Altitude (2010)

This is not a great movie. I want to stress that right away. It's entertaining, and has some great ideas, but it's not great. I give first-time director, Kaare Andrews, some credit for making a capable thriller. As a former comic book writer/artist, as well as direct of short films, Andrews knows how to tell a story. I'm anxious to see what his next effort it. I think he could definitely do better.


Ok, about the actual movie...


Altitude is about a young pilot named Sara (Jessica Lowndes), who has rented a small passenger plane to take four of her friends to a concert, in another state.. When we first meet her, she's holed up in the airport bathroom, looking a photos of her mom on a digital camera. Her mom was a pilot as well, who died in mysterious collision with another plane. You immediately get that Sara is nervous about the flight, but she plays it off to her friends.


Early into their flight, there is a bolt that breaks lose, falls, and causes the plane to ascend. To make matters worse, they are flying into a bad storm, and the plane's instrument aren't made for altitudes that high. Things get really weird when one of them sees something in the storm clouds. 


From the trailer, and the posters, we know that there is a monster in this movie, so there's no spoiler in saying so. Why the monster is there, is a key point that you'll have to watch the movie to find out.


Like I said, it's not great, but it is a watchable thriller, with a few fresh ideas. It's definitely worth the rental fee.


Rated R, Runtime 90mns