Flight 7500

Flight 7500

Starring Leslie Bibb, Jamie Chung, Ryan Kwanten, Amy Smart

Directed by Takashi Shimizu

The Story:
On a seemingly simple airplane ride from Los Angeles to Tokyo, a spirit seems to be stalking the passengers and crew members on board, determined to kill them all before the plane lands.

The Synopsis:
Takashi Shimizu is a very well-known Asian director, who brought us classic horror gems like "Ju-On," and the American remake "The Grudge."  He has a natural talent for finding what spooks us and use it to his full advantage, so when it was revealed he was making a horror film taking place in an airplane, it was a natural assumption that it would be just as scary as his other work.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.  The film was in production limbo from 2011 to its final release date in 2014, and in this case absence didn't make the heart grow fonder.  Instead, the film was a jumbled mess of a nonsensical story, stereotypical characters, terrible effects, an impressive pedigree of actors who seem like they're simply floating through their performances, and most importantly, a horror movie devoid of actual horror.

I am terrified of heights, so any film taking place in an airplane immediately has me on edge, but that's the only scary part of the film.  The story, as it were, focuses on a man who dies on the plane, and it seems his spirit is haunting the passengers for some reason.  Yet there's more to the story than that, and by the time it ends, you're left wondering how this particular film got to its final destination.

The film features a strong cast of well-known actors, including Leslie Bibb, Jamie Chung, Ryan Kwanten, Amy Smart, Scout Taylor-Compton, Jerry Ferrara, Christian Serratos, Nicky Whelan, Alex Frost, and Jonathan Schaech, yet none of them seem particularly fond of even being there in the first place.  Their characters are so one-dimensional it's pretty funny - the couple on the rocks, the two-timing pilot, the overbearing new wife, the submissive new husband, the goth chick - pretty much every stereotype you can imagine is on the plane, and none of them become characters you care the slightest bit about.

While the story is as simple as a spirit haunting the plane, there's some offbeat notes that the film tries to hit that speak to some deeper existential meaning, which actually becomes the most interesting part of the film.  The concept of death is discussed by several people, and the importance of living your life in a way where you expect death to occur at any moment, and making every minute count.  Unfortunately for them, it seems that this lesson has hit them too late, as it seems everyone on the plane is doomed - after all, how can you run from a vengeful spirit 20,000 feet in the air?

The bigger question is, do we care?  The answer, simply, is no.

The Summary:
Despite boasting a strong cast and iconic director, "Flight 7500" fails to take off from its own tired cliches and stereotypes, delivering a confusing story and absolutely no scares whatsoever.

The Score: D+