Red Eye

Every time you board an airplane, you unknowingly take part in a lottery. First prize is the man or woman of your dreams sitting in the adjacent seat, booby prize is the harassed parent with a screaming baby.

Beautiful young businesswoman Lisa Reisert (McAdams) thinks she has hit the jackpot when she is seated next to Jackson Ripner (Murphy), the blue-eyed charmer with whom she shared a brief flirtation in the departures lounge.

Jackson is equally surprised: "What are the odds, huh?" he grins, politely moving aside to allow Lisa to take her window seat.

As the plane ascends to 30,000 feet, the compliments continue, until Lisa asks Jackson about his line of business.

"Government overthrows, flashy assassinations, the usual," he replies matter-of-factly.

Lisa thinks Jackson is joking. He's not. The handsome stranger has an ulterior motive for being on board the late-night flight to Miami.

Jackson reveals he is part of a murderous plot to kill the Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security, Charles Keefe, who is due to stay at the hotel where Lisa works.

He asks Lisa to use her influence to ensure the success of the assassination. And if she refuses to co-operate or deviates from the meticulously-timed plan, one of Jackson's colleagues will kill her father, Joe (Cox).

"Sometimes bad things happen to good people... like you," whispers Jackson smugly as poor Lisa struggles to hold back the tears.

Trapped in the confines of the jet with a man who will stop at nothing to achieve his deadly goal, Lisa must put all her resourcefulness to the test to prevent two terrible murders.

Written by Carl Ellsworthy, Red Eye takes a simple, neat concept and wrings every last drop of suspense from the battle of wits between hunter and prey.

The volatile balance of power continually shifts in the claustrophobic confines of economy class and the film delights in the verbal jousting between Lisa and Jackson.

McAdams and Murphy are both terrific and director Wes Craven manoeuvres his camera as close to the actors as possible to heighten our sense of unease.

Much of the 85-minute flight time passes in a state of white-knuckle anticipation of impending doom.

Unfortunately, the tension dissipates once the airplane begins its descent.

But while the film is in the air, it soars.