This July, Netflix is adding Red Eye, one of the best thrillers I’ve ever seen, and it’s just a month shy of the film’s 20th anniversary.
At the time Red Eye was released on August 19, 2005, director Wes Craven was in the twilight of his career and attempting to venture beyond the realms of horror.
A Nightmare on Elm Street and the Scream movies made Craven a horror legend, but Red Eye was his chance to demonstrate his abilities without falling back into his old bag of tricks. He succeeded, creating a timeless thriller that still holds up in 2025.
What is ‘Red Eye’ About?
Rachel McAdams and Cillian Murphy were still establishing themselves as stars when they co-headlined Red Eye, and the film hinges on the chemistry and tension they brought to the screen.
McAdams plays Lisa Reisert, a woman whose airplane seatmate, Jackson Rippner (Murphy), has sinister intentions if she doesn’t help him assassinate a high-profile target. Most of the story takes place on the flight, and that’s one of the reasons why Red Eye is so riveting. To reveal more would be spoiling the fun, but take my word for it, Red Eye is a claustrophobic thriller that takes a wild third-act turn you won’t see coming.
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‘Red Eye’ Creates Exceptional Tension
By keeping the film’s action largely contained to a single location, Red Eye constantly ratchets up the intensity for Lisa as she tries to get out from under Jackson’s control. The leverage Jackson has over Lisa involves the fate of her father, Joe (Brian Cox), and that leaves her scrambling to find a way to thwart Jackson and save her dad’s life at the same time.
Although Lisa’s plane ride from hell inevitably comes to an end, many of the movie’s best scenes take place there. That gave Red Eye a unique hook that separates it from other thrillers.
Rachel McAdams Has Real “Final Girl” Energy
Final girls are typically the heroines who live through the end of a horror film. Craven created more than a few during his long career, but Lisa may be his first final girl to transcend the horror genre. McAdams was perfectly cast for her ability to project vulnerability and strength during her performance as Lisa. The film also reveals why Lisa won’t simply give in to Jackson’s demands, but that’s a scene we’re not going to spoil here.
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McAdams plays Lisa differently before she gets on the plane, as her encounter with Jackson at the airport seems like the beginning of a rom-com. The tonal shift of everything that happens after that required McAdams to shift her performance as well, and she remains believable throughout. As far as we’re concerned, she’s an honorary final girl, right up there with other Craven heroines like A Nightmare on Elm Street‘s Nancy and Scream‘s Sidney.
Cillian Murphy Is a Terrifying Villain
Nearly two decades before Murphy claimed his Oscar for Best Actor in Oppenheimer, he hadn’t had a real showcase for what he could do as an actor. By this point, he had starred in 28 Days Later and appeared as Scarecrow in Batman Begins. Those were very good movies, but Red Eye allowed Murphy to take things to a new level as Jackson, one of the most intimidating villains he’s ever played.
There’s a subtle shift early in the movie when Jackson goes from flirty potential one-night stand to an obvious threat to Lisa, but she doesn’t perceive it until she’s already caught up in his web. All of his scenes afterwards establish Jackson as a villain who can back up the threats he makes towards Lisa and her father. He’s no supernatural killer, but he doesn’t have to be one to be truly menacing. Instead, Jackson is an ultra-vigilant villain who always takes the time to assert his dominance over Lisa. But that may prove to be his downfall.
Red Eye will stream on Netflix on July 1.
