Red Eye (2005 American film)

Red Eye is a 2005 American psychological thriller film directed by Wes Craven and written by Carl Ellsworth, based on a story by Ellsworth and Dan Foos. It stars Rachel McAdams, Cillian Murphy, and Brian Cox. The story follows a hotel manager ensnared in an assassination plot by a terrorist while aboard a red-eye flight to Miami.
The film score was composed and conducted by Marco Beltrami. It was distributed by DreamWorks Pictures and released on August 19, 2005.
The film received positive reviews. An extended version of the film, which added previously unused footage to increase the running time, was broadcast on the ABC television network several times.
After attending her grandmother's funeral, Lisa Reisert arrives at Dallas Love Field to take a red-eye flight back to Miami, Florida. She meets a handsome young man named Jackson Rippner, also traveling to Miami. While waiting to board her flight, they share a drink at the airport bar and engage in small talk.
To her surprise, Lisa finds Jackson seated beside her on the flight. After takeoff, his charming demeanor quickly turns sinister as he informs her that he works for a domestic terrorist organization planning to assassinate Charles Keefe, the current United States Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security. Lisa's managerial position at the Lux Atlantic Hotel in Miami, where Keefe and his family are staying, is crucial to their plot.
Jackson orders Lisa to make a call to move the Keefe family to a suite where a missile launched from a boat in the harbor will strike. Otherwise, her father Joe will be killed. Lisa makes several attempts to delay making the call and get help, going as far as writing a fake bomb threat in the bathroom. However, a combination of bad luck and Jackson's vigilance thwart all her efforts.
Eventually, Lisa calls her co-worker, Cynthia, and has her move the Keefe family to the targeted suite. Jackson refuses to call off the hitman waiting outside Joe's house until the assassination is confirmed.
As the plane lands at Miami International Airport, Lisa reveals having been the victim of a violent rape at knifepoint two years earlier. After expressing her determination to fight to the end, she stabs Jackson in the throat with a ballpoint pen, grabs his phone, and flees the plane.
Once outside, Lisa makes her way to the airport exit and steals an unattended SUV. She tells Cynthia to evacuate the hotel suite. Cynthia, the Keefes, and U.S. Secret Service agents leave the room seconds before a missile destroys it.
The cell phone's battery dies as Lisa calls her father, so she hurries to his home. She hits and kills the hitman with the car when he shoots at her. Joe is unharmed and has called 9-1-1.
Jackson arrives and incapacitates Joe, then pursues Lisa throughout the house. As they struggle, he throws her down the staircase. Lisa retrieves the dead hitman's gun and shoots Jackson. While he's wounded, he disarms her and is about to kill her when the revived Joe guns him down. Lisa returns to the hotel to provide assistance, where Keefe praises both women and thanks them for what they did to save his life with the rest of his family.
In March 2004, it was announced DreamWorks Pictures had purchased Red Eye, a script written by Carl Ellsworth described by trades as Phone Booth on a plane. In August of that year, it was announced Wes Craven had signed on to direct Red Eye. Rachel McAdams and Cillian Murphy were cast as the film's leads that September, with Craven noting Murphy's enthusiasm for the role as he flew in for a meeting two days before his wedding.
Red Eye opened theatrically on August 19, 2005, in 3,079 venues, earning $16,167,662 in its opening weekend, ranking second in the domestic box office behind The 40-Year-Old Virgin ($21,422,815). At the end of its run, eight weeks later (on October 13), the film grossed $57,891,803 in the United States and Canada, and $37,685,971 overseas for a worldwide total of $95,577,774. The film had a $26-million budget.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 80% based on 196 critics, with an average rating of 64%. The site's consensus states: "With solid performances and tight direction from Wes Craven, Red Eye is a brisk, economic thriller." On Metacritic, the film received a weighted score of 71 out of 100, based on 36 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of B on an A+ to F scale.
Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film 3.5/4 stars calling it the "best thriller of summer 2005", and a "gripping suspense [that] will pin you to your seat".
Roger Ebert commended the film, calling it a "good thriller" that moves "competently [and] relentlessly". He praised Craven for making the film "function so smoothly" and "doing exactly what it was intended to do". Ebert also expressed admiration for the performances of McAdams and Murphy, stating that they are "very effective together". He said that McAdams is "so convincing because she keeps [her performance] at ground level" and "she remains plausible even when the action ratchets up around her". He complimented Murphy for his "ability to modulate his character instead of gnashing the scenery". He gave the film 3/4 stars.
Manohla Dargis of The New York Times called the film a "nifty, tense thriller" and said that the casting of the two leads is "a nice surprise". She said that Murphy is "a picture-perfect villain" and McAdams has a "depth of intensity" that is uncommon.
USA Today film critic Claudia Puig said the film is "fun to watch because of the strong performances". She praised McAdams for blending "vulnerability and courage" into her performance and called Murphy "menacing". While she mentioned that the film is "tense, smart, and nerve-wracking" and "entertaining and scary" on the first hour, she criticizes the film for going "downhill" and becoming a "by-the-book action flick".
Variety's Robert Koehler stated that "Red Eye relies on hoodwinking an audience with its tension, so that the sheer illogic of the conspiracy plot can slip by without detection" but complimented McAdams for finding "new and interesting ways of silently projecting fear".
Wesley Morris of The Boston Globe felt the film was like a "poor cousin of an episode of 24. Call it 12."
In October 2006, the film ranked 25th in the 30 Even Scarier Movie Moments, a follow-up to Bravo's The 100 Scariest Movie Moments, which was aired in October 2004.
In 2021, Cillian Murphy said, "I remember when I saw it, [I] was like 'Oh, that’s kind of a schlocky B movie. Rachel McAdams is excellent in it.' But I didn’t think I gave a very nuanced performance in it. But, listen, if people love the movie then that’s great. I’m pleased with that." In 2024, he recalled that Red Eye is not among his favorites: "I love Rachel McAdams and we had fun making it but I don’t think it’s a good movie. It’s a good B movie."