Before watching this movie I read several reviews and was so disheartened by them that I was ready to burn the DVD and forget about it, but then, remembering past similar experiences decided against burning the CD (pollution) and to give it a try.
I started watching the film with great apprehension, specially after hearing the squeaky, high pitch, unbearable voice of the blonde girl, but breathing deeply I kept firmly in my decision to see this movie.
I was quite surprised to find it not bad at all! specially the first part, until the plane crash. From then on, this gimmick with the hand held camera as the only visual support for the story was a bit too much, and later on, almost oppressive and tiresome to a screaming point (my nerves!).
I'm sorry the monster didn't kill the blond teenager at the very beginning of the movie, because she was really unbearable. The fat passenger was a very good actor, because he really was that kind of character that you want to strangle with your bare hands, and he kept it up for the whole length of the movie.
The airline hostess was another lovable character, and a very good actress, since she really gave the impression that catering to airplane passengers was her daily métier.
I found two unpardonable faults with this film: The hand held camera as the only camera to shoot the whole movie and the very last scene, where we get to see (fortunately very briefly) something that should have never been shown. When will they learn (the makers of thrillers) that showing "the thing" is always a let down for the believability of the story?
That's why in "Rebecca" (Alfred Hitchcock - 1940) Rebecca never appears, not even for a moment, not even as a shadow. She was (they specially emphasize it) "the most beautiful creature I have ever seen" as one of the characters says and who could have portrayed such a creature? (Ava Gardner or María Félix, of course) but there is nothing like our own IMAGINATION and Hitchcock new it.
In this case I'm afraid they didn't know that.
The movie is too noisy with screams and shouting and crying and that goes on for too long with a hand held camera shaking your brains continuously by moving hysterically in all directions at once, making the watching very fatiguing. But it isn't such a horrendous film as so many critics said in their reviews. I don't have the heart to recommend it, I'll leave it up to you.
