Flight of the Living Dead: Outbreak on a Plane (2007) (V)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Scott Thomas

Writers:

Sidney Iwanter (writer)
Mark Onspaugh (writer)

Release Date:

24 June 2008 (Greece)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

Un-Dead at 30,000 Feet.

Plot:

On a flight from Los Angeles to Paris, a mad scientist on the run from the CIA is transporting a coffin...

Plot Keywords:

Virus | Zombie | Scientist | Flesh Eating Zombie | Plane

Cast

David Chisum	...	Truman
Kristen Kerr	...	Megan
Kevin J. O'Connor	...	Frank
Richard Tyson	...	Paul Judd
Erick Avari	...	Dr. Bennett
Derek Webster	...	Long Shot
Todd Babcock	...	Co-Pilot Randy
Siena Goines	...	Anna
Mieko Hillman	...	Stacy
Raymond J. Barry	...	Capt Banyon (as Raymond Barry)
Sarah Laine	...	Cara
Brian Ames	...	Tony
Brian Kolodziej	...	Peter
Ashley Bashioum	...	Jackie
Laura Cayouette	...	Dr. Kelly

Also Known As:

Flight of the Living Dead (USA) (new title)
Plane Dead (USA) (original script title)

Runtime:

USA:89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

Australia:MA (2007) | Canada:18A | USA:Unrated

Company:

Imageworks Entertainment International

Goofs:

Factual errors: The fighter plane that is dispatched to shoot down the airplane is an F-14 Tomcat. It was retired from the U.S. Navy fleet on 22 September 2006, having been replaced by the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. As of 2007, it remains in service only with the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force.

Quotes:

Frank: Come on, Burrows. I need to go to the sandbox.
Truman: What?
Frank: I gotta pee.
Truman: No, you heard the PA. Sit down and hold it.
Frank: Fine. Oh, if you should happen to feel something warm, just move a little to the right.
Truman: You're like a five year old. Come on, let's go.

Movie Connections:

References Night of the Living Dead (1968)

Soundtrack:

Among the Dead

Competently executed gory fun

"Flight of the Living Dead" is a delightful take on the Zombie genre that keeps you on the edge of your seat for the full running time. It stands out because it presents you with everything you don't expect from a low-budget direct-to-video Zombie flick, i.e. a well written script that actually works, good acting from a cast of no-names and some underrated actors, nice direction, great make-up and special effects and even a decent score. The low production budget doesn't really show, unless you are excessively critical about the exterior shots of the plane which are obviously CGI.

As I said, the script is really nice. The writers knew that you know exactly what's ultimately gonna happen given a plane + zombies, so they threw in a lot of unexpected twists and little surprises to keep you interested. I also like that the movie takes it slow and introduces the characters for almost an hour before getting to the gory part. That is actually not boring because the writers chose rather interesting stereotypes of characters that promise to be fun to watch being chased by zombies. Ever wanted to see that arrogant, spoiled, high-maintenance girlfriend of the jock getting chewed up? Now it's your chance. Or how about that cute-but-stupid stewardess? Yep, it's all in here. The implausibility-o-meter gets only slowly turned up towards the final which will leave splatter fans very satisfied. Just don't expect too realistic physics ...

"Flight of the Living Dead" is no disguised comment on society like Romero's classic zombie films, but from the ranks of increasingly generic modern zombie butcherfests, it stands out as the best I've seen so far. The producers created nothing revolutionary here, but they use traditional elements like suspense and splatter in a most competent manner which puts this movie miles ahead of its peers.

If you enjoyed the title song and desperately tried to locate it without success, I hereby give you the holy grail: Take a look at the M*Space page of Bill Grainer, the gentleman who wrote the song.