined place. He also knew how to build tension and put us in the shoes of our happy-go-lucky concertgoers. So, just relax, lower your expectations, and let Altitude take you on a dark ride.
Director: Kaare Andrews
Writer: Paul A. Birkett
Cast: Jessica Lowndes, Julianna Guill, Ryan Donowho, Landon Liboiron, Jake Weary, Mike Dopud
Fun Facts: The airplane Sara is piloting is a Piper Chieftan.
Rating:
IMDb Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1407049/
